Cade Cassidy
Posted by Douglas Nunnally
on 07/23/2004
Interviewer's Note:
Welcome to another edition of "Wasting The Time Of..." and in this edition, I have one of the breakout stars of Empire State Wrestling, Cade Cassidy!
Cade Cassidy has been wrestling since 2002, and by many people's standards, it could be five times that much. Although you may not have heard of him, trust me when I say that you will. Two years in, Cade Cassidy has overcome more than some of us will in a lifetime and has been loyal to his home promotion beyond your wildest dreams. Any doubts for this young man's abilities are quickly put to rest by the level of professionalism that he puts forth and the fact that he was one of three men invited out of a couple dozen men to come wrestle for Neo Spirit Pro. Though he considers one of his greatest matches to date a failure in some way, it has become a cult classic of ESW and the perfect finish to a storybook feud.
Know him or not, Cade Cassidy is here to stay. He is now starting to branch out, and I guarantee you in at least two years, the whole wrestling scene will know the face of this "Coverboy." I know his face and it is embedded in my head like the casket match of ESW fame is embedded in the heads of all fans. It is the face of the future...wrestling's future.
Douglas Nunnally: Well first off, thank you for taking time to do this.
Cade Cassidy: No problem. Thanks for having me.
Douglas Nunnally: So, why wrestling?
Cade Cassidy: Well, I've been a wrestling fan for as long as I know; my dad claims around 3. When I found out I had an opportunity to train, I thought, "Why pass it up and question the rest of my life?"
Douglas Nunnally: When and how did the opportunity present itself to you?
Cade Cassidy: I was about 16 and at a friend's house that was also really into wrestling. We got a phone call from his older brother's friend who said that he was training to be a wrestler and that they needed some more guys to come and train. We showed up about 3 times that week and finally got in contact with someone. Then we signed a waiver and started training that day.
Douglas Nunnally: What was it like balancing high school while training?
Cade Cassidy: Training was Fridays at five pm and Sundays from noon until God knows when, so it never really interfered with school. If anything, it gave me something more to talk about with all my friends who I ended up getting in to train.
Douglas Nunnally: Do you attend college now?
Cade Cassidy: Yes. I am currently a sophomore in college.
Douglas Nunnally: What is your current major and/or minor in college?
Cade Cassidy: Physical Education and Health, which doesn't just prepare me to be a gym teacher. It also prepares me to be an athletic or personal trainer.
Douglas Nunnally: Do you feel that that area of study helps you in your given profession at all?
Cade Cassidy: Actually, it helps a lot. This semester I'm taking weight lifting as a class. It also has a lot of impact on physical activity inside school, which helps a lot. I just don't sit and take notes, it's a lot of moving around and activity which helps.
Douglas Nunnally: What would happen if you got an offer to go train and compete full time in a promotion, but it required you to move away and not be able to go to college?
Cade Cassidy: It's really hard to say unless I was in that position. I would like to say that I would politely decline, and gain as much experience as I could while in college, and then hopefully I would be even more of an asset to that company. But I don't honestly know if I could say, "No thanks." I may take it.
Douglas Nunnally: So it really is just a time and place kind of thing as of this stage in your career?
Cade Cassidy: Yes, I mean as far as going on the indies, I haven't really done it yet all that much. I've been holding myself back to just my home promotion and trying to learn as much and experience as much as possible before I leave, so I'm well prepared and I can try and make the best impact I can.
Douglas Nunnally: You talk about staying to your home promotion, which is Empire State Wrestling. How important would you say loyalty is to you right now at this stage of your young career?
Cade Cassidy: Very important. I have been offered to come and wrestle in other promotions, which I'm finally starting to do right now, but I have been a part of every ESW show since its inception, and ESW is really family to me. My loyalty for what they have done for me is irreplaceable.
Douglas Nunnally: Would you say more indy wrestlers should have loyalty like that?
Cade Cassidy: It's really hard to say. I mean it depends on the guy, and even in that case, I really can't judge. Everyone has their own reason why they didn't stay loyal or only wrestle once in a while for their home promotion. Then again I don't know what I would do if a big promotion offered me a spot on the same day as an ESW show. If it was my first time being able to wrestle for that promotion, you would hope that they would be willing to book you later in the future. But if that is your only shot, you may have to take it. As I said, it's really a hard judgment call.
