It’s hard to believe there have already been seven different title reigns for the AEW International Championship (if you count the All-Atlantic Championship PAC originally held before the belt was rebranded), as that title has been largely synonymous with Orange Cassidy alone.
Combined, Cassidy has held the International Championship for 471 days over his two runs, dwarfing all other champions combined by nearly double the amount.
It’s safe to say that until someone else makes as big of a mark on the title, it will continue to be viewed as The King of Sloth Style’s belt, and it seems Cassidy himself feels exactly that.
In a recent interview with Mark Freund for WHO13 to promote last night’s episode of AEW Dynamite in Des Moines, Iowa, the International Championship became a topic of discussion. When asked what that title’s meant to Cassidy’s career, he gave a historical rundown of the title’s creation. He said,
“I think what I take pride in the most is that I was able to give the championship an identity, because it is just this other, ‘What does this mean? What is international? What is all’, you know. I decided that this is going to be the championship that, whoever holds it will wrestle for it as frequently as someone would like to challenge them. And I take a lot of pride in that and creating a championship’s identity. Because the lineage of this championship already, you have PAC, Rey Fenix, Jon Moxley, Roderick Strong, and now, Will Ospreay, who, I don’t think I’d be incorrect by saying is probably the best professional wrestler in the world right now, is holding that championship, so, I take a lot of pride in that.”
Freund asked about what it was like defending the title so often, with Cassidy stating the following:
“It was painful. It hurt a lot. But it really gave me an opportunity to show a little different side of myself, show the different styles I know. It also gave an opportunity for a lot of people, wrestlers in AEW that really weren’t getting as much of the spotlight, an opportunity to shine. So, I take a lot of, yeah, that’s what that title run meant to me the most.”
When asked about what Cassidy thinks about Will Ospreay’s future with the title and AEW in general, he said,
“I have not forgotten about the International Championship. And every time I hear, ‘International Championship’ from one of our announcers, I get a little something inside of me that’s like, ‘That should be mine.’ Unfortunately, it’s being held by the best professional wrestler in the world right now, but you talk about that night [AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door], I almost had him. I just hope he’s ready for the rematch because I’ve been thinking about it a lot.”
Do you think the AEW International Championship is The Orange Cassidy belt? Could Will Ospreay overtake that role? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!
