10 Weird Secrets To Wrestlers' Success

10. Orange Cassidy - Playing An Oxymoron Of A Character

The Orange Cassidy character is such a fantastically inspired punchline in itself because it is so absurd.

He is a combat athlete. His chosen profession requires immense dedication. But he can't really be a*sed, as articulated by his look, apathetic kicks and the fact that, in the old world anyway, he couldn't even hold his wrist upright to properly greet the fans at ringside.

It makes sense that the character got over on an independent circuit that has long embraced the avant garde. It was hysterical, when received in the intended spirit; by rolling around apathetically on the canvas, as a bemused opponent "leapt" over him, Cassidy mocked the response to his act more than he ever mocked "the business" itself. He lovingly exposed the inherent artifice that existed well before he was even born.

But on national television?

Cassidy used his intelligence to refine the act, using a much-loved independent match opposite David Starr (sigh) as the template: he was an irreverent slacker clever enough to enrage the competition and lull them into rash mistakes.

In a hellscape of a world that pulses with constant anxiety, Cassidy got over - he was a top seller on ProWrestlingTees in 2020, and didn't get the spot because AEW VP Chris Harrington doesn't know his numbers - because he was aspirational.