With Kyle Fletcher out of motion indefinitely after suffering a knee injury, the AEW TNT Championship has been vacated, but a brand new champion might be determined at Dynasty on April 12 in considered one of AEW’s signature matches, the Casino Gauntlet Match. Former TNT Champion Tommaso Ciampa and CMLL’s Mascara Dorada faced off on the April 8 episode of “AEW Dynamite” to find out who will enter the Casino Gauntlet because the primary entrant, and after a back-and-forth contest, Ciampa secured the primary spot.
A classic case of high-flyer needing to be grounded, Ciampa tried every little thing to maintain up with Dorada within the early going but was too slow for the Mexican star, who hit numerous Arm Drags, Hurricanranas, and dives to the surface to maintain control. This did backfire because the match entered the business break as Ciampa was in a position to dish out some punishment of his own, even sending Dorada over the barricade and into the gang face first before smashing his head into the announce desk at ringside.
Back from the break and Dorada was in a position to use his aerial offense once more to attempt to secure the victory, hitting a Moonsault off the ring post to the surface and a 450 Splash for a near fall. Nonetheless, Ciampa was in a position to catch Dorada going to the well one time too often and hit a Backstabber for a near fall of his own. Ciampa went for the Psycho Driller but Dorada escaped and hit a Neckbreaker from an Electric Chair position which also earned him a two count. Ciampa got his boot up when Dorada tried hitting a Moonsault, but it surely didn’t stop Dorada from going for more offense. With that said, Ciampa rolled Dorada into the Widow’s Bell DDT and followed it up with a running knee for the win, securing Ciampa’s place within the Casino Gauntlet because the primary entrant.