Brandi Rhodes: Most Women In The Casino Battle Royale Are Not Part Of The Active AEW Roster
Brandi Rhodes talks AEW All Out.
AEW All Out will be a big night for the All Elite Wrestling women’s roster as the Casino Battle Royale will determine the first challenger for the vacant AEW Women’s Champion. Names currently scheduled to compete in the Casino Battle Royale include Britt Baker, Awesome Kong, Teal Piper, Jazz, and more. Speaking to Bleacher Report, head of the women’s division and Chief Branding Officer Brandi Rhodes revealed that not everyone in the battle royale will be with AEW moving forward.
“Most of the women you’ll see at the Casino Battle Royal are non-active members of our roster. As I’ve mentioned on the Road to All Out, we don’t have 21 women on the roster and the match requires 21 women,” said Brandi. “So, this is an opportunity for a lot of these women to get in front of a larger audience. Maybe an opportunity most of them have never had, or at least not in a long time. Right now, most of these women aren’t actively members of the AEW roster. But that doesn’t mean they won’t continue to work with us.”
The other big women’s match at AEW All Out will feature Riho taking on Hikaru Shida. It’s been reported that the winner of that match will take on the Casino Battle Royale winner for the AEW Women’s Title when AEW debuts on TNT on Oct. 2. AEW has yet to confirm the stipulation.
“One of the best things about our division is that it’s so very diverse. We have a lot of female wrestlers who bring a lot of different things to the table. I think you’re right that a lot of the Joshi talent hasn’t been seen before, so it’s great to have them on board to show people what they can do,” said Brandi. “They’ll be mixing with people like Allie and Brit, who have been on the indy scene for awhile but haven’t really broken through, either. I think it’s going be a nice mix no matter what you like.”
Brandi continued, “There are a lot of fans who really like that high-flying, fast-moving, hard-hitting action. And there are some people who really love to be fully invested in the character work of someone and wondering what’s going to happen next in the story and where it’s going to go. That’s the beauty of what we’re doing. There’s no box that anyone is going to be forced into. They are allowed to be authentically who they are and that will be a recipe for success.”
Along with heading up the women’s division, Brandi herself is scheduled to compete in the Casino Battle Royale.
Fightful will have live coverage of AEW All Out beginning at 7 p.m. ET on Aug. 31.
