James Cipperly
James Cipperly is an American sports entertainer ("professional wrestler"). He currently performs for [All Elite Wrestling]] (AEW) under the ring name "Freshly Squeezed" Orange Cassidy.
He has performed under the ring names "Fire Ant" (as a member of a wrestling stable called "The Colony" in the CHIKARA promotion) and "JC Ryder".
His current ring gimmick is that of a lazy, uncaring slacker:
- he enters the ring at an incredibly slow pace (wearing sunglasses, acid-washed denim pants and jacket with a t-shirt of himself wearing another t-shirt of himself) and when greeting fans he does so with a flopped, lazy hand
- he is announced with his origin as "wherever" and his weight as "whatever" or "does not matter"
- when cheered he gives the crowd a barely-detectable thumbs up sign
- he wrestles much of his matches with his hands in his pockets while the sunglasses remain on his face, and
- his "kicks" and "punches" are barely taps (though fans, staying in kayfabe, shout as if the taps are legitimate, even going so far as to "complain" on YouTube about why the company allows such "extreme violence"), with his signature move being spitting orange juice into his opponent's face.
The gimmick is highly controversial: noted wrestling commentators such as Jim Cornette despise it while other fans enjoy his taking the scripted nature of the business to absurd levels. Notwithstanding the gimmick he is an accomplished athlete (for example, he can kip up from a prone to a standing position, all while keeping his hands in his pockets), having won several independent promotional titles. His popularity is such that his merchandise is among the top sellers for AEW, and when TNT started airing commercials for All Elite Wrestling featuring its performers, Cassidy was the first one to have his own commercial (ahead of more accomplished stars such as Cody and Dustin Rhodes and Chris Jericho). Furthermore, in 2020 Pro Wrestling Illustrated subscribers voted him Most Popular Wrestler and he was featured on the cover of the annual awards issue.