When was Orange Cassidy’s AEW debut? First Match for Freshly Squeezed

Hamish Woodward

orange cassidy debut

One of the most unlikely stars to debut in AEW is “Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy. The superstar wrestler from “wherever” and weighing in at “whatever” has become a fan favourite in AEW in the three years since his debut, delighting all with his laissez-faire attitude mixed with incredible wrestling ability.

The AEW star has been one of the most popular wrestlers in the United States since his AEW Debut. Orange Cassidy, alongside his Best Friends Chuck Taylor and Trent, has been a key part of the AEW roster and has been in a number of high profile bouts in the promotion.

Many thought his gimmick would not work in a major promotion and that he would never break the glass ceiling of “comedy midcarder”. However, his commitment to his gimmick mixed with his incredible selling ability and exciting offense has kept him in and around the main event scene since his feud with Chris Jericho in 2020.

He competed against PAC and champion Kenny Omega in a match for the AEW Championship. This bout took place at Double or Nothing 2021 and was one of the matches of the year. Whilst he was unsuccessful he showed the world that Orange Cassidy could be a main event star and AEW Champion if given the chance by Tony Khan.

However, Orange Cassidy’s debut in wrestling came long before he signed for AEW.

Orange Cassidy debut

Orange Cassidy during his early days on the independent scene

While he had been wrestling as many different character (including under a mask in Chikara as “Fire Ant”), Orange Cassidy’s debut in wrestling did not come until 2009.

He first came up with the gimmick whilst he was wrestling in Chikara and continued using the name “Fire Ant” for many years. However, he always went back to the Orange Cassidy gimmick from his debut match all the way to his exit from Chikara in 2018.

Orange Cassidy revealed that the idea for the gimmick of the “King of Sloth Style” was a “middle finger to professional wrestling” and that he created the gimmick to differentiate himself from wrestlers who may be better than him in the ring.

He explained his character’s motivations as “If I have to wrestle, I’ll wrestle. […] It’s like one of those things, you have a job, you’re good at it, but you know, do you really wanna?”, and the character of Orange Cassidy since his debut has been compared to Ryan Gosling and his character from the movie “Drive”.

Orange Cassidy AEW Debut

Orange Cassidy made his AEW debut at Double or Nothing 2019 as part of the Casino Battle Royale. It was the first ever AEW show and Cassidy was part of a huge 21 man Battle Royale that showcased many brand new talents All Elite Wrestling wanted to introduce to their audience.

The match was a kind of Battle Royale, featuring 21 wrestlers coming in in 5 timed intervals. 4 groups of five and then one final “Joker Card”, each group being characterised by a card suit.

Orange Cassidy drew the space card and was part of the last group to enter before the Joker. He entered alongside Tommy Dreamer, Sonny Kiss, Marko Stunt and Luchasaurus in the 21 man match, and made an immediate impact.

He slid into the ring and gave his now-trademark “lazy kicks”, making the crowd laugh and impressing them with his original gimmick. He then put his hands in his pockets and did an armless kip up to the amazement of the fans.

He was soon thrown out of the ring but made a massive impact on the AEW fans. His debut made fans love Orange Cassidy immediately and he was signed to a deal with the company after the show, ready for Orange Cassidy to make his AEW Dynamite debut.

Since Orange Cassidy’s debut in AEW he has got better and better and excelled in his wrestling and character work. He has become the most popular star in the promotion at times, regularly being the top selling wrestler in the whole promotion on Prowrestlingtees.

He has the ability to be a world champion in the future and Orange Cassidy will go down as a legend in AEW once his career is said and done.

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