I like Orange Cassidy and Cowboy Bebop. Lately, I’ve noticed how the two have intersected. They both play freely without fear of risky things. They create new dreams and stories by breaking traditional styles.
Stories often begin at the start of a protagonist’s journey. If told well, audiences grow with them, connect with them, and don’t want to leave them. The anime series Cowboy Bebop is such a story. Reminiscing on Orange Cassidy’s journey in AEW, his story beats thump the same way for me.
Something to know about me as a writer is that tales like Cowboy Bebop run through my veins. The episodes, the music, the voice acting, and the art style occupy my creative thoughts. As I watch it yearly, this year’s rewatch showed me something peculiar. Orange Cassidy’s trajectory as a character follows some of Bebop’s themes.
It’s not a coming-of-age story. Nor is it an origin. This is an arc of broken glass, walking through fire and shouldering a responsibility born of destiny.
Easy Come, Easy Go
Upon his arrival at AEW, critics classified Cassidy as a novelty act. A denim-clad fool, so aloof to the point of comedy. He endeared himself to the fanbase, for sure. Yet, no one thought he’d rise above the mid-card or even the lower card.
Of course, talent buzzed inside him like an angry nest of hornets. But where sat his sting? Among the Jon Moxleys, Kenny Omegas, and Chris Jerichos, who was he? A little fish swimming in an ocean filled with sea monsters.
Regardless, fans connected with him; that heart grew with his alignment with the Best Friends tag team. Standing in the middle, thumb half-raised in the middle of Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta’s hug. Kris Statlander and Wheeler Yuta soon joined, as did Rocky Romero and Tomohiro Ishii on occasion. Found family may not be thicker than blood, but it runs deep.
Once it came time to silence doubters, Cassidy delivered. At Revolution 2020, he had his first big pay-per-view match against PAC. In the squared circle, they performed acrobatics and combat that left viewers stunned.
Expectations were high for PAC, but the uninitiated had yet to experience Cassidy with the pedal firmly planted down. He turned the force of his opponents into fluid motion. He calmly wrestled, becoming like clear water.
Do You Have a Comrade?
Everything has a beginning and an end. Life is just a cycle of starts and stops. There are ends we don’t desire, but they’re inevitable; we have to face them. It’s what being human is all about. It’s what the characters of Cowboy Bebop face, and it’s what Orange Cassidy has realized.
Cassidy won the International Championship with an incredible reign of 326 days, ended by Jon Moxley at 2023’s All Out. He soon won it back 37 days later in Independence, Missouri. Holding the title for the second time at 145 days, he pushed himself with hunger. And hunger is the best spice, they say.
Sadly, injuries marred this time. Taylor, Beretta, and Statlander often took turns being absent for periods. After Beretta’s bullying got the best of him, Yuta had enough. The youth then joined The Blackpool Combat Club to ascend in his career. Romero and Ishii, however, spend more of their time in Japan.
Then, Beretta attacked the group. Taylor fought against this, leading to an injury that retired him. Statlander rejected her former friends outright.
This is where Cassidy’s story becomes Bebop.
He joined a band of misfits in the Conglomeration. Alongside Mark Briscoe, Kyle O’Reilly, Romero, and occasionally Ishii, he wasn’t alone. He had a modicum of family. Yet, there’s something dispassionate there. Beneath the obsidian of his shades, one eye saw the current, while the other saw only the past.
Stuck in the middle. No place else to go.
Are You Living in the Real World?
The core of Cowboy Bebop and Orange Cassidy’s intersection, with its healthy mishmash of styles and genres, rests on existentialism. Facing down the barrel of fate. Accepting the past is gone. The future is now. Time never stands still.
Over time, Cassidy didn’t seem sad or broken up—things didn’t seem real. But it was real; everyone was gone. And little by little, something inside of him went numb. Now, I could be looking too deeply into his body language. However, something waited beneath the surface to come out. Wondering if he’s alive or thoughts that drift away. Living awake but half-asleep.
From All Out to WrestleDream 2024, a series of friendly encounters began a slow, hesitant shift. Wrestlers approached him, telling him that he was the face of the company. He should be in the main events. Big match graphics. For years, he drew children, families, and fans, blending comedy with incredible yet quiet athleticism while having an aura unique to him.
He rejected these notions. When AEW—no, wrestling’s face, Bryan Danielson endured betrayal from the Blackpool Combat Club, what did he do? He rejected it. When the BCC brutalized Danielson, what did he do?
He rejected it. They clutched the AEW World Championship from his worn hands and retired him from full-time action. What did Cassidy do? He still rejected it. He dismissed his rightful place.
It’s time for him to try.
You’re Going to Carry that Weight
Men only think about their past right before death, as if searching for proof they were alive.
The attacks became more personal. Enough was enough. From then on, Cassidy wore black, consequently swearing war upon Jon Moxley and his malicious band of Death Riders.
As Full Gear 2024 approaches, he’s bled the blood of blue denim away. The only blood that flows in him now is the blood of a beast that wanders. Hunting for the blood of others.
Jon Moxley stands before him, vicious. Ready to freshly squeeze that blood away. Drip it on the canvas like a water painting from a skilled artist.
This isn’t just a match for the AEW World Championship. This isn’t just a match for the soul of AEW.
No. This is where Cassidy’s journey has all been leading. Finally waking up. Taking up the torch which presently beckons for him. Lighting the way. Whether or not he stands tall over Jon Moxley, he must do one thing. He will have to accept this responsibility.
He’s going to carry that weight.
More From LWOS Pro Wrestling
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