10 Huge Wrestling Stars Who Lost To Ridiculous Opponents

4. Adam Cole Loses To Orange Cassidy

Adam Cole Orange Cassidy
AEW

Orange Cassidy isn't in himself a ridiculous opponent; his bit is strategy, half the WWE roster "break" "kayfabe" more than he does with their flying nothings, and, per those pesky numbers that people can't sanction, because it fractures their fabricated delusions, he's a very popular merch-shifter of an act.

The timing of his programme with Adam Cole, however, was disastrous.

It was bad enough that Cole lost, albeit in a Lights Out match, ahead of a main event show-down opposite Hangman Page on pay-per-view. The puzzling booking was compounded by the suboptimal side of Tony Khan's noble long-term booking vision, one that seeks to protect the prestige of the World Title. It's difficult enough to buy that the defending champion isn't making it out of the first PPV without his belt intact, based on precedent. With this strange result, Khan made it all but impossible for fans to suspend their disbelief.

The series didn't click to the elite standard, either; seemingly premised on "Adam Cole has a very expressive face and it's funny when people react to Orange's hijinks," it was far more quirky than substantial.

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Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!