10 Terrible Gimmick Wrestling Matches One Tweak Away From Excellence

5. Casino Battle Royal

Sheamus Steel Cage
AEW

Why It's Terrible: The multiple entry format results in nobody getting any focus upon arrival, as well as asking odd questions of how that all looks backstage. Diffusing the easy pop instead of enhancing it, much of the bout is clouded by confusion as the "suits" are all revealed.

One Tweak: Accept defeat and run it like a regular Royal Rumble.

The suits just aren't that captivating for the audience, even if the last person in the ring is a guaranteed popper. There's too much risk for too little reward - AEW enjoy boasting a diverse, different and dangerous roster compared to their rivals, but there's nothing worse than seeing folk that fit this exact brief getting lost in the shuffle because another wrestler is getting their sh*t in.

As much as it might p*ss on Cody's chips (but if anybody needs that once in a while, it's him), WWE have figured this one out well enough and engineered it accordingly. The mid-match pins and submissions still keep it different from their competition too.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett