EXCLUSIVE: “That Was the Moment” — KJ Orso Says AEW Wasted the Fan Momentum He Built with Miro Feud
By Mark O’Brien | @WrestleMobs
Full interview now on Irish Wrestling Entertainment and Bodyslam.net
Wrestling fans often talk about the moments that changed a wrestler’s life.
For KJ Orso, it was a match he lost.
Back then, he was still Fuego Del Sol, the masked underdog whose groundswell of support during AEW’s Daily’s Place era made him a cult favorite. No entrance music, no storylines, no merch push — just a kid who showed up, took a beating, and got cheered louder every week.
Then came the night he faced Miro for the TNT Championship on the debut episode of AEW Rampage.
“That was the moment,” Orso says. “That was the match that made everybody believe in me.”
It was supposed to be the launching pad. Instead, it became the ceiling.
The Match That Should’ve Meant More
AEW fans will remember it clearly: Fuego sprinting in, hitting three tornado DDTs in a row, and having the crowd on fire. Miro survived, crushed him, and retained the title — but the audience erupted. Then came the post-match twist: Sammy Guevara walked out and handed Fuego a contract, live on air.
It was pure wrestling magic. A “made guy” moment.
And then… nothing.
“I lost to Miro in a squash match, and I get it — he was a monster,” Orso recalls. “But I thought that was going to lead to a story. And it just… didn’t.”
Instead of building a feud or crafting a comeback narrative, AEW left the story to rot. The crowd’s passion had peaked, and the company never struck while the iron was hot.
“That’s the thing that hurt the most,” Orso says. “I was the hottest thing coming out of that episode of Rampage. The crowd was with me. The whole place was chanting. And then — nothing.”
He showed up to TV the following week expecting to further the angle, only to be told there were no plans.
“I came back to TV thinking, ‘Okay, maybe I interfere in Miro’s match. Maybe we run it back.’ But there was nothing. Nobody said anything.”
“You gave the fans the feel-good moment — and then gave them nothing else”
In a business built on storytelling, momentum matters. Orso knows that better than most. The Miro match wasn’t just a one-off — it was the emotional payoff for months of fan investment, much of it built outside AEW’s own programming.
Fuego became a household name through Sammy Guevara’s vlog, Twitter fan campaigns, and passionate underdog support. But once the contract was signed, AEW left him without a purpose.
“They gave the fans the feel-good moment of me getting signed. That’s great. But then they gave them nothing else. And after a while, people stop cheering. Because they see that the company doesn’t care.”
In Orso’s eyes, the contract was real — but the opportunity behind it wasn’t.
“You brought me in. You gave me a contract. Then you just left me sitting there.”
He wasn’t asking to be world champion. What he wanted was a chance to evolve — and he offered ideas constantly.
“I pitched turning heel so many times. I pitched new gear. I pitched new personas. Anything to evolve. I didn’t want to stay stuck.”
But stuck is what he became.
“The fans believed in me — AEW didn’t”
It’s a hard truth, but Orso doesn’t flinch from it. The people wanted him. The company didn’t.
“Everything I had, I earned. The fans gave me that run. I wasn’t supposed to get signed. That happened because people demanded it. And I’ll always be grateful.”
But gratitude only goes so far when creative direction stalls out.
“I’ll never forget that night with Miro. That crowd. That moment. But I can’t pretend like AEW ever had a long-term plan for me. They didn’t. That Miro match? That was the test. And even though the crowd loved it, I guess I failed the test anyway.”
He doesn’t say it bitterly. He says it like someone who’s done replaying the tape in his head.
What Could’ve Been — And What Comes Next
In hindsight, the Miro feud could’ve been the start of something. A full-blown David vs. Goliath arc. A tag alliance with Sammy Guevara. A masked heel turn. Even a losing streak redemption arc.
“If you’re not going to follow through, don’t act like you are,” Orso says. “Don’t use fan momentum to look good, and then toss it aside.”
Today, KJ Orso is rebuilding himself from the ground up. The mask is gone. The indie dates are piling up. He’s reinventing, rebranding, and working harder than ever — not for validation, but for survival.
The fans still remember that Miro match.
So does he.
🎥 Watch the full interview now:
📺 Irish Wrestling Entertainment YouTube
📺 Bodyslam.net YouTube
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