By Plaban Saikia
James Cipperly, or Orange Cassidy, is one of the most popular wrestlers on the AEW roster. He is known for his slow-moving attacks and his lackadaisical style. His signature moves are hitting the opponents on their legs very softly and always wearing a pair of black sunglasses. His character is inspired by Paul Rudd’s character in the 2001 movie Wet Hot American Summer. His entrance song is also from the opening sequence of the same movie. The Wrestling Observer newsletter had awarded him with the “best gimmick of 2020”. Pro Wrestling Illustrated voted him the “most popular wrestler of 2020”.
He was born in Warren County, New Jersey in May 1984. Later he graduated from the New Jersey Institute of Technology with a science degree in Architecture. He trained with professional wrestler Chris Hero. He made his pro-wrestling debut at GBW in Pennsylvania, named JC Rider. He often partnered with Danny Rage and won two tag team championship titles. He also appeared in other indie promotions like Eastern Wrestling Alliance in Maryland and Valley Wrestling Alliance.
He joined Chikara in February 2005 as a masked wrestler called Fire Ant in a group known as The Colony. He stayed in Chikara for 13 years, competing in various matches. For a while, he joined The Gentlemen’s Club, a group of wrestlers working with Chuck Taylor as the leader. Being part of the group, he competed in different tag teams and six-man matches. At the King of Trios event, he, with Drew Gulak, defeated The Closers and Team Sea Stars to win a tag team gauntlet match. His final match was at the Judgement Day event where his team was defeated by Team Sea Stars.
Cassidy joined AEW on May 25, 2019. He debuted in their Pay-per-view event, Double or Nothing in a Battle Royale event. He only had a small role in the beginning, appearing in different tag team matches. He started his first proper rivalry in 2020 with former WWE star Neville now known as Pac. On February 29, he lost in a critically-acclaimed match with Pac at AEW Revolution. He then next started a feud with Chris Jericho. He lost the first match against Jericho at Fyter Fest in July and later won the rematch on AEW Dynamite. Chris Jericho challenged him to a Mimosa Mayhem match, where the only way to win was by pinfall, submission or by knocking the opponent into a vat of mimosa. In the end, Orange Cassidy performed a "Pulp Punch" to Jericho, who was on the top rope, which knocked him into the mimosa and gave Cassidy the win. Cassidy also challenged for the AEW TNT Championship multiple times and failed each time.
He started 2021 by feuding with Kip Sabian and Miro with the help of Best Friends duo Chuck Taylor and Trent. At AEW Revolution in March, he and Chuck Taylor were beaten by Miro and Sabian but later beat them in an Arcade Anarchy match. In May, he fought for the AEW Championship in a three-way match against Kenny Omega and Pac. After losing, he went back to doing tag team matches with his Best Friends. They defeated the Hardy Family Office at AEW Double or Nothing PPV in September. He competed in a seven-man ladder match with the hope of getting another shot at the AEW Championship title but he failed. He then lost the Eliminator Tournament for the AEW Championship to Miro.
In November 2021, he and Best Friends got into a feud with Adam Cole and The Elite. He subsequently lost three tag team matches to Cole. On January 26, he won an unsanctioned Lights Out match against Cole, ending the feud. He qualified for the “Face of the Revolution” ladder match at AEW Revolution in March but failed to win it. He suffered a shoulder injury in the match and was sidelined for months. He returned to action in a June episode of AEW Dynamite. He competed in AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door against Will Ospreay for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Ospreay beat him by doing the Storm Breaker move and proceeded to beat him up with the help of the Aussie Open before being stopped by Katsuyori Shibata.
Currently, he’s teaming up with his regular collaborators, Best Friends, against the Death Triangle.
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