The one folks that say professional wrestling doesn’t damage are those who have by no means stepped contained in the ropes. Strikes that seem simple like bodyslams and suplexes require an athlete to hit the ground arduous, and whereas many observers felt that the ultra-violence of utmost wrestling and WWE’s “Perspective Period” had been a factor of the previous, the latest upturn in recognition of the grapple sport is bringing edgier content material together with it. Over within the AEW promotion, one if its most beloved stars; Orange Cassidy, isn’t any stranger to placing his physique on the road and as he will get able to return to London’s big Wembley Stadium for ‘All In’ 2024. Right here, the star from Stewartsville, NJ, tells M&F that he nonetheless can’t get one traumatic second from final yr out of his thoughts nonetheless.
“The reminiscence of all these individuals, cheering and yelling and screaming, and booing, you’ll always remember that feeling,” Cassidy tells M&F, explaining the adrenaline rush that coursed by way of his veins as 80,000 followers packed Wembley Stadium for ‘All in’ 2024. “However, what I’ll always remember is {that a} grown man named Jon Moxley stabbed me within the head with a fork!” It was actually some of the brutal moments seen within the trendy period of professional wrestling. “And, I’m not grateful to be part of it,” he says, grimiscing on the thought. Later Moxley can be skewered in the identical match, offering the web with a number of NSFW moments because the skewers protruded his brow and frolicked of his skull like a scene from hellraiser.
Orange Cassidy is aware of that being a professional wrestler locations severe calls for on the physique
Since 2019, AEW has been a success different to the ‘Sports activities Leisure’ chief; WWE, and whereas the extra established model had backed down on the violence related to its ‘Perspective Period’ that began within the late nineties and ended within the early 2000’s, in favor of a extra household pleasant product, AEW was capable of meet the tastes of some older followers who nonetheless wished one thing a little bit extra rebellious. In latest occasions, AEW has staged all the pieces from barbed wire matches to wrestler’s being set on hearth, and if you happen to thought that this upstart wrestling promotion was the one league trying to present some edge, factor once more. Over in WWE, head of content material; Triple H has expressed a want to make it’s reveals uncensored when the corporate’s new Netflix deal begins in January 2025.
The additional hazard related to a extra excessive wrestling present in fact places additional pressure on the athlete’s already spent our bodies. “My physique doesn’t maintain up nicely. I’m sore on a regular basis,” explains Orange Cassidy of the brutal wars he’s had with warriors like Moxley. “I didn’t respect stretching till my schedule received so intense that, if I don’t stretch earlier than a match, my hips will simply lock up. And, the quantity of accidents I’ve had over time; I’ve come to understand, you realize, strengthening issues that I didn’t know wanted to be strengthened, muscle groups I didn’t know existed.” It wasn’t that way back that Cassidy suffered a severe shoulder separation, however surgical procedure wasn’t a viable possibility as a result of docs mentioned that he would solely re-injure it once more due to his commerce. As a substitute, Cassidy underwent bodily remedy to make a return to the ring. It’s the type of sacrifice that only a few armchair quarterbacks think about when disparaging professional wrestling. Cassidy explains that he needed to strengthen his serratus anterior, often known as the ‘boxer’s muscle,’ as a result of it’s largely answerable for the motion that happens so as to throw a punch.
To remain match, Cassidy says that body weight workouts are his choice. “I simply want a flooring, and I’m good to go,” he explains. “Give me some pushups, I’ll do some squats, I’m accomplished.” Body weight workouts are important for individuals who are selecting up heavier opponents evening in and evening out. Even for characters like ‘Freshly Squeezed,’ a man that appears unimpressed about most issues, the will to keep up longevity within the ring, particularly throughout these more and more harmful occasions, is non-negotiable. “I don’t need to get stabbed within the head with a fork once more,” he displays, correctly.
To expertise an AEW dwell occasion close to you go to AEW, ‘All In’ 2024 takes place at London’s Wembley Stadium on Sunday, August 24.
