10 Wrestlers Who Overdelivered In 2023
6. Orange Cassidy
In 2023, the wrestling purists will need to find something else to get annoyed about when it comes to Orange Cassidy. With his incredibly creative and funny slacker gimmick, the king of sloth style has been a bete noire for those who think wrestling peaked in 1983.
Well, this year, Cassidy really tried. During his stint with the All Atlantic Championship, he turned a nothingy, tertiary belt into a prize worth winning, worth headlining PPVs. He wrestled a relentless TV schedule, becoming the most reliable performer in AEW’s arsenal, telling a great, long running story as the sheer workload chipped away at his body.
He did this all without compromising his character, finally falling valiantly to Jon Moxley in All Out’s main event. When injury issues saw the belt land once more in Cassidy’s backpack, the smart money was on the Mox rematch going the same way, the story just restarting.
Instead, Cassidy was given his best vote of confidence to date, triumphing over the former World Champion in a battle of wills. The workload has given OC a phenomenal showcase, and he has risen to the challenge like few could have imagined when this endearingly goofy gimmick first hit the scene.