As AEW fans the world over already know, Orange Cassidy can go.

Though he may present himself as aloof, with a style that is equal parts suave as it is maddening for older fans who like their wrestlers to look and act a certain way, OC has crafted a unique spot in the professional wrestling world that he's been wrestling in for almost 20 years and has as much in-ring talent as any other graduate of the Mike Quackenbush school of wrestling, which makes up some 120 performers including many of the top talents in wrestling today like Wheeler Yuta, Claudio Castagnoli, Drew Gulak, Malakai Black, Chad Gable, Eddie Kingston, and even Alexa Bliss. Goodness, Cassidy was such a good in-ring worker that he, alongside Hallowicked and Ophidian, served as one of the final trainers at the Chikara Wrestling Factory before it shut down in 2020 while still under the hood as his Fire Ant character.

And yet, none of that seems to matter to Cassidy's detractors; no, to them, he's just the guy who looks like an architect who goes to the gym – which is true – and not some “Incredible Hulk-in-spandex” who stands 6-foot-8 and has to eat half a cow each day to maintain his gains. They hate his Raybans, his pockets, and the fact that he uses mind games to psych out his opponents and make them wrestle his match, not the other way around.

Orange Cassidy doesn't need to break out in AEW; he's already here.

Does this disconnect affect Cassidy? Typically no, Cassidy is famous for his cool-as-a-cucumber vibes and laissez-faire approach to the typically extra world of professional wrestling, but even the Fonz would get amped up from time to time, and when he was asked about his match with Will Ospreay at Forbidden Door during a roundtable interview at San Diego Comic-Con, via Absolute Geek Podcast, Cassidy delivered the following quote on not only the show but his recent-career as a whole, as dictated by of Fightful and shared by the man himself.

“Well, I was hurt for a very long time. I had a type III AC separation in my left shoulder, and it hurt real bad, so I couldn’t really wrestle for a while. Then it’s like okay, and I decided to come back and wrestle Will Ospreay. I tried a little harder than I usually do in that match, especially because I, I don’t know. I don’t need to prove anything to anybody, but I know I can. Every now and then, I like to show everybody and remind everybody what I can do when I feel like it. I have that luxury to just turn it on when I want to. I think I’m the only person that’s like 16 breakout matches because I get that every single time I have a wrestling match. It’s like people forgot, so I just wanted to remind everybody this is who Orange Cassidy was, and I think I was able to do that. I would have liked to win, but he’s pretty good.”

Jeez, that might be more words than OC has spoken on AEW television since making his debut all the way back in 2019.

While Cassidy's assertion that he's had “16 breakout matches” is a tad hyperbolic, as he's only wrestled 58 matches on AEW Dynamite, Rampage, or a Pay-Per-View, and some of them weren't exactly highlight reel worthy for one reason or another, he has turned a lot of heads in multiple matches within Tony Khan's company, from his first-ever match with PAC, to his AEW World Championship match with PAC and Kenny Omega, his TNT Championship matches with Cody Rhodes/Wardlow, his Mimosa Mayhem match with Chris Jericho, and even with premier performers outside the AEW ring, like his Forbidden Door loss to Will Ospreay broadcast live from the United Center in Chicago.

Even Ospreay, to his credit, largely backed up Cassidy's claims that he “tried a little harder” in an interview of his own, detailing how he helped turn a match few considered a “dream” into arguably the match of the night on one of the best cards of the year via Wrestle Inn as shared by Fightful.

“Orange Cassidy is phenomenal. He understands everything about himself and knows how to play the mind games when it comes to his matches if you're not giving him the credit where it's due, you don't understand what wrestling is anymore.”

Will Orange Cassidy ever overcome the stigma of his persona? Will casual and/or confrontational fans accept his talents, or will he forever have to accept that his schtick just isn't for everyone? Either way, it's time to stop declaring an OC bout his “breakout match,” for the 37-year-old is already here.