Injuries force Cassidy to play Swerve’s game to keep his belt
Swerve #Swerve
A lot of fans and observers believed that Orange Cassidy’s match with Swerve Strickland on the June 7 episode of Dynamite could mark the end of his International championship reign.
Announcers Excalibur, Taz & Tony Schiavone ran down the litany of injuries Cassidy is dealing with as a result of making 23 defenses throughout his 200+ day reign with the belt. Strickland, who almost dethroned Orange in Double or Nothing’s Blackjack Battle Royal, wasted no time targeting the champ’s weak spots. Cassidy’s “Orange Punch” hand was a particular focus for Swerve:
When OC’s comebacks weren’t thwarted by his opponent, his own body cut them off. Even when he managed to hit something like a DDT, pain kept him from properly making a cover.
Unable to get three after hitting the Orange Punch and a Beach Break (and fighting off The Embassy’s Prince Nana), Cassidy tried for a dive… and dove right into a brain buster. That set Strickland up for all of his signature moves, but he couldn’t get three either. It finally came down to an exchange of roll-ups, with each man grabbing the others tights/jeans to try and end the match. Eventually it was OC who was able to do so.
With Swerve is disbelief, the rest of the Mogul Embassy came down to punish the champion. But the lights went out, and when they came back up Darby Allin & Sting had cleared the ring for him.
Will anyone be able to end Cassidy’s run with the International belt?
Get complete results and coverage of everything from the June 6 episode of Dynamite here.