Why Are They Called AEW Casino Battle Royale and Casino Ladder Matches?

Forever trying to distinguish itself from the ever-dominant WWE, and showcase that it has its own unique and better pro wrestling product, All Elite Wrestling has invested a lot in its branding. From the style and set-up of storylines through to its video games, AEW sees them all as key battlegrounds where it can be different from the WWE.

However, one way in which AEW doesn’t have much wriggle room is in its events. Certain pro wrestling events are forever popular regardless of the company behind them, and while AEW can innovate with some new ways to run matches, it has to stick to the tenants of these staples. This has given rise to the AEW Casino series of events, which provides a slight but noticeable tweak to the set-up, potentially laying the foundations for more to come.

Why AEW events are called “Casino” events

The “Casino” element of AEW’s Casino Battle Royale and Casino Ladder Match comes from how the entrant order is decided. From a deck of cards, the wrestlers pick out a card, with the suits determining the order and groups that will enter the ring. The one who draws the joker from the pack becomes the final entrant in odd-numbered events, such as the 21-wrestler Casino Battle Royale.

However, it’s not always down to a pack of cards. Casino Tag Team Royale employs a lotto-type draw to create its order, as does the Casino Trios Royale. That said, the Casino Ladder Match does conform to the deck of cards and drawing to select the order that its wrestlers can enter. However, a Casino Ladder Match is fought over by fewer competitors.

It makes for a far less staged, more skill-based, and random event overall. This even translates to the Fight Forever video game. When entering early in the Casino Battle Royale, it’s wise to strategize with grapples to wear down foes to try to win the event. In the WWE, the order would, more often than not, let you spot who the eventual winner would be rather quickly.

Rolling with the casino premise

Drawing cards from the deck and running a lottery add to the randomization that helps to add that bit of mystery to any event. Now, with several of these events in the bag, “AEW Casino” is becoming the buzzword that means a top-draw pro wrestling match. It was even the title of their mobile game, AEW Casino: Double or Nothing, while another new mobile title is in the works.

From a branding standpoint, these online casino games look to be the next potentially lucrative step for AEW. “AEW Casino” could become a series of games that draw from established popular mechanics. For example, in slots promotions now, popular games Fishin’ Frenzy and Big Bass Bonanza are drawn on from the bonus spins and Daily Drop jackpots. In these slots, the aim is to land fish cash prizes and a fisherman to reel them in.

It’s a very popular mechanic which would work perfectly with the AEW Casino Battle Royale set-up. In a bonus, you could seek to spin in as many wrestlers as you can with your chosen wrestler, claiming their cash prizes and booting them from the ring. The aim would be to eliminate 20 to accumulate enough of the cash prizes to land the game’s jackpot.

AEW is establishing the Casino events as its most enticing, and as a company seeking to rival the sports entertainment goliath of the WWE, it only seems natural for them to explore more opportunities by using that keyword.