Why was Cain Velasquez's WWE career a massive flop?

Cain Velasquez is one of the many MMA fighters that have performed in WWE. Unfortunately, the former UFC star didn't find the same level of success as his fellow fighters. Here, let's take a look at some of the reasons why his run with the Stamford-based promotion didn't end so well.

Velasquez is best known for his time at the UFC, where he first fought in 2008 and successfully defeated Brock Lesnar for the promotion's Heavyweight Championship three years later. Although he was unsuccessful in defending the title against Junior Dos Santos for the first time, he reclaimed the title in their rematch.

Cain retired from MMA in 2019 and attempted to make the shift to professional wrestling. He first appeared on Lucha Libre AAA and then eventually in WWE, where he immediately reignited his rivalry with Lesnar. Their feud culminated at Crown Jewel 2019, which ended in less than two minutes. In 2020, Velasquez was released from the promotion.

While many UFC fighters have found success in wrestling, the same can't be said for Cain Velasquez. When comparing Cain to the likes of Matt Riddle and even Ronda Rousey, the two superstars know how to work a character and rile up the crowd.

Riddle is a talented and fan-favorite face, and Rousey mostly gets attention for her heelish antics. Unfortunately, Cain just didn't possess the same personality and entertainment value. From his time in the UFC, it was seen that Cain Velasquez was more reserved and kept an intimidating nature. In professional wrestling, being just a good in-ring performer wouldn't be enough.

In the past, it could also be said that Lesnar was the same. He had an intimidating persona and his strong points weren't his mic skills, which is why he was paired with Paul Heyman. Still, The Beast Incarnate's occasional mic time and charisma in general still allowed him to be a successful star in the business.

Although Cain was also paired with Rey Mysterio, it was the wrestling veteran's mic skills that shone out. The importance of talking ability is also present in the UFC, especially today. Fighters like Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal have had a massive response from the audience due to their ability on the mic.

Velasquez is one of the most feared men even outside the topic of sports. Unfortunately, this wasn't on full display during his only televised WWE match at Crown Jewel 2019. Since he is not as much of a mainstream name compared to Lesnar and Rousey, it would've been a great way to showcase his abilities in the ring and introduce himself to the wrestling fans, but the bout ended quickly. Still, this one shouldn't be blamed solely on Cain since he did suffer an injury.

Cain Velasquez might be an impressive Mixed Martial Artist, but he is an example of why not all fighters can be successful in wrestling. Although his booking could be blamed, he lacked the natural talent and attitude of a pro wrestler.

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Cain Velasquez opened up about how the COVID-19 pandemic played a part in his WWE release

The former UFC Champion was among the plethora of superstars who were released due to budget cuts brought about by the pandemic.

In an interview, Cain Velasquez expressed that he was just not used in the company. There were talks of him working with other luchadors, but the pandemic halted these plans.

"They just didn’t use me, I wasn’t called to go in for them to use me. At one point they told me we were going to go do something with some of the lucha guys and when that time came close, we were deep into COVID. They were like, ‘we’re just doing the shows this way like we just need these core guys right now.’ They just needed me to develop a lot more and I wasn’t there. So they really couldn’t use me in that way,”

Although Cain Velasquez's WWE run was underwhelming, it was still interesting to see how he faired in the company.