Cain Velasquez On WWE Allowing Him To Work One More AAA Event, Nixing The Mask, WWE Schedule, More

WWE Superstar Cain Velasquez will be working one more AAA event in the near future.

Cain spoke with Ariel Helwani earlier this week, as seen in the video above, and revealed that WWE is allowing him to finish up his contractual obligations with AAA. There's no word yet on when Cain will return to the ring for AAA, but he noted that it will be an event of AAA's choosing. Cain made his pro wrestling debut earlier this summer at AAA TripleMania, and then worked another match at the AAA Invades NY event. It was reported that he had a three-match deal with the promotion. Cain did confirm that his new deal makes him exclusive to WWE.

"So, I'm still gonna be able to compete on one of their [AAA] shows," Cain said when asked about the promotion he got into the business with. "So, that is awesome that WWE just gave me the green light to go ahead and compete on one of their shows, of AAA's choosing. They know I have one more obligation to AAA and they gave me the green light on that. So, it's just... to me it's a great opportunity to come in and be a part of the WWE roster.

While Cain has appeared with Rey Mysterio and WWE Champion Brock Lesnar on SmackDown twice and appeared with Rey again on this week's WWE Backstage preview special for a sitdown interview with Renee Young, there's been no word yet on if he will work a regular schedule. WWE does not have Cain advertised for any events past his big debut against WWE Champion Brock Lesnar at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia on October 31. Helwani asked Cain if he will have a light schedule like Lesnar, or if he will be at live events and weekly TV tapings like Ronda Rousey.

"As of right now, I really want to focus on getting better, knowing this sport in and out, and just getting better all around," Cain responded. "That's my goal. Yeah, and I'm down to do whatever match, do whatever I can to go in and obviously... the name of the game is always getting more better and more comfortable, so that's what I'm going to do and if I have to do it by doing more matches, then it's all good. But, I'm never looking past my opponent and that's Brock Lesnar right now. So, I'm solely focused on him and practicing things I can do in our match."

We've noted how Cain was expected to undergo knee surgery before making any commitment to a pro wrestling promotion. He has been sporting a knee brace on WWE TV since debuting, and it sounds like he is not planning to have surgery any time soon. Cain told Helwani that he's not worried about getting the surgery and said he's "all good" with just the brace. He expects he would still be "all good" if he didn't use the brace, but it's a precautionary measure. Cain joked that wearing the brace is a throwback nod to WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin.

Cain was also asked about possibly training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. It's no secret that Cain started training with the Pro Wrestling Revolution indie promotion at their Training Academy in San Jose, California as he lives nearby. Cain told Helwani that he will continue to train there, but he will also train at the WWE facilities and is open to training everywhere. He revealed that he is headed to the WWE Performance Center this week to work with Mysterio and have Mysterio "coach" him some. He also said Rey's son Dominick will be there with them.

Cain will not be wearing his lucha mask in WWE. Helwani asked if he will keep the mask.

"With the mask in WWE? No, I'm going to go in and compete as myself," Cain revealed.

It was recently reported that Cain enjoyed working the high-flying lucha style in Mexico, but WWE wasn't interested in using him that way because they wanted to use him as a real fighter-type who could legitimately rival Lesnar. His look will be a part of that, which is why they're doing away with the mask. Cain will also be using a theme song that is different from the somewhat traditional entrance he had in AAA. Helwani asked if Cain's "El Toro" lucha gimmick from AAA is dead or not.

"El Toro is not dead," Cain declared. He joked and laughed, "Dormant right now, until the time is right."

We noted last week how Cain announced on Twitter that he had officially retired from MMA after informing UFC officials of the decision. You can click here to read the full statement on his UFC retirement and WWE future. Helwani asked Cain if he will really stay retired and Cain reiterated the past "never say never" comments he's made in the past few weeks.

"Like I said before, I'll never say never," Cain said of his MMA future. "So, who knows, down the road if I get another fight. I think it's very possible because it's just something... yeah, man, it's just something that I love. I love to train, to compete, I love to go to practice, always learning and perfecting this craft of MMA. So, down the road, who knows?"

WWE's trips to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have been somewhat controversial since the company started running events there under their new big-money 10-year deal, because of issues with the government and culture there. Helwani asked Cain if he has any issues with going to Saudi Arabia for WWE Crown Jewel on October 31.

"Yeah man, I'm there to have my match with Brock," Cain said. "I'm there to be in the fight with him and that's it. It doesn't matter where it is, I'm there to have a great match and a great fight, and to entertain the people that are watching."

Cain is currently signed to a multi-year deal with WWE, said to be very lucrative. He will challenge Lesnar for the WWE Title on Thursday, October 31 from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which will be his in-ring debut for WWE unless they have him wrestle on TV before then. Cain was not involved in the 2019 WWE Draft and is currently not listed on the WWE website roster for RAW or SmackDown, but WWE has confirmed on their website that he signed the multi-year deal that was originally reported by ESPN.

It's interesting to note that WWE did acknowledge Cain's run with AAA during their article that covered the ESPN report.

They wrote, "While this is Velasquez's first foray into WWE, it isn't the former champion's sports-entertainment debut. He made his in-ring debut for Mexico's Lucha Libre AAA promotion over the summer in impressive showings that put him on WWE's radar, according to Raimondi's report. Now that Velasquez has put pen to paper, he won't have to look too far for his first rivalry and opponent in the squared circle. Velasquez is set for a rematch with Lesnar, now the WWE Champion, in his debut match at WWE Crown Jewel on Thursday, Oct. 31, streaming live at 8 p.m. AST/1 p.m. ET on the award-winning WWE Network."

Stay tuned for updates on Cain's WWE status and future.