Orange Cassidy has proven to be one of the most entertaining wrestlers in the world, but he had his share of detractors, especially early on.
While his style is unique and typically something we’d only see in a video game, and given the nature of the spot fests that are basically video game wrestling, it was like a character being brought to life.
One that was critical of him in the beginning was Jim Ross, and he even called Tony Kahn out in a production meeting over it.
One of the biggest stars
Prior to AEW Revolution, Tony Kahn appeared on Busted Open Radio where he was asked if any of his roster exceeded his expectations.
Special thanks to Wrestlinginc.com for the transcript.
“A lot of people were critical of him [Orange Cassidy]. Some of the smartest people in the wrestling business were really critical and still are to some extent of him. Orange Cassidy, who is the big face of the Revolution Ladder Match this weekend and has been just — it’s just a fact, whether people like it or not, he’s been one of the biggest ratings draws in our company. And in terms of selling merchandise, like online engagement for streaming and hits, he is one of the most important people.
“I don’t think anybody expected that going in and I didn’t expect that going in, but I could see he was getting over and one of the things I think I’m strong at is course-correcting because I’m not always right, and I do try and stay engaged with the fans and pay attention to what moves the needle with them.
“We were in the production meeting the first year and JR, not under his breath, said something about how stupid the whole thing was in the first year and in front of everyone because Jim called me out in front of the entire room. So I said back to him, ‘Jim, this is getting over and it’s doing ratings every time and we’ve barely scratched the surface on what the guy can do, and he’s actually a really good wrestler and I think you should give him a chance and talk to him because he actually is a very intelligent wrestling person once you get to know him, and we have barely scratched the surface on what this guy can do, trust me.’
“A lot of people might not like it, but frankly, he has become one of our big stars, and that is probably the best example of somebody what I thought they could do coming in because really I thought he was gonna be like a manager mostly coming in. Once I realized how gifted he actually is, I had no idea Orange Cassidy was Fire Ant when I first met him. When I realized that was the same guy and he is a great pro wrestler, then that’s when I came up with the idea to — let’s hide that for 6 to 8 months and not show anyone all the stuff you can do until the first Revolution, and that’s when you make your debut in your first real match, and that’s when you show people you can really wrestle.”
A pleasant surprise
We were on the fence with Cassidy in the beginning because he was a huge unknown for us. His gimmick had a cool feel to it, but it was hard to imagine how he’d evolve it over time.
We’re glad they worked that out and now it’s fun seeing how Cassidy has brought everything together to become one of the top stars in the world.
AEW has helped shine a light on some of the greats in the Indie ranks, and Kahn has done a pretty solid job of setting it up as a surprise and we’re enjoying every minute of it.
What do you think of Orange Cassidy between his AEW debut and now? Let us know in the comments below.
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