Orange Cassidy Explains Why He Has To Beat Jon Moxley Tonight, Never Planned To Be AEW’s Top Babyface

In an interview with the New York Post (via Fightful), Orange Cassidy said that he never wanted to be the top babyface of AEW, but also noted that Jon Moxley has to lose his AEW World title tonight. Cassidy will challenge Moxley at Full Gear in Newark, NJ. Here are highlights:

On being AEW’s top babyface: “No, it was never a goal of mine and 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 we become a little… we’re doing the same thing, we kind of want a little bit of a change and, I’m not too much on planning or planning ahead. I usually just take what comes at me. Like I never thought two years ago i would have been, International Champion or Atlantic Champion you know, but that just came upon me and I just roll with the punches and, uh, right now i’m being punched a lot.”

On why he’s stepping up: “Probably because I’m the only one available. I mean, there’s a lot of people that are 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 in to AEW and they are from other major promotions. 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 were kind of, you know, cut their teeth into AEW to have an opportunity at this. So I take a lot of pride in that and I think it’s very important that we do have individuals like me that continue to be put in those positions.”

On why he has to beat Moxley tonight: “Because I’m afraid that the longer this goes on, that the more he is going to influence other people and I mean, 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. It is going, more people that you care about are going to get hurt and their careers will probably end. I just, I just can’t believe that people have forgotten that he’s… 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, impressionable wrestlers that, because he does want to make AEW better, but the way he wants to do it should not mean we need to sacrifice our own. I think it’s important that it stops now.”