Douglas Nunnally: What other promotions would you like to work for at this time?
Cade Cassidy: Almost any promotion, I'm looking to gain experience as much as I can. So no promotion is out of the question.
Douglas Nunnally: I understand you recently participated in a clinic with Roddy Piper. What was that like?
Cade Cassidy: That was real cool, and nerve racking for a while. I had a guy who headlined Wrestlemania standing in front of me. This was a guy who made a career off of ring psychology. He didn't go out there and hit 8 back flips. He went out there and punched, choked, kicked, and used a sleeper. It was very important to listen to everything he had to say. Learning off of any guy who has a great amount of experience is an opportunity of a lifetime.
Douglas Nunnally: Who would you say are some masters of ring psychology?
Cade Cassidy: There are so many to name. I don't want to throw around the word great so I'll limit it to the test of time; guys who have been around for a while and for over a decade have had great matches. My list would be Bret Hart, Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, Roddy Piper, Owen Hart, Ricky Morton, Robert Gibson, Shawn Michaels, and Curt Henning. There are tons more too, but that's a short list.
Douglas Nunnally: Would you say ring psychology plays a big part in your wrestling style?
Cade Cassidy: When I first started out wrestling, TNA just started up and I got caught up in the X-Division, so at first it wasn't a part of my style at all. But once I started to learn that I didn't need to throw 10 risk taking moves in a match to make a crowd pop, I started using psychology as much as I could to my advantage. All the guys everyone remembers in this business were great ring generals and great with psychology and they all lasted twenty to thirty years because their style didn't ask that many risks were taken. I like the idea of me being able to walk an extra twenty to thirty years. And I also like the idea of telling a story to the crowd. Not just throwing big moves. So psychology is the biggest thing in my style.
Douglas Nunnally: Would you say that more wrestlers today need to practice ring psychology, or should they stick with their high risk moves?
Cade Cassidy: I think wrestling has its cycle, and after watching wrestling lately, there's no where left to go. You can't go any higher to execute a move; it's been done now. You can't do anymore back flips in a row; it's been done. Wrestling is starting to head down to psychology and a slower style. You hear so many rumors about WWE slowing down the style, and that's what they're doing. Incorporating more psychology into the matches and stopping the spot fest matches. Too many guys are getting hurt doing high risk because a regular moonsault doesn't impress a high spot crowd anymore. I'm not saying more guys need to practice psychology; its every wrestler's choice what they want to try and bring to the table and make fans remember.
Douglas Nunnally: So if the days of TLC, Ultimate X, and Ladder matches are nearing their end, will you miss them?
Cade Cassidy: I don't think they're nearing their end. I just think they'll be used wisely, which will make the importance of the matches mean that much more. People get bored of seeing the same old match, and that's what happens every time someone pulls a ladder match out five times a year. The fans want something new because they've seen a ladder match five times that year. I just think if they use them wisely that it will help increase the excitement of the match.
Douglas Nunnally: I understand your mother recently passed away in June. What kind of impact did that have on you?
Cade Cassidy: Well she passed away the day before a show, and a big match for me. Unfortunately, I had a casket match lined up the next day. I still went through with the match. I didn't change any of the plans. I played heel, didn't say a word to the crowd about what happened, and ended up losing later that night. It was probably the toughest thing I have had to go through both wrestling and non-wrestling. My mom always supported my choice, but never had a chance to see me wrestle. It was a real tough thing to go through, but ESW was there for me. Every single wrestler, promoter, booker, security, ticket taker. Everyone was there for me, which is another reason why my loyalty is to ESW.
Douglas Nunnally: Do you ever regret that decision?
Cade Cassidy: Not once. I'm not the only one going through something tragic at that time. People go out of their houses to see wrestling to be entertained and forget about what's going on in their lives for those couple hours they're at a show. The least I could do is make my mom proud and help other people out that day regardless of what happened in my life.
Douglas Nunnally: How hard was it to never have your mom witness you wrestle?
