When Orange Cassidy first won the AEW All-Atlantic Championship from PAC on the Oct. 12, 2022, episode of AEW Dynamite, the title didn’t have much value. It had only been introduced months prior at AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door and its ill-defined gimmick of featuring international talent didn’t do much to make it stand out from the many AEW, ROH, AAA and New Japan championships frequently featured on AEW TV. But it wasn’t long before Cassidy was able to build up the title’s prestige by consistently defending the title in standout matches week after week on AEW Dynamite. The title was later renamed the AEW International Championship and now sits behind the AEW World Championship as the second most important title in the promotion.
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By this point, Cassidy has held the title for 228 with 22 successful defenses, beating the likes of Kyle Fletcher, Daniel Garcia, Bandido and Buddy Matthews in just the past few weeks. He talked about how the reign has unfolded in an interview with The Wrestling Classic earlier this week.ย
“When I beat Pac for it in October last year, it was called the All-Atlantic [Championship], and then we decided to level it up and make it the International Championship,” Cassidy said (h/t Fightful). “I didn’t really know what to do with it. I didn’t know what it was. My only goal was to beat Pac, and I did. When I beat him, I had this All-Atlantic Championship. So didn’t really have an identity to me, so I wanted to do with it what I do with everything. I just wanted to fight whoever, wherever, and whenever. I have been, and I hope it has that identity now, and I hope wrestling fans were able to see people that they usually wouldn’t see wrestle for a championship on AEW television.”
Cassidy will defend his title against 20 other wrestlers in a 21-man Blackjack Battle Royal at tonight’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view. Stay tuned for full coverage of the show!ย
AEW Double or Nothing 2023 Full Cardย
- AEW World Championship:ย MJF vs. Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara vs. “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry
- AEW World Tag Team Championships:ย FTR vs. Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal (Mark Briscoe as Special Guest Referee)
- AEW Women’s World Championship:ย Jamie Hayter vs. Toni Storm
- AEW TNT Championship:ย Wardlow vs. Christian Cage (Ladder Match)
- AEW International Championship:ย 21-Man Blackjack Battle Royal
- AEW TBS Championship:ย Jade Cargill vs. Taya Valkyrie
- AEW World Trios Championship: The House of Black vs. TBA (Open House Match)
- The Elite (Kenny Omega, “Hangman” Adam Page, The Young Bucks) vs. Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta) (Anarchy in the Arena Match)
- Adam Cole vs. Chris Jericho (Unsanctioned Match)
- (Buy-In) Ethan Page & The Gunns vs. The Hardys & HOOK
