AEW’s Tony Khan Praises Orange Cassidy: There's Really Something To This Guy

When Orange Cassidy first turned up in AEW he was a strange anomaly, the sloth-like slacker who threw kicks without any fire behind them. Now, Orange Cassidy is one of the most popular stars in all of AEW, and has been involved in many main event matches across Dynamite and PPV.

AEW President Tony Khan has gone on record to praise the King of Sloth Style, saying to PWInsider:

“I sat down with him and ended up forming a connection that I think has served us both very well and talked to him about the character and some of the stuff that I thought was great about it and some of the stuff that I didn’t understand, and he really opened my eyes and helped me understand it. You know, the kicks, a lot of people talk about those kicks. And over two years ago, before the first Dynamite, he talked me through it and said, those aren’t something anybody’s ever supposed to sell.

“Those are a taunt like it’s like getting in the head of the opponent, essentially. Not in so many words, he doesn’t talk in so many words, but effectively, that’s not what it is. And in fact, he told me only one person of who I’ll let remain nameless. He told me that only one person had ever sold the kicks. And he told me who it was, and it made me laugh on an independent show. And that’s not what they’re for. And then that made sense to me. Okay. That’s like a taunt, right. That makes sense.

“The more I talk to him about the spots and different things that we could do, the more I realised there’s really something to this guy, and to be honest, since this is an insider interview, I think now it’s been a couple of years, a lot of people have figured out, he used to wrestle as Fire Ant and he told me that, and I was much more familiar with Fire Ant than I was with Orange Cassidy. Fire Ant’s a great wrestler. And so I knew what he could do. And then we sat there. From when I first saw him, I didn’t know what he was going to be, but by the end of this first conversation, I thought he could be something so special.

“I was really grateful that The Young Bucks told me to talk to him, and they thought he had something, and they were right. And then I started working with him really closely, and now, Orange and I, it’s no secret to people that have seen all the videos and stuff I’ve done with him. I am very close to him, and I work with him really closely, and he is a huge part of AEW. And when I first saw Orange Cassidy, I wouldn’t have expected that, but then when I first sat down and talked to him and learned what he’s all about and who the person is and how intelligent he really is.”