Orange Cassidy faces Jon Moxley for the AEW World championship in the main event of Full Gear at the Prudential Center on Saturday (8 p.m. Triller). Before the big match, he took time for some Q&A with The Post’s Joseph Staszewski:
(Edited for clarity and length)
Q: The character Orange Cassidy was originally reluctant to jump into this feud with Jon Moxley and put the spotlight on himself. But for you, is this an opportunity you’ve been waiting for to be in a world title picture to be in that top babyface spot leading this major story?
A: No, it was never a goal of mine. It was never something I aspired to do. I enjoyed my role in what I was doing in AEW. I enjoyed the matches I was having. I enjoyed the spots I was having. I was very content with that. But then I think, just like all of us, when we become a little content or doing the same thing we kind of need a little bit of a change. I’m not too much on planning or planning ahead. I usually just take what comes at me. I never thought two years ago I would have been the International champion or All-Atlantic champion, but that just came upon me, and I just roll with the punches, and right now being punched a lot.
Q: Why did it feel like it needed to be you to step up and take this spot now?
A: Probably because I’m the only one available. There’s a lot of people injured, out dealing with their other things. I think it’s important for me as a person that was pretty much born in AEW, right? There’s a lot of other people that come into AEW, and they’re from other major promotions, right? I never had that. I never once had that.
AEW is the place where I was able to get my start and gain who I am today. So I think that’s a pretty special thing for any one of those people that were there from the beginning that kind of cut their teeth, in AEW to have an opportunity at this. So I take a lot of pride in that. I think it’s very important that we do have individuals like me that continue to be put in those positions.
Q: What would it mean for you to become AEW champion and is that a role you would embrace where there’s other responsibilities that come with it?
A: That’s a lot of pressure. That’s a lot of responsibility that I don’t really care for, but I understand what that championship is within the world of professional wrestling and what it means to be AEW world champion. You know I am saying with 100-percent honesty that it is like the symbol of what the best professional wrestling can be, and in order to have that championship and wave that flag, I think that’s something I take very, very serious.
Q: What do you think it’s been about your character development over the five years, that’s allowed it to have this special place with the audience?
A: I think it’s because they are the literal reason of why I am put in this position. I think they take ownership over Orange Cassidy. I think they take ownership over me because they were with me from the beginning. They do a great job educating other fans about me. The fans are the ones directly responsible for my growth, and I think that they feel like they are on this journey directly with me. I think it’s important that they also get to experience how I evolve and how I grow because they are every much a part of who I am in and out of the ring.’
Q: We’ve seen a darker version of the character starting this summer. Why was it time to go in that direction with things?
A: It was how I was feeling. It felt just in the place that I’m in, the place that I was, the place, you know, we just talked about. When I first started in AEW and the Best Friends, I wouldn’t be in AEW without them. They let me tag along and to see that fall apart in front of my face. I went through the whole thing with Trent [Beretta] and that took me to a place that I didn’t care to go, and then watching my best friend, who I actually lived with and spent my whole wrestling career with (Chuck Taylor), I mean, his career is pretty much over (because of injury). I don’t really express my emotions often, so I think I do it through other ways.
Q: You expressed them in your promo calling out Moxley for the first time. That was one of the more emotional, one of the more fiery things you’ve done in AEW. I don’t want to say refreshing, but was that interesting to go to that place?
A: I don’t express my emotions very often. And I feel when I do, they need to be very impactful, and it needs to be something very, very special. Maybe I put too much stock into that and I overthink things. I don’t talk for a reason. I don’t really like it when I get to do it, I want to make sure that it’s very, very special and very, very important. It sticks with people so it is a refreshing challenge. But do I look to do it all the time, absolutely not.
Q: Why is it imperative that you beat Mox and quickly cut off this Reign of Terror?
A: Because I’m afraid that the longer this goes on the more he is going to influence other people. We can literally see what his idea of changing the future and changing AEW for the better, we literally see what that is going to do. More people that you care about are going to get hurt and their careers will probably be ended.
I just can’t believe that people have forgotten that he put a plastic bag over Bryan Danielson’s head, like, this is the type of stuff we’re talking about. I care a lot about AEW and I care about the future, but the future is full of young, talented wrestlers, but who are very young, talented impressable wrestlers. He does want to make AEW better, but the way he wants to do it should not mean we need to sacrifice our own and I think it’s important that it stops now.
Q: This is your third singles match with him. Does his style and level of violence bring out that other side of you when you’re in the ring?
A: Jon Moxley is one of the guys that I kind of hate wrestling because I don’t know what his style is. I take a lot of pride in knowing lots of different types of professional wrestling. I take a lot of pride in training and different types of professional wrestling. Jon Moxley doesn’t do any of those. I can’t look at a tape and be like, ‘Oh, he’s gonna do this, he’s gonna do that, he’s gonna do that.’ He doesn’t do the same thing twice. It’s something that I took a lot of pride in. I try not to do the same things, or I try to get ahead of my opponent by using different styles. He’s the master of that.
Those other two matches I had against him, my body, my mental status will never be the same. He does bring something out of me. We were in Wembley Stadium for All In, the first one, and we did the big Stadium Stampede match. I found myself wrapping my hand in tape and putting broken glass around it.
Q: You’ve taken on a little bit of a backstage role too. What’s that role been like?
A: If somebody wants to come up to me and ask me for help, I’m gonna do it, because I’m usually just sitting around doing nothing anyway. I care a lot about AEW, and I care about the future of AEW, so whatever I can do to help I’m gonna do..
Q: Moxley talked about a ‘hard reset’ and looking at how things are done in AEW. Do you feel like when we’re coming up on this new TV deal, that is a time to kind of look at this is what we do well, what are some things we clean up?
A: All of us, and whatever we do in our lives, we always can make adjustments and improvements for a better life and a better workplace. Am I the one qualified to say what those are and what that is? I don’t think so, but whatever I can do that can help bring us into the right direction, and whatever I can do as an example for what we should do, the right thing I’m going to do.
Q: Is there anything in your mind to where, hey, this is something we need to look at?
A: Yeah, probably guys running up from behind when I’m doing interviews and smashing me. We can look at that. We can look at after my matches are over, guys just running from the crowd into the ring and punching me in the back. We can look at all that stuff. That’d be great.
Q: How did the Conglomeration come together, where it feels like a somewhat random collection of guys?
A: We were literally a group of people that all went through loss, heartbreak, whatever it is. And when that type of thing happens to you, you tend to shut down and you can stay in your own little shell. But we all found each other doing that. You start talking (to) Kyle O’Reilly, Mark Briscoe, Willow Nightingale, Ishii. They were all people trying to find something and try to find our people again. We kind of just all came together. They are truly incredible, talented people and the Conglomeration isn’t going anywhere.
Q: How do you all keep a straight face when Mark Briscoe starts breaking out some of those promos?
A: I wear sunglasses for a reason so that when Mark is talking, I could just close my eyes or try not to listen.
Q: You never know what’s coming from you guys?
A: We don’t either, so great.