The AEW Casino ladder match is AEW’s take on the ladder match/Royal Rumble concept. It is similar in concept to the Casino Battle royal. It staggers the wrestlers from entering the match like in the Royal Rumble, which is unusual for a ladder match.
The rules of the AEW Casino Ladder Match is simple. There will be a poker chip hanging above the ring.
Two competitors will begin the match. Every 90 seconds, a new competitor will join. The winner is the first man to retrieve the poker chip.
The number of competitors in the ring vary between 7 and 9. The last man to enter is called the “Joker Card“, and is traditionally been a surprise entrance or debut.
This has produced some incredible moments in these matches. Orange Cassidy failing, without much effort, to reach the Casino Chip. Grabbing the Casino Chip entitled the winner to face the AEW World Champion at a later date.
However, the second Casino Ladder Match was named the “Face of the Revolution” Ladder match. In this case, the winner faced off against the TNT Champion Darby Allin. In this case, the winner was Scorpio Sky, would failed to win the championship.
Here at all the joker cards for the AEW Casino Ladder Match ranked, from worst to best.
Ethan Page
Ethan Page was the “Joker Card” surprise entrant for the Casino Ladder match at AEW Revolution 2021.
He was long rumoured to debut with AEW, so it wasn’t a massive surprise when he was the final entrant into the match. The match was billed as the “Face of the Revolution” ladder match, with the winner getting a TNT championship opportunity.
Ethan Page was a former tag team champion in Impact wrestling before his AEW debut. He was part of the hit team “The North” alongside his partner from the indies, Josh Alexander. Together, the pair became one of the top teams in the company when they defeated LAX at Bash at the Brewery for the Impact tag team titles.
He entered the match at AEW Revolution 2020, and despite putting on a good showing did not come out victorious. The winner was Scorpio Sky, who went on to face, and lose to, Darby Allin for the TNT Championship.
Men of the Year
Despite losing to Sky at AEW Revolution, the pair would soon form an alliance. They first joined forces on March 29, 2021 on AEW Dark: Elevation, one of AEW’s two Youtube shows.
The pair would start teaming together, taking on the team name “Men of the Year”. They would have their biggest feud at that point against Darby Allin and Sting, after Sky was defeated by Allin.
The pair took on the legendary Sting and Darby Allin in tag team action, losing to the pair at AEW Double or Nothing 2021.
The pair began to spin their wheels a bit, but soon regained their form and were thrust into the main event once again.
They were helped by Dan Lambert and his team of UFC fighters, in a feud with Chris Jericho and his Inner Circle teammate Jake Hager. They defeated the Inner Circle at AEW Grand Slam, and look set to move up in the rankings and challenge the Lucha Bros sooner rather than later.
Brian Cage
Before AEW Double or Nothing 2020, Tazz had decided to antagonise Darby Allin. He offered his help to Allin, who refused and walked away from the former ECW Champion.
So, Tazz had a plan. He decided to bring someone in to teach Allin a lesson. He felt disrespected by the young upstart, who thought he was above getting some advice from a veteran.
So, Tazz found his way to recruiting The Machine Brian Cage, bringing him to AEW. Bring Cage was the Joker Card in the AEW Casino Battle Royale, instantly getting a target on his back from every competitor.
Cage dominated the field, throwing competitors around like they were paperweights. He tossed wrestler into the wrestler, and despite being ganged up on by the entire field, still managed to break out, climb the ladder and become the number one contender for the AEW Championship.
Check out our article on Brian Cage potentially signing with WWE – Brian Cage WWE
Cage vs Moxley
Cage would go on to face Job Moxley for the AEW Championship at AEW Fyter Fest 2020. He would come close, but would lose when Tazz threw in the total to protect The Machine from further injury. Cage impressed in AEW, feuding with top stars like Darby Allin, Sting and Jon Moxley as he tried to win the AEW Championship.
He even became a champion of sorts during his AEW tenure. He was awarded the FTW Championship by Tazz, a title he invented during his time in ECW. The title was held by Cage until he was defeated by his former Team Tazz partner Ricky Starks at Fyter Fest 2021. It was his second consecutive title loss at the event, making Fyter Fest a bogey event for the former Casino Ladder Match Joker Card.
Brian Cage has reported been unhappy with his direction in AEW as of late. He has denied these claimed however, citing injury for the reasons he has been off TV since his loss to Ricky Starks. Cage is sure to return to AEW soon to reprise his feud with Ricky Starks in the near future.
Hangman Adam Page
AEW’s third Casino Ladder Match was also their first on free TV. On the 2nd anniversary of AEW Dynamite, a 7-man Casino Ladder match was used to determine the number one contender for Kenny Omega’s AEW World Championship.
Jon Moxley was the favourite for the match, and he was joined by Orange Cassidy, PAC, Andrade, Matt Hardy and Lance Archer. The 6 men fought tooth and nail in the match, until the final surprise Joker card was revealed.
The joker card in the Casino Ladder match was none other than the returning Hangman Adam Page. He was returning after his wife giving birth, and reigniting his long term feud with Kenny Omega.
Page entered and after brawling with Jon Moxley and hitting a Deadeye off a ladder through a table on PAC, ascended the ladder and grabbed the poker chip. This earned him a shot at Kenny Omega, looking to face him in singles matches for the first time since Omega won the AEW Championship.
Hangman Page made a surprise return to a huge pop, and retook his place as the top face in AEW. He looks set to face Omega at Full Gear in November, and the story looks to be finally resolving itself with a Hangman Championship win, after over two years of waiting.
Joker
At All Out 2022, a masked wrestling named Joker came out last and won the Casino Ladder Match, earning himself an AEW Championship Opportunity. He was named Joker and his identity was not revealed until later that night.
It was actually Malcom Bivens, manager and leader of The Firm who collected the chip, but awarded it to Joker once the match was over. The masked man entered to the son “Sympathy for the Devil” by The Rolling Stones, giving fans some hint as to who it could be (sadly not Mick Jagger).
It was later revealed to be a returning MJF, who went on to defeat Jon Moxley at AEW Full Gear 2022 to win the AEW Championship.