Nearly a year after he made his debut in the company, Roderick Strong has his first taste of AEW gold after defeating Orange Cassidy for the International title at Sunday's Revolution pay-per-view.
Despite having Matt Taven and Mike Bennett at ringside, Strong didn't need their assistance, pinning Cassidy after an End of Heartache backbreaker to get the clean pin for the title.
The story of the match was how badly injured Cassidy's ribs and back were going into the match as Cassidy revealed that nearly his entire midsection was covered with kinesio tape after removed his t-shirt pre-match.
As a result, Strong focused on Cassidy's injuries, increased by multiple interactions with Strong's Undisputed Kingdom faction over the last two months. One particular attack saw Strong hit Cassidy with a gut-wrench backbreaker on the top rope.
Cassidy nearly had the match won after hitting an Orange Punch and Beach Break, but Strong was able to get to the ropes to avoid the pin. As he attempted another Orange Punch, he took too long and Strong hit a knee strike and his aforementioned finisher for the win.
It's Strong's first title anywhere since holding the WWE NXT Cruiserweight title before losing it in a unification match to then-NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes in January 2022. He now becomes the sixth-ever International Champion in the title's relatively young history.
The loss ends the five-month second reign of Cassidy that began in October with a win over Rey Fenix. What followed was 12 title defenses including wins over the likes of Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Tomohiro Ishii and, most recently, Nick Wayne.
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