Orange Cassidy has enjoyed a meteoric rise to stardom — and he’s just shocked as you are

Is a “dude in jeans and sunglasses” more relatable to AEW newcomers than the standard wrestling stereotypes? Orange Cassidy thinks so.

Professional wrestling is no stranger to iconic looks.

Fans still talk about Hulk Hogan’s red and yellow, Ric Flair’s bedazzled robes and Hart’s pink and black ring gear. Steve Austin’s look was so iconic he made wearing a pair of knee braces look cool. We couldn’t possibly forget about John Cena’s jorts or Seth Rollins’ outlandish style.

All of these could make for some great costumes this Halloween. But while you’re out trick or treating in your neighborhood, don’t be surprised if you see a few people walking around in denim jackets, denim joggers, white t-shirts and aviator sunglasses — a freshly-squeezed look that belongs to the one and only Orange Cassidy.

When AEW began in 2019, it not only represented an opportunity for established talent to have somewhere to ply their trade outside of WWE, it was also a place for fresh faces that were hungry for the opportunity to shine on a big stage.

Outside of Maxwell Jacob Friedman, no one has benefited more from that opportunity than Cassidy. Not only is Cassidy a two-time (and the longest-reigning) AEW International Champion, but he is also a prime cosplay candidate, which could potentially expand his notoriety far beyond wrestling.

But no one is more surprised by his meteoric rise than Cassidy himself.

“I stood in a ring with people that I never thought I would stand in a ring with,” Cassidy said during an interview ahead of AEW’s Dynamite/Rampage taping in Philadelphia (where Cassidy resides) on Oct. 25. 

“It started with Chris Jericho and then it gets more and more wild, like, when you have a Katsuyori Shibata and I’m literally sitting criss-cross applesauce in the middle of the ring with and we’re slapping each other in the face.”

“I just never thought I would get to these points, and for me, internally, it doesn’t feel like I should be doing these things … it wasn’t even a thought in my brain that I’d be doing this,” he added.

Before landing in AEW, Cassidy spent years fighting to make a name for himself on the independent circuit, which typically doesn’t generate the audience for anyone to make some sort of cultural impact.

But that all changed when Cassidy finally received the big break he was looking for in 2019, signing with upstart AEW. Now arenas with thousands of people and hundreds of thousands of more watching at home got to see what was only seen in bars, recreational centers and VFW halls up until that point: the “King of Sloth Style.”

Cassidy admits he tries not to think about his potential impact on pop culture because, in his words, his “brain would explode,” but he’s not oblivious to it. He understands that for some, he was not just a fun and easy costume. He was also their gateway to AEW.

“I’m just being me,” Cassidy says modestly, but whether it’s his all-denim look or his unique style in the ring, Cassidy has a knack for connecting with people.

“When you show somebody two men in a ring wearing small black trunks slap each other in the chest, I don’t think somebody outside of professional wrestling will really fully understand that,” Cassidy said. “But if you see a dude in jeans and sunglasses come out, I think you kind of understand that. I take a lot of pride in introducing people to AEW.”

On Wednesday night in Philadelphia, Cassidy will be taking part in a tag team match where he is teaming with Kazuchika Okada (one of the greatest of all time) to go up against Bryan Danielson (also one of the greatest of all time) and Claudio Castagnoli (one of the greatest wrestlers of his generation). 

Four years ago, Cassidy might have stuck out among these greats like a sore thumb. Today, it’s just whatever, because he has proven time and time again that he belongs there.

“I watched a lot of my friends and other wrestlers that I would travel with and wrestle against getting a lot of opportunities and I wasn’t, but I just kept showing up and I just kept doing it,” Cassidy recalled.

“I never thought, ‘Oh, I should be here or I should do something,’ No, I’m just going to keep at it. I’m going to do what I want to do. I just happened to get lucky and it worked out.”