10 Most Controversial Wrestlers On The Planet Right Now

1. Orange Cassidy

Baron Corbin King
AEW

In an industry that has given us voodoo witchdoctors, incestuous pirates, hispanic men who have disavowed their heritage to become white men, fat chick thrillers, evil bearers of Christmas gifts, and this one doofus who uses a sledgehammer as a weapon, as if you'd find it around a ring and it wouldn't kill somebody, its fans are up in arms about a guy who wrestles with his hands in his pockets.

Orange Cassidy wrestles ironically. He lightly grazes the calves of his opponents with apathetic kicks, and rolls around the canvas when his opponents are running the ropes. This deeply annoys fans who enjoy wrestling as the strictest emulation of sport. To them, Cassidy is a disgrace to the mat where their childhood heroes once stood. But Cassidy's work is credible in a different context; when faced with a David Starr or a Nick Gage, he either drops the pretence immediately, or furthers it to draw an error from his incandescent, over-emotional opponent.

Author's take: Again: Orange Cassidy ruins wrestling like a remake of a popular film. Vince Vaughn didn't erase the master footage of the original Psycho. You can ignore his performance, just like you can ignore Cassidy's. The rolling-on-the-mat spot is too much, but Cassidy's schtick is so absurd to be hilarious - and pissed-off, that's-it Cassidy does a better suicide dive with his hands in his pockets than the WWE Universal Champion.

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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!