In Wrestle Inn’s special Crossroads series, the incomparable stars and stories of professional wrestling are mixed skillfully with legendary songs and artists from the musical world. Set to the beats of the carefully chosen music, these stories see life through a different lens, iconic soundtracks allowing a journey they haven’t yet seen. Whether conveying sadness, shock, excitement, happiness, pride or more, music allows us to view events and feel things in ways not possible without it.

Please, as you read, open your favorite streaming source, play the music we have chosen and support the artists as they’re meant to be supported. While the vast majority of the lyrics have been rewritten for these fun look-back pieces, the credit always goes to the artists who originally created such literal musical masterpieces. We thank them all for their brilliance, both those on the stage and those in the ring.

The Evolution Of All-Atlantic Champion Orange Cassidy

There is often a lot of talk about big, sudden changes in wrestling; turns, swerves (non-Strickland division) and new gimmicks. They get likes and shares, drive the clicks and headlines, but it is even harder to subtly tweak and update yourself over time. “Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy arrived in AEW and immediately stood out as a wrestler who, well, wasn’t so jazzed about wrestling. This caught fans’ eyes, made them laugh, and started making OC a fan favorite.

Critics opined that there was no way he could continue his antics and keep his cred, make wins believable, and attain a rank on the roster commensurate with his popularity. But Cassidy didn’t work for those soul-suckin’ jerks, he kept on doing his thing. What we’d see over time, though, is that he had a keen eye and mind for just how to stay fresh(ly squeezed), when he needed to turn up and when it was cool to pass out. We’ll track that evolution here, through the lens of the most slack-tastic music decade of all, the 1990’s. So follow along, or don’t, whatever I don’t care…

Early days in AEW
Beck – “Loser” (1994)

Early success and connection with the fans through sheer character, charisma and comedic timing. Nobody had ever seen anyone quite like Orange in a wrestling ring, not to mention someone able to actually pull off an approach quite like his. “Loser” encapsulates his winning charm – kind of like B Rabbit in 8 Mile, putting everything others might throw in your face right on front street and making it an ineffable part of yourself has a kind of magnetism. OC may not be a loser, but there’s plenty of other things about himself he mostly said take it over leave it over. Luckily for all of us, we largely decided to take!

In the time of sprinting flips, I took to strollin’
Think you’re gonna fly, then away I start rollin’
With the two huggin’ friends, raise half a thumb
Fake shin kicks make you come get some
Kill the van, Sue, put it in neutral
Just like me it won’t move unless it’s pushed to
TV at Daily’s, no crowd chatter
Got a couple of Dark wins, then sleep on the ladder
Folks pulled it out sayin’ I’m insane to remain
But it’s TV time and I’m not gonna strain
Don’t believe every tweet that you read
I can rock my pockets nice and full & still hit a DDT
So don’t change my face whether I win or lose
Poppin’ crowds so loud people start getting me-tattoos
Yo, cut it

Soy muy perezoso
It’s Sloth Style baybee, ‘cause trying seems crazy
(Boilin’ gold for Brandon)
Soy muy perezoso
It’s Sloth Style baybee, ‘cause trying seems crazy

Raise my profile wrestling with no flair
Change up the music, Pixies guitar fills the air
‘Cause I got a mousetrap where your shoulders can’t escape
Not moving’s my thing, so no need to gape
With the weekly shows and sometimes doin’ jobs
But the audience sees I’m no actual slob
Dress themselves up in demin & suade
A shirt with me on it that shows me wearing the same
We all wish we could blow work off
Trade the stress for pockets and the deadlines for days off
And I can be a symbol of life that’s better
If you want, whatever

Soy muy perezoso
It’s Sloth Style baybee, ‘cause trying seems crazy
(Get crazy with the hot gold)
Soy muy perezoso
It’s Sloth Style baybee, ‘cause trying seems crazy
(Drive-by wolf and/or wolves)
Yo, slow it on down…

Soy muy perezoso
It’s Sloth Style baybee, ‘cause trying seems crazy

Bigger Wins and Rising Prominence
Everclear – “Santa Monica” (1995)

