Before Wednesday, a Women's Casino Gauntlet Match was just an abstract idea. "AEW Dynamite: Maximum Carnage" sought to change that, and Cincinnati watched as Toni Storm fought through six other women to make history as the first-ever victor of a Women's Casino Gauntlet Match. Her prize: a title match against her former protege, Mariah May, at Grand Slam.
Kris Statlander, who won a Triple Threat for the coveted entry spot on the January 8 episode of "Dynamite," opened the match by locking up with former AEW Women's Champion Jamie Hayter. They were quickly joined by the returning Megan Bayne, who was last seen on AEW programming in 2021 before becoming a STARDOM and GCW staple. Bayne went blow-for-blow with Statlander before getting taken out by a Standing Vertical Suplex reversal from Hayter.
Hayter had her hands full shortly after, as current rival and former AEW TBS Champion Julia Hart made her appearance. Hayter went to fight Hart on the outside before Willow Nightingale made her entrance into the match in the fifth spot, much to the chagrin of May on commentary. May's woes continued as the all-too-familiar Storm made her appearance in the sixth spot.
As bodies began to pile up in Cincinnati, Hart and Hayter locked up before they were interrupted by Harley Cameron, who recently took a loss to May in a non-title match on the January 11 episode of "AEW Collision." Cameron's interference caused her to be at the receiving end of Hart's mist. As Cameron attempted to scrape the corrosive off of her eyes, Storm materialized to win the match via roll-up.
May is now destined to meet her old mentor in Storm at AEW's Australia-based Grand Slam event on February 15. Thus far Storm has given no indication of a return to her "Timeless" persona, last seen in the ring the night May took her title.
