Orange Cassidy has admitted he was not happy when AEW decided to merge the International and Continental Championships, explaining just how much the International title means to him personally.

The championships were brought together at AEW All In 2025 when Kazuchika Okada, who was Continental Champion at the time, defeated International Champion Kenny Omega.

Omega had captured the International Championship from Konosuke Takeshita at AEW Revolution 2025, but his reign ended against Okada at All In, resulting in the creation of the Unified Championship.

Speaking with Adrian Hernandez during AEW All In Media Day, Cassidy reflected on the history of the International Championship and the work that went into establishing its identity.

The title originally began life as the AEW All-Atlantic Championship, with PAC becoming the inaugural champion.

“The International title started as the All-Atlantic Championship, right? And PAC won that in a four-way. And we all know PAC is one of the best to ever wrestle. From there, he held that championship and through COVID, right? That was tough. He was trying to get out and do, he defended as much as he could. And he, I feel like he will go down as my greatest rival.

“I was able to capture that championship from PAC. And when you get a championship, a new championship, right? Like, and AEW has a lot of them. We know that. An identity is… when I had this thing, I was me with it. Like, I did what I thought was right and it gave it an identity,” Cassidy shared.

Cassidy went on to explain that despite his laid-back character, seeing the International Championship merged with another title was something he genuinely cared about.

“I, who don’t care about a lot of things, cared when it was merged with the Continental and they had that one championship that was the International and the Continental one. I didn’t like that because I felt that a lot of hard work went into that championship to actually make it something other than a World Championship, you know, a championship that people could go after.

“And to look at that lineage of where it started, for me, who everybody was like, ‘Oh, joke, mascot, dumb,’ like insulting, like, to make this a championship to actually headline a pay-per-view with Jon Moxley. And then now you have arguably one of the best wrestlers in the world right now and a future best wrestler forever, Kyle Fletcher, holding it, to these incredible matches. Like, it makes it feel good.”

Cassidy certainly played a huge role in building the championship's reputation during his two reigns.

His first run began in 2022 and lasted approximately 326 days, during which the championship transitioned from the All-Atlantic name to the International Championship. Cassidy eventually lost the title to Jon Moxley after their memorable main event at AEW All Out 2023.

He later regained the championship and enjoyed another reign lasting 145 days.

Now 42, Cassidy remains proud of what the title has become, particularly as it heads into another major match at Wembley Stadium.

At AEW All In 2026, Kyle Fletcher is scheduled to defend the International Championship against Kazuchika Okada and Konosuke Takeshita in a huge triple threat match.

Meanwhile, Jon Moxley will face Nigel McGuinness in the Continental Challenge Cup final for the AEW Continental Championship.

For Cassidy, seeing some of the world's best wrestlers competing for the championship he once famously carried around in a backpack is something special.

“But anytime I see that championship in a position like it is this weekend, we’re talking about Okada, Takeshita and Fletcher in a triple threat match. We’re talking about the best wrestlers on the planet right now are going to be in one match for that championship. The one that I kept in my backpack. Like, I take a lot of pride in that. And I’ve never given that answer anywhere else except for you because I thought a little bit about it, especially this morning. Literally, we walked in, I saw Kyle Fletcher holding it. He’s taking such good care of it… it’s a good feeling,” Cassidy finished.

While Cassidy may not have agreed with AEW's decision to merge the championships last year, his pride in the International title remains clear.

From PAC becoming its first champion to Cassidy helping establish its identity and Fletcher now carrying it into Wembley, the championship has built a history of its own.