Jake The Snake Roberts Says He Used To Laugh At AEW Star But 'He Works His Tail Off'

When AEW opened its doors in 2019, Orange Cassidy was viewed as a comic relief character entertaining crowds with his slow-motion kicks, unenthusiastic demeanor, and non sequitur promos. However, Cassidy — slowly but surely — changed that perception since capturing the AEW International Championship from PAC last year, going on to become the workhorse of AEW producing stellar matches on a weekly basis. Now, Cassidy owns a singles victory over Jon Moxley, AEW's most accomplished singles star, and continues to thrive as a legitimate main event star on AEW programming — a far cry from his presentation a few years ago. 

Jake Roberts is among those who view Cassidy in a completely different light now that "Freshly Squeezed" has ditched his comedy routine. "When I first seen him, I laughed at it, you know?" Roberts said on "The Snake Pit" podcast, recalling his first impression of Cassidy. "But then after watching him go out and perform three or four shows, I realized 'this kid knows what he's doing.' And he's making it work! He really makes it work, and he works his tail off. If you've got me on your side, you know you're doing something right."

When reminded that a lot of old timers from the bygone era still don't respect Cassidy's body of work, Roberts urged his former peers to evolve with the times. He also credited Cassidy for producing a fast-paced style of wrestling that resonates with modern-day crowds. "A lot of guys go out there and do headlock takeovers and dropkicks, and there's other guys that go out and do something else. It was no different back in the day ... but nobody wants to remember that. They just want to thumb their nose [into] what these new guys are doing," said the Hall of Famer.