Cade Cassidy: It's rough till this day. Just before she passed away, I was talking about her coming to watch me wrestle. She always asked how I was doing in wrestling and was always very interested. My dad was the parent who tried to show me the negatives and how small my chance was of making it, and my mom was the one who told me to do what would make me happy. It was good to have both of those aspects because you can't go into this business with high hopes. But then again you should try and do what it is that makes you happy.
Douglas Nunnally: So which wrestlers would you say gave you your passion and inspiration for this business?
Cade Cassidy: First and foremost, Bret and Owen Hart. Besides them, it would be Mr. Perfect, Roddy Piper, Sting, and Ric Flair?
Douglas Nunnally: Who would you say had the most impact on your gimmick, demeanor, and/or wrestling style?
Cade Cassidy: Well, I try to stray from being too much like one person. I'd like to say Owen Hart really had an impact on my gimmick as a heel. Flair, Henning, and Michaels had an impact on my wrestling style.
Douglas Nunnally: As a fan, how were you affected when Owen died?
Cade Cassidy: It was an eye opener to see someone pass away that you watched from the time you were a kid. It really shocked me. When RAW came on the night after it happened and they had that tribute to Owen, it was one of the greatest nights in RAW history. I was pretty upset that when the RAW tenth anniversary came around that it didn't get number one moment by the fans.
Douglas Nunnally: Could you tell us about your style of wrestling and gimmick for those viewers not familiar with you?
Cade Cassidy: I mostly play heel right now, and my style is an all around style. I like to incorporate brawling, high flying, impact, technical and submission as much as I can. Unfortunately, due to my size right now, which is six feet and one hundred and seventy five pounds, most of the time, I have to fly to keep up with my opponents. But when I have an opponent the same size or smaller, I try and mix it up as much as I can. As far as my gimmick goes, I call myself the 6th Generation Superstar. My great-great-great grandpa once made Abe Lincoln tap out in a log cabin, and to answer everyone's question, no I'm not really a 6th generation wrestler.
Douglas Nunnally: What kind of moves do you like to utilize a lot for finishes and high spots?
Cade Cassidy: I like to use the Superkick for a finisher, and for high spots, I use a sky high, a twisting corkscrew senton, spinning wheel kick, and different variations of neck breakers.
Douglas Nunnally: How did you get the moniker "Coverboy?"
Cade Cassidy: It was something me and the booker came up with a couple days before the show. We wanted something to stick in front of my name. We threw around some ideas, and we kinda wanted something that hasn't been used before, so we used Coverboy and it's just stuck with me ever since. It gives me an extra 2 minutes to ramble on about myself on the mic, talking about how I've been on the cover of GQ magazine and so on.
Douglas Nunnally: Would you say the gimmick is an extension of any part of you, or is just something completely made up?
Cade Cassidy: I would hope that I am somewhat good looking, but I think every guy does. I wouldn't really say that "Coverboy" is an extension of me in real life. It's something that has become a part of Cade Cassidy the character. I think my gimmick fits the persona I play in the ring very well. I don't think anyone that plays a heel is really as much of a jerk as they are in the ring. As for when I play face, I'm completely who I am inside and outside the ring. I just have fun, dance to my theme music, possibly sing it, and have as much fun as I can.
Douglas Nunnally: What did it feel like advancing all the way in the finals of the ESW Interstate Championship Tournament, only to lose to Tommy Caliber?
Cade Cassidy: Well, when I first started wrestling, I was a tag team with Shade. We lost the belts the show before, and I had a chance to show what I had to the fans. As a singles competitor, I put on two pretty good matches that night. My first match was against Shade. I turned my back on him the month before, and he was dying to get his hands on me, so he annihilated me the whole match, only to lose to me by some cheap shots and an unprettier with my feet on the ropes. When I got to the finals, Tommy and I had been great friends for a long time. He was the guy whose house I was over and got the phone call. We both broke into the business together and had been going off and on with tag matches and feuding. I had one of his tag partners turn his back on him, and we destroyed him a couple shows before, so it was his chance to get even. We put on an awesome match; it's still one of my favorites till this day. The ring work compared to my ring work now wasn't all that great, but it's still one of my favorite matches. I hit Tommy Caliber with The "Coverboy" Clash (A.J. Styles Clash) and strutted around the ring. When I went for the pin, he recouped enough to kick out, so I dragged him to the ropes, told the ref to count again, and put my feet on the ropes. Shade came out and knocked my feet of the ropes, which eventually led to Caliber winning with the Slice Bread #2. I kinda went on a story there, but it was one of the finest moments of my career.
