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Ex-WWE Champion Crowned the Inaugural National Champion at AEW Full Gear

By Faiz Ahmed • Published Nov 22, 2025 21:58 EST
AEW logo over blurred Ricochet Will Ospreay

AEW Full Gear was guaranteed to see one new champion crowned at the show this year. One of the marquee matches on the card saw the Casino Gauntlet match take place for the AEW National Championship.

The belt was introduced earlier this month by Tony Khan and Tony Schiavone and is inspired by the NWA National Heavyweight Championship. Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin of The Hurt Syndicate became the first two entrants in the tournament after winning their respective matches this past week on Dynamite.

The number of contestants in the match wasn’t announced earlier, leaving the field open for numerous wrestlers. The match saw a total of 12 wrestlers compete for the newly introduced belt.

Ricochet wins the Casino Gauntlet match for the AEW National Championship

The match began with Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin as it was announced on Dynamite. They were then followed by Ricochet, who used the GOA to issue a beatdown on the Hurt Syndicate. The next two entrants in the match were Death Riders’ Claudio Castagnoli and Daniel Garcia, respectively, followed by Orange Cassidy.

Next to enter was another Death Riders member in Wheeler Yuta, allowing the group to dominate. Then came in JetSpeed’s Kevin Knight, Roderick Strong, and Don Callis Family’s Mark Davis. The field remained fresh throughout the match with multiple new wrestlers joining in short intervals.

Kevin Knight then received some backup of his own after Speedball Mike Bailey entered the match but the two went at it with one another in a mini-singles match after clearing the field. The final entrant in the match turned out to be ‘Daddy Magic’ Matt Mernard, who chased Daniel Garcia away from the ring.

The match erupted into chaos when all 12 competitors started taking out each other. It seemed that Orange Cassidy was heading for the win but Yuta took him out with a running knee. Kevin Knight broke his pin attempted and performed a UFO splash on him but before he could capitalize, he was taken out by Ricochet with the Spirit Gun and became the inaugural AEW National Champion.

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