10 Failed AEW Experiments
4. Casino Battle Royale
AEW has had its issues with production along the way, most of these forgivable because shooting live television is no easy task and the show is still quite young. However, the very nature of the Casino Battle Royale means that it’s always going to look sloppy.
Most wrestling fans will agree that WWE’s Royal Rumble is a time honoured tradition that even lapsed viewers will tune in for every year, just for the spectacle. Every company wants their slice of this very delicious pie, and AEW tried their best to put their own spin on it. Rather than introducing each competitor one by one over the course of the match, the Casino Battle Royale organises them into four groups named after card suits and one random selection of wrestlers joins the fray every few minutes.
Cutting from in-ring action to one entrance isn’t too bad but trying to capture what’s going on in the match when five men individually make their way to the ring means you’re guaranteed to miss stuff. This can be anything from high-spots to eliminations and the constant cutting back and forth of cameras feels needlessly chaotic.
They’ve gotten better over time and with practice, but the Casino Battle Royale still hasn’t carved its own identity and instead feels like AEW’s poor attempt at miniature, messy Royal Rumbles.