Top UFC Feud Was Reportedly Nearly Reignited In AAA

Last week, Lucha Libre AAA unveiled the four participants selected to replace Kenny Omega in the AAA Mega Championship match against Hijo del Vikingo. A new report however suggests that even more was planned for the event. Confirming a statement from AAA booker Konnan on his Keepin It 100 with Konnan podcast, ESPN reporter Marc Raimondi discussed a proposed angle involving Cain Velasquez and American Top Team member Junior dos Santos.

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"I had heard this, too," Raimondi tweeted. "The pitch was to fly dos Santos and Dan Lambert down to Mexico, and JDS would have started a storyline in AAA with his old UFC rival Cain Velasquez. Would have been fun, but dos Santos couldn't do it."

As explained by Konnan, Junior dos Santos would've confronted Velasquez following the conclusion of a trios match, where Velasquez will team with Pagano and top AAA star Psycho Clown to take on Impact's Black Taurus, Rey Escorpion and lucha libre legend LA Park. According to Konnan, plans for Junior dos Santos were ultimately scrapped due to dos Santos having a scheduling conflict. JDS is scheduled to be part of Triller's "Night of Heavyweights" boxing event the same week as TripleMania Regia.

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The scrapped confrontation would've restarted the real-life rivalry between the former UFC Champions. Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez previously fought three times in the Octagon, with dos Santos defeating Velasquez at UFC on Fox 1 in November of 2011 to win the UFC Heavyweight Championship. Velasquez would later get his revenge at UFC 155 by defeating dos Santos in a rematch to regain the UFC Heavyweight Championship on December 29, 2012. A rubber fight at UFC 166 saw Velasquez defeat Junior dos Santos a second time to retain the title.

TripleMania Regia will feature Velasquez' first wrestling appearance since October of 2019, where he lost to Brock Lesnar at WWE Crown Jewel. He was released from WWE in April of 2020. Prior to his WWE run, Velasquez wrestled twice for AAA, first at TripleMania XXVII and again at AAA Invading NY, both in 2019. In both matches, Velasquez and his teams emerged victoriously.

TripleMania Regia will take place this Saturday, December 4, in Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. The four top matches on the show, including Velasquez' match, will air live internationally on FITE TV.

You can read Raimondi's tweet below.

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