Since his debut in 2019, Orange Cassidy has become one of the most beloved stars in all of All Elite Wrestling.
From his first match in the Casino Battle Royal at Double or Nothing 2019 to his AEW All-Atlantic Championship victory against PAC, Freshly Squeezed has been a constant fixture in the AEW main event scene.
Either as part of the Best Friends or as a solo act, he has become one of the most popular man in wrestling. He was the top-selling superstar in ProWrestlingTees for a number of years, only surpassed by a returning CM Punk.
Meanwhile, Velveteen Dream had a tumultuous time since then, and has pretty much left the wrestling business altogether.
He was the fastest rising star in wrestling, during his time working for the WWE in NXT. He was discovered by their Tough Enough reality show, and used that to create one of the most interesting characters in NXT.
Despite being touted as a future WWE Champion, Velveteen Dream was fired by the WWE after being arrested, following accusations toward him from some teenage boys on Twitter.
It was alleged that Velveteen Dream sent explicit messages and photos to numerous underage boys, and later an underage boy. These allegations were a part of the wider “Speaking Out” movement which was making waves in wrestling in 2020.
Along with Velveteen Dream, other stars like Marty Scurll and David Starr had their careers derailed due to allegations, whilst Jimmy Havoc was fired from AEW for admitting that the things he was accused of were true.
The Velveteen Dream has not wrestled since being fired by the WWE. His last match took place on the 23rd December 2020, when he lost a fantastic match against Adam Cole.
Because of this, it seems inconceivable that Velveteen Dream vs Orange Cassidy could have been a match that happened. It sounds like a dream match of sorts, and a bout that is one that could only take place on a booking simulator, like TEW 2020.
All being said, you will be shocked to hear that Orange Cassidy vs Velveteen Dream actually happened.
Once.
Orange Cassidy vs Velveteen Dream
At the EVOLVE123 show, Orange Cassidy wrestled against NXT star Velveteen Dream, in a massive main event match.
Dream’s appearance was the big selling point of the show. The event took place on March 15th 2019, which was prior to Cassidy’s debut in AEW.
He was not the star he once was, but was still entrusted to be in the main event of a star-studded show.
As well as Orange Cassidy, many future stars also wrestled on the show. The likes of Eddie Kingston, Darby Allin, Austin Theory and Swerve Strickland on the show, and have since become big stars in AEW and WWE.
At EVOLVE 123, Velveteen Dream was the NXT North American Champion, but this match a non-title affair.
Dream was the most popular wrestler on the show, although Cassidy’s gimmick had got over huge with the crowd. His lazy, uninterested style had the crowd in stitches, which he coupled by being one of the best in-ring workers in the world.
The match lasted only 12 minutes, and featured a lot of posturing from both men. They each presented their gimmicks to the fullest, with the Velveteen Dream prancing and gyrating around the ring.
Meanwhile, Cassidy did his classic “hands in the pocket” routine, which was still brand new to the audience back then. He had them in the palm of his hand, and spent half the match before he even laid hands on his opponent.
There wasn’t much to the match, but the fans in attendance went crazy for it. Both men were on the top of their game, and you could see the birth of two top stars on that day (despite how Velveteen Dream’s career would go soon after).
WWE’s Velveteen Dream won the bout, after hitting a combination Death Valley Driver and a diving elbow drop, pinning him for the victory and ending the first and only Velveteen Dream vs Orange Cassidy match.
Orange Cassidy vs Velveteen Dream could have been a WrestleMania main event, if things had turned out differently for the pair – how do you think a match between the two on a big stage would have gone?
