Orange Cassidy

Lore & Background

Prior to signing with AEW, he had previously performed for the Chikara promotion as Fire Ant, a luchador enmascarado (masked professional wrestler). Fire Ant was part of the Colony stable, which won the Campeonatos de Parejas once and Chikara's premier King of Trios tournament twice. During his time in Chikara, he also appeared unmasked as a member of The Gentleman's Club faction, alongside Chuck Taylor and Drew Gulak, and was a trainer at the promotion's Wrestle Factory school.

He also wrestled prominently on the independent circuit from 2004 to 2019. In AEW, Cassidy is a two-time AEW International Champion, with his first reign being the longest in the title's history. He is also a former one-time AEW World Trios Champion with Conglomeration stablemates Roderick Strong and Kyle O'Reilly. Cassidy was also a member of Best Friends, and by extension, a member of Chaos in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), representing the stable in the United States.

Reader's Guide

James Cipperly was born on May 4, 1984, in the Stewartsville section of Greenwich Township, Warren County, New Jersey. He graduated in 2002 from Phillipsburg High School. Five years later, he graduated from the New Jersey Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture. He debuted on March 13, 2004, for Ground Breaking Wrestling (GBW) as JC Ryder. He wrestled as Fire Ant in Chikara from 2005 onward, and as Orange Cassidy from 2012. He debuted in AEW on May 25, 2019, at Double or Nothing, and signed with the promotion on August 12, 2019. He has held the AEW International Championship twice and the AEW World Trios Championship once with Roderick Strong and Kyle O'Reilly.