10 Times Wrestling Feuds Crossed Over Promotions

5. Cain Velasquez Vs. Brock Lesnar

Tyson Jericho
WWE.com

In a strange bit of business, WWE, driven by spite and a quest for mainstream legitimacy - two of its favoured cocktails - went on a right old bender in 2019.

Brock Lesnar was put down years ago in UFC by Cain Velasquez, who assumed his aura in the aftermath. Cain didn't just drop him; he marked him. It was an humiliating and definitive loss, one that the scripted confines of professional wrestling could reverse.

This was the weird approach WWE decided to take - inherently, one result is easier to purchase than the other - after Cain first dabbled with the worked art in AAA. There, his incongruous diving earned him some ironic western meme buzz, which landed him too close to AAA partner AEW for WWE's liking. Cain was signed to a deal and landed in the Lesnar feud immediately.

His look garnered criticism through the optics of the pro wrestling fan, but we were told that it belied his incredible cardiovascular engine, which he needed all of two minutes of in Saudi Arabia. There, he did the decisive job to the Beast in a convincing yet damaging - stigmatising is the best word - approximation of an MMA fight. He vanished afterwards, never to be seen again.

Kofi Kingston nursed the hangover; the tedious "controversy" of his sudden squash loss incited this disaster.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!