Douglas Nunnally: Though you lost your chance to be the first ever Interstate Champion, you were the first ever Tag Team Champions of ESW with Shade. What does it feel like being part of history like that, knowing that you will be looked upon as the first great tag team of ESW for years to come?
Cade Cassidy: It feels real good to know that we were the first ever tag champs in ESW history. I wish we could have done a better job as champs, but we didn't know as much as we do now. We did the best we could for the tag belts at the time, and we really enjoyed our reign. Hopefully someday soon, we can reunite and go for the straps one more time before people forget about us as champs.
Douglas Nunnally: Would you say you are a better tag or singles wrestler and which one do you enjoy more?
Cade Cassidy: They both have their fun aspects. I really haven't had much of a chance to tag since I've better myself as a wrestler over the past 2 years. I do have to say though that singles does appeal to me more, but as I said before, I would like to try and recapture tag gold with Shade again sometime in the future.
Douglas Nunnally: You sometimes say, "I'll drop you like third period French." Did you really want to succumb to such a cliche saying, or were you just drunk when you thought that up?
Cade Cassidy: Well first, this will be hard to believe, but I don't drink. Second, the best way to get catch phrases or things to say in your promos are from TV, movies, books, music, and so on. As for that that saying, I used it once, and it kinda has been there ever since; the fans remember it. I didn't make it up at all; it's actually straight from a certain movie. I'd say my word in promos is "Jive" more than any catchphrase; however, I do have some new catch phrases on the way.
Douglas Nunnally: Care to share some with us?
Cade Cassidy: Well, one I've started working on that actually is original would be: "Run you down like Motown." I'm not sure if I like the Motown part, and I don't know what I'm looking for something to end it with; maybe some of the readers or you could help me out with that? If anybody does, please feel free to e-mail me.
Douglas Nunnally: You mentioned your casket match with Shade about a couple of pages back. You join a very small club of casket match participants. What was the match environment like?
Cade Cassidy: It was very strange. One thing that's hard to take away from wrestlers are pins. When you take away pins, in some ways, it takes away suspense from a match. Besides that you got this huge wooden casket sitting there on the outside. It doesn't feel good at all to hit that or get thrown into it. I would say the environment is more nervous than anything. Anytime you have a gimmick match, the fans expect something special or extra, and if they don't get that fix, the match doesn't seem all that great.
(Casket Picture: http://empirestatewrestling.com/showpics/040124/049.jpg)
Douglas Nunnally: Do you feel you lived up to the expectations of the match considering you were probably compared to matches like Shawn Michaels-Undertaker and Triple H-Kane?
Cade Cassidy: Actually, the match I studied for that was Shawn Michaels-Undertaker as I came off more like a showboat and Shade is this sneaky little evil thing, so it was best to try and come up with ideas based around that. There were some things I wanted to do that I got talked out of, more of because when Shawn left that match it basically ended his career for a couple of years. Shawn left that match with a real bad back from the casket, so we were really trying to entertain and give the crowd as much as we could without killing our careers off in our first year of wrestling. To answer the question, I really don't think we lived up to any expectations for a couple of reasons. 1. It was less than 10 months into my pro-debut. Experience wise we weren't ready for the psychology. 2. My mother passed away the day before, and although I tried my best, the match didn't come off the way I wanted to. So unfortunately, I don't think we lived up to expectations.
Douglas Nunnally: How did you come about getting your own personal assistant on the last show?
