AEW (All Elite Wrestling) has brought a lot of previously unknown names to the forefront, and it’s been good for them and for fans as we get to see different styles and personas. We’ve been introduced to wrestlers we may never have seen before, and their original gimmicks. While there are always winners and losers in these types of things, others fall in the middle, often too strange or dumb for us to really figure it out. Into this void has fallen Orange Cassidy’s gimmick.
While he’s had success and won a couple of championships in his travels, Orange Cassidy remains an enigma, albeit very popular.
Too weird to fail
Some gimmicks are simply too weird to fail. They grab our attention and hold us captive. Like watching a car crash, we can’t look away. But unlike a car crash, we get some sort of entertainment out of it.
For all the quirks, Cassidy is fun to watch. He’s the epitome of a slacker that goes half effort with his hands in his pockets and spits orange juice in his opponent’s faces for the win. Beyond that, he’s incredibly athletic as shown when he flips up from the mat with his hands in his pockets, or climbs up and performs a jump from the top rope with his hands in his pockets.
But the fact he casually taps his opponent’s legs with his foot and hasn’t gotten knocked out breaks the magic of the moment. It’s like a child tormenting their sibling or adult because they’re bored.
He’s perfect for the current generation of fans because of his lackadaisical attitude. Put a plaid shirt and long hair on him, and he’d be perfect for the ‘90’s grunge scene. Or give him torn acid-washed jeans, jacket, and heavy metal shirt and he’d fit the ‘80s in general.
AEW has big plans for Orange Cassidy
Given his popularity, this makes sense. Promoters want to cash in on their popular wrestlers and ride them as long as possible. Everyone’s looking for the next Hulk Hogan or Ric Flair, but Orange Cassidy probably won’t be in that mold.
Like Jim Cornette recently said, he’s afraid the powers-that-be in AEW (this idea came from Cody Rhodes) will follow through on this like the intergender division idea put forth by Kenny Omega.
His fear of having a promotion that gives wrestlers and fans an option besides WWE will make a mockery of wrestling and ruin any chance for legitimate professional wrestling done on a big budget.
This could be dangerous territory for AEW to traverse. While there’s room to meet in the middle between old school and new school, this could chase away fans and leave them with people just looking for something goofy to watch, like Orange Cassidy’s gimmick
There’s a term in Hollywood, “Jump the shark,” and this could be one of those moments with AEW.
Of course, it couldn’t be any worse than the WWE’s 24/7 championship mockery, and maybe that’s the point.
They’re looking to expand their audience, and if that includes some possibly ridiculous angles, then they’ll explore it.
As fans, we’ve become so used to seeing a spectacle instead of a well thought out match or storyline that we may not give it a second thought. And if we do, what then?
We either stick it out and hope it gets better, or we shake our heads and walk away, possibly to the NWA (National Wrestling Alliance) or another promotion that is still grounded in legitimate storytelling through matches instead of antics meant to hide the flaws in a creative direction.
Cassidy will do his thing and sell himself to the max, so it’s too early to say where it’s going one way or another. Let’s hope Rhodes and AEW know what they’re doing and we don’t lose an important alternative over a couple of weird gimmicks.
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