8 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (24 May - Review)

Ups...

8. Orange Cassidy Is Still The Best

Orange Cassidy
AEW

Orange Cassidy is a genius professional wrestler. That isn't hyperbole; very few in his field are capable of doing what he does, and while the evidence has been mounting for some time, I witnessed it live in person last night.

The International title defence against Kyle Fletcher had a lot working against it. Chiefly, it was more predictable than most, since the Blackjack battle royal had already been announced. Cassidy got a small crowd rocking with the decision to take an absolutely insane head bump in the very first second of the match. The brainbuster had to look terrifying: only if Cassidy's neck looked legitimately hurt would Fletcher's bonkers neck-assisted offence convince the crowd that, holy sh*t, he's winning this title. A lot of people got dumped on their heads last night. Nobody else sold it like they were in significant trouble.

That is the Cassidy gift: he creates very loud and earnest drama when he really has no right to do it. Interestingly, Cassidy was jeered by sections of the audience throughout. Fletcher wasn't just the beneficiary of a respectful duelling chant; whether it was an aberration or otherwise, anti-Orange sentiment bubbled under. Perhaps the reign has gone on too long.

But when the man is capable of creating such drama every single time, why wouldn't Tony Khan prolong it?

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Contributor
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!