On tonight's episode of AEW Dynamite Maximum Carnage, the first-ever Women's Casino Gauntlet match took place to determine who would get an opportunity against Mariah May for the AEW Women's World Championship at the upcoming AEW Grand Slam pay-per-view (set for February 15, 2025 at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia).
A surprise entrant in the match was Megan Bayne, who was making her Dynamite in-ring debut.
Bayne had previously wrestled seven matches for All Elite Wrestling over the course of 2021-2023, only ever wrestling on AEW Dark or AEW Dark: Elevation save for a dark match that took place prior to the June 7, 2023 taping of AEW Rampage (wherein she and Emi Sakura lost to Maki Itoh and Willow Nightingale).
Bayne had been reportedly signed to AEW late in 2023 following this, but nothing ever manifested from it. Instead, reports would come out in the summer of 2024 indicating she had been released from her contract, with no real information on what transpired or why things had unfolded that way.
Now that she's wrestled here, it seems likely they've come to terms with a new contract, but it is important to note that nothing official has been announced. Bayne has not been promoted with a traditional "Megan Bayne is All Elite" graphic or anything of the sort, so this may just be a one-off appearance.
Regardless of her contract situation, Bayne was not successful in her debut Dynamite match, as it was instead Toni Storm who won the Women's Casino Gauntlet match to secure herself a title opportunity against the woman who beat her for that very title back at AEW All In London on August 25, 2024.
Storm scored the winning pinfall over Julia Hart, who had just moments earlier spit mist in the eyes of Harley Cameron and was distracted dealing with her and Jamie Hayter.
In order of their entrances, the match consisted of Kris Statlander (who had won the #1 entry spot by beating Storm and Willow Nightingale last week in a three-way match), Jamie Hayter, Megan Bayne, Julia Hart, Willow Nightingale, Toni Storm, and Harley Cameron.
Are you excited for Megan Bayne to be a potential member of the AEW roster? Do you think Toni Storm will beat Mariah May for the AEW Women's World Championship? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!