AEW Double or Nothing 2019 was the first official AEW event. While All In was the precursor to the promotion run by The Elite themselves, Double or Nothing was the beginning. And on that event, in a Casino Battle Royale on the pre-show, was the AEW debut of a man who would become one of AEW’s most popular stars. “Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy, a future AEW Champion
Orange Cassidy in AEW
Freshly Squeezed
Orange Cassidy has become one of the most popular wrestlers in AEW. He consistently receives the biggest cheers at AEW shows, and his shirts are among the biggest sellers on ProWrestlingTees.com.
His gimmick, however, immediately divided his opinion upon his debut in AEW. His “fake kicks” and lazy attitude rubbed people the wrong way. It was a comedy gimmick, one that shat on wrestling and made it look fake.
But it didn’t. Nothing about Orange Cassidy, in any way, called the sanctity of wrestling into question. Nothing he did was fake. No-one pretended that his lazy kicks did any damage. Not one person had to look like an idiot while he did his “not trying” schtick. He made himself look better than them, but didn’t make them look dumb.
The character of Orange Cassidy is someone that doesn’t want to try. He’s lazy. He’s a slacker. Up until the Chris Jericho feud, he never really had to try. There were brief moments of effort against PAC at AEW Revolution 2020, but they were few and far between.
But that was the genius of Orange Cassidy. He didn’t need to try. OC was winning matches, and handily. He defeated Will Hobbs in 19 seconds on one episode of AEW Dark, luring him in with his lackadaisical nature and nailing him with an Orange Punch.
Cassidy uses his incredibly innovated offence, which includes doing whole sequences of moves with hands in his pockets, to bamboozle his opponents and put on supremely entertaining matches.
Finding a unique niche in wrestling is a rare thing. Everything has already been done, until it hasn’t. Orange Cassidy’s gimmick was one of those things. It was so unique and fresh that even if you hated it, you had to watch it. And if you didn’t hate it, you loved it
Orange Cassidy – AEW Champion?
Orange Cassidy rose his way up the ranks of AEW over time. He turned his overwhelming popularity into a spell in the main event. He entered into a multi-pay pay view, multi month fued with former AEW Champion Chris Jericho.
The feud culminated with a new match type, inspired by Orange Cassidy. Cassidy won this “Mimosa Mayhem” match by throwing Jericho into a pool of Orange Juice.
He would also go on to challenge the AEW Champion of the time, Chris Jericho. At AEW Double or Nothing 2021, just two years after his AEW Debut, Cassidy competed in a triple threat match for the AEW Championship. As well as the AEW Champion Kenny Omega, Freshly Squeezed had to deal with a former foe of his, PAC.
Omega retained his title, but the match had you believing that Cassidy was going to be the new AEW Champion.
And he should. Orange Cassidy should be the AEW Champion.
He has got over with a gimmick that many thought was dead on arrival. He has shown himself to be a fantastic in ring talent, and one of the best underdogs in wrestling today. His offence is unique, and his selling is some of the best in AEW.
At the very, very least, a TNT Championship is in Orange Cassidy’s AEW future. However, he should be world Champion. Maybe a year or two down the line, and maybe a short reign.
But Orange Cassidy should be the AEW World Champion.
Want to read more about Orange Cassidy? Check out our Top 10 Best Orange Cassidy Matches