WWE Rumors: Brock Lesnar's original Crown Jewel opponent revealed
Crown Jewel ended up being just another easy payday for Brock Lesnar. The Beast Incarnate showed up, destroyed Cain Velasquez in two minutes, pummeled him after the match, and went back home with the title firmly strapped around his waist.
Original plans for Brock Lesnar at Crown Jewel
In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer opened up about the original Crown Jewel plans that were being discussed backstage for Brock Lesnar. According to Meltzer, WWE previously wanted Tyson Fury to take on Brock Lesnar at the Saudi Arabia show, however, the plan never materialized as they managed to get Cain Velasquez on board.
The former 2-time UFC Heavyweight Champion had a documented history with Lesnar that WWE could build upon. Velasquez was also preferred over Fury for a match against Lesnar as the 37-year-old was a bigger draw in the US market.
Meltzer explained:
Fury said that the original idea talked with him about was a Crown Jewel match with Lesnar, but the idea changed when they were able to sign Velasquez. According to those internally, Lesnar vs. Fury was discussed but never got past early discussions, likely due to Velasquez having the storyline from the past and being the bigger star in the U.S. market, which is WWE’s primary market. And for Saudi Arabia, it wasn’t the matchups that were important as much as delivering matches with Fury and Velasquez.
What happened at Crown Jewel 2019?
As stated earlier, Brock Lesnar put in a typical performance at Crown Jewel by squashing Velasquez in two minutes. The Beast Incarnate ended his night on a high by unleashing a post-match beatdown on Velasquez and Rey Mysterio.
WWE originally had other plans for Lesnar vs. Velasquez, which were changed due to the Velasquez's knee injury.
As for Tyson Fury, the Gypsy King had a good outing in his first pro wrestling match. His elaborate entrance was followed by a relatively lengthy match in which the Boxing Heavyweight Champion defeated Braun Strowman via count-out.
Despite looking green in the ring, Fury put in a solid performance for a star with minimal training and no prior pro wrestling experience.
In his post-match interview, Fury didn't rule out working for WWE again in the future. He has even teased having a dream match with Lesnar in a previous interview with Sportskeeda's Gary Cassidy and it's something that can happen in the future if the popular boxer does decide to give pro wrestling another shot.