Cade Cassidy: Well, when I turned back heel a couple shows ago, we knew what direction we were going, which was with the whole "6th Gen. Superstar" and "Coverboy," so when we decided to do that, I knew I needed to change my hometown. I figured, "Where would a Coverboy come from?" Hollywood sounded like a good choice. So when I changed my hometown all the sudden, the bookers started coming up to me and said, "Take this Hollywood thing all the way." They got me a personal assistant named "Arman," and then they got Paparazzi to follow me to the ring so it looks like I came straight outta Hollywood. It's a real fun gimmick to do, and I like what they've added to it. I didn't want to half ass whatever I did. So I'm glad we went all out, and I don't think we're even close to be done with where I can go with this.
Douglas Nunnally: Would you say that being on every single ESW show in history is part of your career highlight?
Cade Cassidy: Very much. There are only two guys so far to do that. This is counting even exhibition shows, and that's me and Mastiff. Right now we're at a competition to see who's gonna be the one and only. We've both been getting more bookings lately, and we know that one of us is bound to miss an exhibition show or a real show. Only the test of time will tell, but it's a huge honor and a huge sample to my loyalty to ESW for everything they've done for me.
Douglas Nunnally: So should I be putting money on you, rather than Mastiff?
Cade Cassidy: I don't think you can really put your money on either of us. We're both really loyal and have strong beliefs on our loyalty.
Douglas Nunnally: Would you like to keep this record till you retire?
Cade Cassidy: Yea I would like to, but in reality I don't think it's going to be possible. I have some people helping me out to get my name out there. And I think that the help that I'm getting is going to help me take off soon.
Douglas Nunnally: Who is helping you get your name out?
Cade Cassidy: Well, there are a lot of people that are helping out; it's hard to single out just one. But with a little help and a little more weight, hopefully I'll start breaking out.
Douglas Nunnally: Earlier above, you listed Flair and Hart as some personal favorites and wrestlers who had an impact on you. Do you have anything to say in the recent "war of words" between the two?
Cade Cassidy: Knowing wrestling and the way it is, there are a lot of personal grudges, and only those two know what the real story is. Both had a major impact on this business and pretty much in the same field when it comes to wrestling. Both of these guys didn't have the best bodies in the world and showed that you could be a world champion on skill and being the best, which is a big deal to me. I think that they both had a great impact on wrestling and how people look at it in a positive way. Nobody thinks of Ric Flair or Bret Hart and thinks negative things about wrestling. Most people want wrestling to return to what it was when these guys were champions. I think that's a HUGE compliment to both of them.
Douglas Nunnally: You have become a mainstay in ESW and have recently branched out to NSP and soon many other promotions. You have match of the night accolades all around, and some are arguably ESW's best work. So I have to ask, who's it going to be, Bush or Kerry?
Cade Cassidy: First off, thanks for the compliments. To answer the question: with a little help from everyone, John Kerry. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who don't look into who they're voting for, they just kinda say, "I'm Republican so I vote for Bush," or "I'm Democrat so I vote for Kerry." That shouldn't be the case. People have to look at who's best for the job. Bush has follied way too much, and if he can't even conduct an interview to the American people what is he stuttering on, or messing up when talking to foreign countries. In any way, Bush is lousy.
Douglas Nunnally: How do you feel about the website, TheWrestlingVoice.com?
Cade Cassidy: I think it's one of the better wrestling websites out there. A lot of sites throw you new and rumors and a column or two, and that's it. More sites need to get out there to interview the wrestlers and do more columns. The more voice of opinions, the better. I think it's great what you guys have done so far.
Douglas Nunnally: What do you plan to do when I finally shut up?
Cade Cassidy: Go and work out and maybe bug you every two seconds about when the interview will be up. I'm not entirely sure. Eating sounds good right now too, eating sounds really good. Way to confuse me, Doug!
Douglas Nunnally: Sorry...finally, what would you like to say to all the viewers out there?
Cade Cassidy: First, I'd like to say Doug's a great guy and invited everyone over to his house tomorrow night for a huge bash. He told me to tell all you viewers that you're all welcome to come. Second, don't mind my mis-capitalizations, spelling errors, and run-ons. Third, keep reaching for your goals and striving your hardest, and of course support wrestling in every form. Thanks for reading!
Douglas Nunnally: Well, I'll remember who to give the bill when the party is over. Thanks for joining me again, Cade.
Cade Cassidy: No problem, Doug. Thanks for having me on.
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