Orange Cassidy is not a rah-rah, cheerleader type.
That much is obvious if you’re at all familiar with his work. The AEW International Champion, currently in his second reign, is the last person you’d look to for an inspiring speech.
What Cassidy has done over the past few years, despite the slacker nature of his character, is work his butt off. He’s been omnipresent for the company, arguably having the best combination of quantity and quality of work of anyone.
That in itself is a form of leadership, and Cassidy isn’t the only one in AEW who does it. In a recent interview with Adrian Hernandez, Freshly Squeezed named the person he looks up to for a similar style of positive influence (h/t Fightful for the transcription).
Jon Moxley is a leader for AEW and I think a lot of people look to Jon Moxley for leadership. I am too, like Jon Moxley, a person that leads by example and I saw the example that he was setting and I was like, ‘You know, I want to do that.’ I try. I try, but no one can be Jon Moxley because there is no (other) Jon Moxley. I am forever in his debt for him changing and bringing out this version of me that is clearly a better version because I still have [AEW International Title].
It makes perfect sense to hold up Mox in this fashion, as like Cassidy, he has been as reliable a performer as AEW has ever had. There are countless stories of Moxley being slated for time off and delaying it because the company needed someone to step up due to injuries and other unforeseen circumstances, and he truly was the rock on which AEW’s foundation was built.
The only difference is that one could picture Moxley being more vocal when need be, but he still doesn’t fit the mold of a stereotypical pep talk enthusiast. Nevertheless, there’s little doubt that other wrestlers can learn a lot from both Moxley and Cassidy, and having them both on the roster is a big feather in AEW’s cap.