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Battle royals have been a staple in professional wrestling for decades. A large number of wrestlers all compete together in the ring and each must throw a competitor over the the top rope with both feet touching the floor to make an elimination.
Various companies have put different spins on the match concept over the years. We’ve seen WCW’s “World War 3” match that included 60 competitors and three rings to WWE’s “Royal Rumble” where 30 fighters come down to the ring one-by-one in intervals.
Since debuting in 2019, AEW has christened their own “Casino Battle Royale” match and will hold one this Sunday at their All Out pay-per-view in Hoffman Estates, IL featuring the superstars in their women’s division. Here’s how it works:
Rules
Following the casino theme, the match features 21 competitors fighting in an every-man-for-themselves battle royal. 20 of those competitors are split into groups of five based on the suit they draw from a deck of cards (spades, clubs, diamonds, hearts). The match starts off with the first group of five in the ring and a new group comes out every three minutes. Whoever is lucky enough to draw the joker will enter the ring last by themselves as the 21st entrant.
Prize
The winner of the match will receive a future shot at the AEW Women’s World Championship. Nyla Rose won the first women’s Casino Battle Royale at last year’s All Out event.
Competitors
20 competitors have been announced for the match on Sunday so far. That list includes Nyla Rose, Thunder Rosa, The Bunny, Big Swole, Julia Hart, Tay Conti, Diamante, Penelope Ford, Red Velvet, Hikaru Shida, Emi Sakura, Jade Cargill, Kiera Hogan, Abadon, Leyla Hirsch, KiLynn King, Rebel, Jamie Hayter, Anna Jay, and Riho.
The last entrant to be announced earlier in the week was Skye Blue. It was originally speculated that Ruby Soho, formerly known in the WWE as Ruby Riott, would make her AEW debut in the match as the joker. We’ll see what the company has in store on Sunday as this will most likely open the show.