Tony Khan Didn't Realize 'How Well Thought Out' Orange Cassidy Gimmick Was

Orange Cassidy is a wrestler who doesn’t really like to put much effort into thing. There is a method behind this unique character, but Tony Khan didn’t realize it at first.

Cassidy delighted fans with his Freshly Squeezed gimmick, but there was concern that the character might not resonate with a larger audience. That presumption was obviously mistaken as AEW was able to weave Cassidy into their show every week.

While speaking with ESPN, Tony Khan stated that he didn’t know much about Orange Cassidy when he signed him to AEW. It took a little bit of time with Cassidy for him to realize how well thought out everything is that he does in the ring.

“He clearly had a following, but he wasn’t somebody, when we started, that I was really particularly aware of or had real big plans for,” Khan said. “[After Double or Nothing,] I spent a lot of time with Orange Cassidy and got to know him a lot better, and also talked to him about ideas, and that opened a lot of doors for both of us.”

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“I had no idea what an intelligent person Orange Cassidy is, and he is very, very smart. And really, I had no idea how well-thought-out this all was. He’s multi-talented, he’s a team player, he’s tried to make other people look good as much as possible, and the most important thing above all else is his work is phenomenal. He’s a great wrestler.”

Orange Cassidy already had a following of fans who loved his light shin kicks and other in-ring antics. Plenty more fans soon realized Orange Cassidy’s capabilities although Tony Khan advised him to hold back in the ring at first.

Now Orange Cassidy’s abilities are no secret in AEW. That doesn’t mean he’s going to go through the effort every time if he doesn’t want to.