Earlier this week, Dave Meltzer reported that Cain Velasquez has quietly been released by WWE. The former UFC Heavyweight Champion was fired as a result of budget cuts which are taking place as the company looks for ways to combat potential losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
We've previously heard that Velasquez had signed a multi-year deal with WWE, but no details were ever revealed when it came to how long that was for. However, according to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select, it was supposed to keep him part of WWE until 2022. There's no word on why WWE changed his mind about him, but they clearly didn't believe he was worth the money (the response to his Crown Jewel match wasn't great).
The site adds that those they've spoken to in WWE have said that Velasquez was always very nice and respectful while training at the WWE Performance Center, so a bad attitude clearly wasn't the problem.
Worryingly, they also add that, "there are other names that have been cut that WWE didn’t publicly announce." Needless to say, we now can't help but wonder who that could be referring to, but if WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg is under any sort of contract, we wouldn't be surprised if he's one of them.
As always, we'll keep you updated.