WWE Rumors: Cain Velasquez was offered so much money that AEW didn't even attempt to counter
Cain Velasquez recently confirmed that he had signed a multi-year contract with WWE. Before putting pen to paper, the former UFC Heavyweight Champion was subjected to tremendous interest from various promotions around the world. AEW, NJPW and CMLL were all in the running to get Velasquez on board.
However, Velasquez chose to sign with Vince McMahon's company and is all set to make his in-ring debut for them at Crown Jewel.
Dave Meltzer opened up about Velasquez's WWE deal in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, stating that it is different from the rest and quite a lucrative one indeed.
Despite AEW having deep financial reserves, the company didn't even put forth a counter offer to sign Velasquez before WWE did. That's how lucrative WWE's contract with Velasquez is.
Meltzer wrote:
"Velasquez is a different deal. Velasquez signed what was described as an extremely lucrative multi-year deal with WWE. The deal was big enough that AEW didn’t even attempt to counter, and UFC, which had him under contract, gave him their blessing."
Velasquez made his first WWE appearance on the SmackDown premiere on FOX to confront Brock Lesnar. Flanked by Rey Mysterio, Velasquez went on to unleash some ground and pound on the Beast Incarnate.
It was later confirmed that Velasquez and Lesnar will face each other at Crown Jewel for the WWE Championship in Saudi Arabia on October 31st.
Velasquez was also not included during the Draft as the WWE had a reason to keep him away from the two-day shakeup. He has retired as a mixed martial artist and will devote all his attention towards setting up a successful pro wrestling career. He has been training at the Performance Center for the Crown Jewel match which we hope lives up to the hype.
The last time Lesnar and Velasquez came face-to-face was inside the UFC Octagon in 2010 which the latter won via knockout. While the premise for the rematch is different, Lesnar vs. Velasquez II promises to be an entertaining ride.
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