Orange’s popularity naturally led to him having a bit more TV time and more prominent placement on the card. This culminated in an instant classic match with PAC (foreshadowing…) at Revolution. With this break in exposure, OC slowly but surely added more spots of fire to his game, going from someone without much of a pulse to more of a Jekyll/Hyde side where he could fire up and hit furious flurries of moves once set off. This allowed him to grow into his biggest test to date, a feud with the widely-crowned GOAT himself, Chris Jericho. Everyone was anxious to see how this would work, but like the protagonist in “Santa Monica,” OC pushed back when pushed over the edge and made a decision that he had to take drastic measures just to be able to feel normal after.

I still fight new fools every week
Working in moves that’re even more sleek
I don’t wanna be your downtime
I don’t wanna open Elevation
With an Orange Punch now I end things quick
I’m movin’ up, don’t get it twisted
I don’t wanna be heels’ heat guy
I don’t wanna do a one-note job every week
I just wanna see my hand raised
You will see me flip my switch off of “Laze.”

If you think that you can push me
And then pay no price
See you’ve crossed a line here
Guess I’m gonna try…

If you think that you can push me
And then pay no price
See you’ve crossed a line here
Guess I’m gonna try…

I stand here bleeding from your bat
No true GOAT swings around a produce sack
I refuse to play your patsy
Maybe after a nice citrus shower you’ll see

Catch right onto your cheating games
Counter and win in my own slow way
Now the world sees I’m a threat here
I can rule the ring or even the debate stage
Don’t think just because I’m low-gear
I’ll ever let you walk all over me in fear

If you think that you can push me
And then pay no price
See you’ve crossed a line here
Guess I’m gonna try…

If you think that you can push me
And then pay no price
See you’ve crossed a line here
Guess I’m gonna try…

If you think that you can push me
And then pay no price
Douse you in Mimosa?
Guess I’m gonna try…

Guess I’m gonna try!

Unleashed Into Glory
Blink 182 – “Dammit” (1997)

After chugging along coming out of his surprising wins over Jericho, Orange seemed to have hit a bit of a mid-card ceiling. He won more matches than he lost, won some feuds and lost others, but his strong record put him into title matches in which he couldn’t get over the hump and claim gold. How much did he actually care? If you have to ask, you’re not paying attention. After an injury hiatus, he came back and fittingly seemed to have not lost, or gained, any momentum. Then the same man OC broke onto a wider stage with, PAC, made it personal.

Within a few weeks he smashed Cassidy with a hammer to steal the new AEW Trios titles, then did the same to Trent. Cassidy’s character changed immediately, charging the ring and raining down blows. Just as we hear in “Dammit,” there was a line of fury being drawn in the sand and it was clear business could not be done as usual. If ever Orange Cassidy were motivated to claim a title belt, this had to be the moment. Could he face this on his own?

It’s alright that you feel
You’re some sort of big deal
When we fought, you won out
I owe you one, no doubt
I know you’re some “bastard”
I’m good too, and faster
If you can’t keep it clean
You won’t be, the meanest one

A fair fight at Grand Slam
Until your sad-ass scam
You had no good answer
Had to use the hammer

Then with Trent, the same scene
I can’t watch you just preen
The time’s now, can’t stop me
You best run, or get bloodied now

And you’ve tried it once again
To hurt all my Best Friends
I watch and understand
Time to fight just man to man
Your BS object’s gone
And I’ve played around too long
Someone must take you down
Well, I guess it’s me stepping up
Well, I guess it’s me stepping up

And now the time is here
No fake kicks, do you hear
I’ll trade blows, and slam you
A Beach Break, for just two
I don’t grin, no pockets
Just fists fly, like rockets
Your new reign, it won’t last
I refuse to lose or tap

And you’ve tried it once again
To hurt all my Best Friends
I watch and understand
Time to fight just man to man
Your BS object’s gone
And I’ve played around too long
Someone must take you down
Well, I guess it’s me stepping up
An Orange Punch comes flying up

And now I hold my title up…