Orange Cassidy Never Wanted AEW World Title, But Will He Be Pushed to Step Up?
In the world of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where ambition and intensity outline careers, there’s one performer who has gained repute by using going in opposition to the grain—Orange Cassidy. A pro wrestling enigma, Cassidy’s rise has defied expectations in a merchandising where each wrestler’s intention is typically straightforward: to earn a shot on the AEW World Title. Surprisingly, for Cassidy, becoming AEW World Champion changed into never in his plans. As he defined in a current interview, the identify embodies the essence of professional wrestling, a position he in no way estimated for himself. Yet, AEW storylines recommend he might also have to reconsider.
Since AEW’s inception in 2019, Orange Cassidy turned into a thriller to fans. Known for his “lazy guy” gimmick—nonchalant inside and out of the hoop—he wasn’t regarded as a future World Champion or maybe a relevant contender. Over time, however, Cassidy confirmed a brand new side to his recreation, gradually demonstrating his athletic prowess and quiet electricity, remodeling his image from a unusual persona to a loved, tough-hitting AEW unique.
Cassidy’s career in AEW saw him finally discover his footing, and he went on to come to be the longest-reigning AEW International Champion with terrific title runs. Together, they spanned an impressive 471 days, dwarfing even the nearest challenger, PAC, who held the belt for simply 108 days in overall. This success established Cassidy as arguably the greatest International Champion in AEW’s history. But at the same time as lovers noticed him as a primary participant, the World Title nonetheless remained some thing Cassidy never set his sights on.
Cassidy opened up about his views on the AEW World Title in an interview with B.J. Lisko of Youngstown Studio, describing his sentiments with a surprising humility. “AEW World Champion, to me, represents professional wrestling,” he explained. “I feel that it represents what professional wrestling should be, can be, is, and to wear that championship means that you are the best wrestler in the world. So it’s something I never thought I would try to attain.”
Cassidy’s casual dismissal of the title ambition aligns with his personality, one that avoids grand shows of ambition or ego. When recalling his preceding chance at the World Title—a triple-chance match in 2021’s Double or Nothing event towards Kenny Omega and PAC—Cassidy discovered it changed into Don Callis who fee him the victory. While he admitted he almost won, he stopped brief of expressing any regrets, brushing off the prospect along with his trademark apathy: “I think I just didn’t want it. I don’t know.”
Yet, the sector of AEW by no means stands nonetheless, and Cassidy can be forced to stand his destiny in a storyline now pulling him in a new route. Recently, Jon Moxley, AEW’s difficult-hitting World Champion, has shaped a rogue faction, inflicting havoc and putting a goal at the promotion’s again. Amid this chaos, Cassidy has observed himself at the frontline. During the October 23rd episode of Dynamite, his longtime buddy and tag-group associate, Chuck Taylor, advised him to take a stand, telling him, “it’s time to step up as a leader.”
The seeds had been planted for Cassidy to in the end count on a main role in the protection of AEW. Moxley’s faction poses a clear hazard, and AEW fanatics are trying to Cassidy as a person who would possibly all of sudden upward push to the occasion. And though Cassidy has downplayed the significance of the World Title, this brewing storyline may want to in the long run assignment his indifference, trying out whether or not he’s willing to shoulder AEW’s hopes.
Whether Orange Cassidy ultimately embraces or resists the mantle of AEW World Champion, his adventure embodies the contradictions that make him so compelling. In a world dominated via ambition, Cassidy’s nonchalance is his defining fine—a unique person in a universe full of opponents prepared to sacrifice the whole thing for a flavor of glory.