In a twist that shocked absolutely no one who’s been paying attention, Christian Cage walked away from the Casino Gauntlet match at AEW All In 2024 with the most coveted prize in all of wrestling: the ability to say, “I told you so.” While the audience was still picking their jaws up off the floor from seeing G1 Climax winner Zack Sabre Jr. trading holds with Ricochet—who was last seen trying to avoid elevators in Stamford—Christian swooped in like a wrestling vulture, snatching victory with the help of his faithful sidekick, Killswitch. This, of course, came mere hours after they graciously donated their AEW World Trios Championships to a London ladder.
Now, before you think Christian just wandered into this win by accident (like he found it lying around the locker room and decided, “Sure, why not?”), let’s set the record straight. According to the all-knowing Dave Meltzer, Christian was supposed to win a Casino Gauntlet match earlier this year. But because pro wrestling loves a good plot twist, that didn’t happen. So, what do you do with a man who’s been denied his rightful win? You hand him another match, let him lose a title, and then toss him into a gauntlet where he can snatch victory from the jaws of… well, victory.
To clarify, AEW has held two Casino Gauntlet matches this year. Both were won by Will Ospreay, who used his prizes to gain a championship and promptly lose another. The specifics of which gauntlet Christian was supposed to win remain as mysterious as the whereabouts of that one sock you always lose in the dryer. But Meltzer hints it was the second one—because why make things easy?
As of now, Christian has yet to declare when he’ll cash in his AEW World Championship shot, but don’t worry, folks—he’s been chasing that title like a dog chases its tail ever since Swerve Strickland sent him packing at Double or Nothing. With Bryan Danielson now holding the title after an emotionally charged victory over Strickland, it’s only a matter of time before Christian shows up, smug as ever, to remind us all why he’s the master of timing. The question isn’t if Christian will cash in, but when… and how much we’ll enjoy watching him do it.