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| photo courtesy: wwe.com |
Cassady is currently partnered with Enzo Amore, a self proclaimed "G," who has ensnared the NXT audience with his bravado and eccentricity. Their tag team's foundations began years ago.
As he told Byron Saxton of WWE.com, "I first met Enzo when I was 15 years old." The two played pickup basketball and hung out together until they were separated when they went to different colleges.
NXT brought them back together.
This reunion has resulted in a duo most entertaining. Amore gets the bulk of the attention as the louder, more spazzy of the pair. Cassady is not just the big guy in Amore's shadow, though.
Amore's recent leg injury and a feud with Aiden English has allowed "Big Cass" to showcase his personality and ability to stand on his own.
Strengths
Two things will catapult Cassady from NXT to WWE—his size and his charisma.
The latter is a more difficult trait to find than the former. Numerous huge men have come and gone from WWE, unable to make an impact, despite their immensity.
This is where Cassady stands out from his peers.
He's genuinely and seemingly effortlessly funny. That alone ups a prospect's value. At first glance, it's his partner Amore who is carrying the comic burden during their segments, but Cassady is no mere sidekick.
In a promo about meteor showers, a lack of footwear and tacos,Cassady shines just as much as Amore.
He's not quite as electric as Amore is, but he is comfortable and confident in front of the camera. His timing is excellent as well, managing to hit the right emphasis points on his own speech, while dealing with his buddy bothering him.
Amore's leg injury has both earned Cassady a bigger share of the spotlight and given him a space to blossom.
It was that injury that forced NXT bookers to find something forCassady to do without his partner. They chose to put him in a sing-off against English—a surprisingly entertaining segment that gave the audience another reason to root for him.
Beyond the quality of his singing voice, this was the point where Cassady's potential as a solo star was most evident.
From his strained facial expression before he began to sing, to the endearing smile he wore during the performance, he provided all the minor details to make this a success.
Listen to how engaged the audience is throughout. If he can do with something as silly as a sing-off, big things await him on the main roster.
The energy he's shown in backstage segments is present in the ring as well.
It's his size that folks first notice (WWE.com lists him as 6' 10'' 276 lbs), but Cassady knows how to please the crowd with his power moves. A part of that seems to be that he's having so much fun in the ring that it's hard not to have fun watching him.
His size, power and motor are on display in this match against English back in their FCW days.
Cassady has since built on the physical skills, working a "realest guy in the room" shtick into his in-ring repertoire. That makes him a unique prospect—one powerful enough to toss 265-pound Konnor behind him—and also one capable of making us care about what he does in the ring.
Weaknesses
While Cassady is not the type of plodding, wooden wrestler that Giant Gonzalez was, he's not a top-tier athlete either.
He's quick for his size, but his move set mostly consists of forearm smashes, slams and clotheslines. Cassady doesn't remind anyone ofKane or Undertaker in terms of surprising deftness or the ability to fly at his opponent.
In an FCW tag team match against The Ascension, Cassady was powerful and explosive. His footwork lacked smoothness, though.
Even with the added ring time he's had since, it will be a struggle for him to be any more fluid. His build makes him somewhat inherently awkward.
WWE isn't going to ask him to mask up and be the next Sin Cara, though, so being a good-not-great athlete isn't the biggest concern. There are questions surrounding how to book him, though.
Cassady is not as gritty and vicious as folks like The Wyatt Family. Even with his length, he's not an intimidating presence either. He's lankier than the Superstars fans are used to seeing.
That's part of why he doesn't fit into the standard big man categories of mauler, monster or muscle.
Continuing to use him in his current incarnation is the best way to maximize his talents. Even if WWE does that, he's not the type of guy who is going to regularly produce four- and five-star matches.
He can certainly get the crowd into what he's doing, but it won't be varied or dazzlingly athletic.
There's no shame in not being as agile as Roman Reigns or as powerful as Big E, and that's where Cassady sits—not amazing in any physical category.
Long-Term Potential
What road WWE decides to place Cassady on will have a major impact on his ceiling.
Continuing his alliance with Amore would allow him to be one half of the most entertaining tag team in the division. Should the company decide to put him on his own, he'll thrive, but not at the same level.
As a solo competitor, Cassady is either United States title or Intercontinental Championship material.
Look for him to endear himself to the crowd not long after debuting on the main roster. He's a compelling and fresh Superstar—one that will have a vocal and devoted fanbase sure to demand he get a shot as a headliner.
That's a few rungs too high for him, though.
The way that Zack Ryder was able to shoot upward for a brief time,Cassady will ride his entertaining ways to the upper crest of themidcard. His ring work is going to hold him back from taking that next step.
It's hard to imagine Cassady hanging with Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton, John Cena or CM Punk in terms of creating memorable matches.
The midcard is no house of shame, though. If WWE can funnel his skills properly, it will have a strange cross between Santino Marellaand Test—a powerhouse who can fill an arena with laughter.
Keeping him with Amore ups his chances of success. Their partnership is an ideal one as their chemistry together is beyond what The Prime Time Players had and on par with Team Hell No. Their real-life friendship elevates their work together.
Even if their in-ring work is not on par with WWE's top tag teams now, they are so entertaining that they would eventually work their way up to the tag team titles and be one of the centerpieces of that division.
Cassady told Byron Saxton of WWE.com, "The NXT Universe has seen me with gold around my neck, but none around my waist. That's going to have to change."
This change that he speaks of is going to happen, at both the NXT andWWE levels. He delivers the fun element of wrestling so effectively that he's assured a good portion of WWE's spotlight.
Look for him to hold a number of midcard titles, to be a part of a number of classic backstage segments and make Queens, N.Y., proud.
source: bleacherreport.com
