Cain Velasquez explains why he decided to sign with Lucha Libre AAA for his first run in pro wrestling.
The former UFC heavyweight champion spoke with Robbie Fox on his podcast, "My Mom's Basement" and talked about his upbringing as a wrestling fan. Velasquez said he grew up watching Mexican stars such as El Santo and Blue Demon and had always been a wrestling fan. Velasquez surprised many when it was announced that he would be making his pro wrestling debut at AAA's TripleMania XXVII show, not long after Velasquez had returned to the octagon.
Although Velasquez did previously work out with WWE at the Performance Center, Velasquez said his reason to go with AAA is because he wanted to re-connect with his roots as a wrestling fan and wanted to do so by wrestling for the company he watched when he was a kid. It all resulted in him making his debut at TripleMania in August when he teamed with Cody Rhodes and Psycho Clown to take on Texano Jr, Taurus and Killer Kross.
"I was just a little kid, probably four years old when I was watching lucha libre, watching Santo, Blue Demon, Mil Mascaras with my dad and my family. To me, watching those guys wrestle, they were the stars of their era. That to me was cool and made them seem larger than life and that's what drew me in... If I was going to do this, I had to go and re-live my childhood and do what made me fall in love with the sport in the first place, the lucha style of wrestling with the mask," Velasquez said.
Velasquez is scheduled to return to AAA on September 15 at the company's show in Madison Square Garden. He will team up with Brian Cage and Psycho Clown once more and face Texano Jr., Taurus and Scorpion King. Velasquez will also wrestle at AAA's October 13 event at The Forum in Inglewood, California.
The full interview between Velasquez and Fox can be heard in the podcast at this link.
