There was much anticipation ahead of AEW’s Casino Battle Royale match, with the 21st and final entrant, also known as the joker, set to be a surprise. Both Andrade and Paul Wight had been heavily rumored, but it ended up being Lio Rio making his debut for the promotion. He’d receive a huge pop, and you can watch his entrance for yourself below.
The highly talented cruiserweight entered with a crossbody off the top rope onto Isiah Kassidy and a reverse hurricanrana on Marq Quen of Private Party. He would then hit a Spanish Fly on Kassidy and initially avoided elimination by Matt Hardy before hitting him with a Stunner after coming off the bottom rope. However, while attempting to throw both Kassidy and Quen over the top rope, he was eliminated by Matt Hardy from behind. Ultimately the match was won by Jungle Boy.
Rush, a former WWE Cruiserweight Champion, was part of the companies mass cuts in April 2020, and while he did contemplate quitting the business to focus on music and even wrestled a retirement match against Joey Janela, he would return a few months later. Since then, he has competed for MLW, New Japan, and even wrestled as a Spider-Man-inspired character called Aracno at AAA TripleMania XXVIII. He also appeared on MTV reality show The Challenge, quitting the show citing mental health reasons. As of writing, it isn’t known if he has signed a deal with AEW or was one time appearance.
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