Tony Khan Announces New Spin On Casino Gauntlet Match At AEW Dynamite Maximum Carnage

By Eric Mutter
Tony Khan realizing two Casino Gauntlet matches are better than one Cindy Ord/Getty Images

AEW is attempting to kick off 2025 with a big bang, with their January 15 show in Cincinnati, Ohio, "Dynamite: Maximum Carnage" looking particularly loaded. The show will feature the first singles bout between Hook and Christian Cage, and Jon Moxley defending the AEW World Championship against the winner of the Casino Gauntlet match this Wednesday. Now, it'll also feature a new spin on the Casino Gauntlet, with major ramifications for AEW Grand Slam this February in Australia.

Taking to X Tuesday afternoon, AEW owner Tony Khan announced that the first ever AEW Women's Casino Gauntlet will be part of "Maximum Carnage," with the winner receiving an AEW Women's World Championship match against Mariah May at Grand Slam. Khan didn't reveal any participants for the match.

The Women's Casino Gauntlet represents the third variation of the popular match that AEW first unveiled last spring, joining the regular Casino Gauntlet match and the Tag Team Casino Gauntlet match, which was held in September. As with the other two variations, the Women's match will feature competitors entering in at random intervals, with the competitors having the ability to win the match before all participants have entered.

Provided she participates in the match, the favorite will undoubtedly be former AEW Women's Champion Toni Storm. Storm not only has a built in rivalry with former protege May, who defeated her to win the AEW Women's World Championship at AEW All In, but is an Australia native, making her an ideal challenger for Grand Slam. Storm and May have only crossed paths once since Storm returned from hiatus in December, with Storm showing signs of amnesia, having forgotten her previous success in AEW, while believing she only recently debuted.

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