On the day of AEW Dynamite's sixth anniversary, one of the company's original stars, "Freshly Squeezed" Orange Cassidy, has reflected on his unique journey and the reasons for his incredible popularity. In a new interview, Cassidy humbly credited the fans for getting his character over, even before AEW President Tony Khan fully understood his vision. Since debuting with the company in 2019, Cassidy has evolved from a cult favorite comedy act into one of the most reliable and beloved workhorses on the roster, including a record-setting reign as the AEW International Champion.
Speaking with The Sportster ahead of his championship match on tonight's anniversary show, Cassidy explained how the fans' early support was crucial to his success.
“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. 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.”
He also praised his close working relationship with Tony Khan. “He still works very close to me about what I’m doing. 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.”
Finally, he spoke about his pride in being a foundational part of the company's history.
I’m just very grateful to be a part of AEW and to be a part of the history. I do like that when you think of AEW, you have to at least think of me, and that feels very special.
Tonight on the sixth anniversary episode of AEW Dynamite, Orange Cassidy will challenge Kyle Fletcher for the TNT Championship.
