Why AEW Is Pushing Orange Cassidy So Strongly
AEW's International Champion, Orange Cassidy, is in the midst of a mega push. Here's why.
AEW's heavy push of Orange Cassidy as International Champion is designed to elevate the championship's stature towards headlining status.
PWInsider's Mike Johnson reports that the Tony Khan-helmed promotion has been "leveling up" the International Title for months, doing so so that it can be used on the upcoming Saturday evening brand, Collision. AEW's new show is set to launch at a to-be-confirmed location on 17 June.
There is currently no indication that the International Championship will be exclusive to Collision, though AEW's current promotion of it "was to ascend it to a more prestigious position."
Cassidy featured heavily in AEW/Warner Bros. Discovery's media materials as Collision was formally announced last week.
'Freshly Squeezed' has been International Champion for 222 days at the time of writing, having taken the gold from the inaugural champion PAC on 12 October 2022. He has thus far mounted a staggering 21 successful defences, putting the gold on the line several times each month, with Katsuyori Shibata, Buddy Matthews, Bandido, Jay Lethal, and Jeff Jarrett amongst his most notable scalps.
Cassidy's latest successful defence came against the Jericho Appreciation Society's Daniel Garcia on Dynamite's 10 May episode.