AEW

Former Champion Says Fans Drove His AEW Success

Orange Cassidy reveals he owes his AEW success to early fan support, discussing his journey from comedy act to title contender ahead of his TNT Championship match.

Leonardo Cunha
Former Champion Says Fans Drove His AEW Success

Orange Cassidy’s evolution from a polarizing comedy act to a respected workhorse has become a defining narrative of AEW’s first six years, a journey culminating in a pivotal championship opportunity on AEW Dynamite’s anniversary broadcast.

Tonight in Hollywood, Florida, Cassidy is scheduled to challenge Kyle Fletcher for the TNT Championship. Ahead of the match, the former record-setting AEW International Champion reflected on his unique career path and the factors that enabled his ascent from a cult figure to a company mainstay.

He attributed his breakthrough directly to the audience’s early adoption of his character, which he believes convinced AEW leadership of his value before he was an established commodity within the promotion.

“I think it’s really the fans’ fault because they were very open and receptive before AEW, before Tony Khan really knew who I was, and they were reacting,” Cassidy stated. “I think it allowed them to be like, ‘All right, well, if they’re reacting, he must know something that we don’t.’ I was very lucky that the fans were reacting to what I was doing.”

Cassidy also highlighted his creative partnership with AEW President Tony Khan, citing it as crucial for avoiding being typecast and for allowing him to showcase his in-ring skills beyond his laid-back persona.

“He still works very close to me about what I’m doing,” Cassidy said. “It’s nice to have your boss understand what you’re doing and facilitate it. I could have got pigeonholed somewhere else. It could have been the same thing we see all the other times, but I think he allowed me to do this stuff because he also knew that I wanted to wrestle, too. That was nice.”

Now firmly cemented as a foundational member of the roster, Cassidy expressed his gratitude for his place in the company’s history.

“I’m just very grateful to be a part of AEW and to be a part of the history,” he affirmed. “I do like that when you think of AEW, you have to at least think of me, and that feels very special.”

The championship bout is a key feature of a loaded anniversary broadcast. The show will be headlined by a major trios match pitting AEW World Champion Hangman Adam Page, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Samoa Joe against Jon Moxley, Daniel Garcia, and Claudio Castagnoli. The event is also set to feature the televised returns of both “Timeless” Toni Storm and Jurassic Express.