AEW Continental Classic

Last updated
AEW Continental Classic
AEW Continental Classic.jpg
Tournament logo
Tournament information
Sport Professional wrestling
LocationUnited States
Canada
DatesNovember 22, 2023–December 30, 2023
Tournament
format(s)
Two-block round-robin tournament
Host(s) All Elite Wrestling
Venue(s)Various (see venues )
Participants12
Final positions
Champion Eddie Kingston
Runner-up Jon Moxley

The Continental Classic, colloquially abbreviated as the C2, is an annual professional wrestling round-robin tournament hosted by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The tournament is held at the end of the calendar year and culminates at the Worlds End pay-per-view (PPV) event in December. Tournament matches are held under Continental Rules in which no one is allowed at ringside and outside interference is strictly prohibited; breaking these rules results in point deduction. The prize of the tournament is the AEW Continental Championship and the title holder at the time of the C2 is automatically entered into the tournament and defends the title.

Contents

The inaugural tournament was held in November—December 2023 and took place across episodes of Dynamite , Rampage , and Collision , culminating at that year's Worlds End PPV on December 30. Eddie Kingston won the inaugural tournament and was crowned the inaugural Continental Champion. In winning the inaugural tournament and championship, he additionally retained the ROH World Championship of sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH) and the Strong Openweight Championship of partner promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) with Kingston subsequently recognized as winning the American Triple Crown Championship, also referred to as the Continental Crown.

In the final week of the inaugural tournament, the C2 was also promoted as the Tournament for Tots in support of charity.

History

On November 11, 2023, the American professional wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) announced a tournament called the Continental Classic. AEW president Tony Khan and AEW wrestler Bryan Danielson announced that the tournament would begin on the November 22, 2023, episode of Dynamite , lasting six weeks and concluding at the Worlds End pay-per-view (PPV) event on December 30. [1]

The Continental Classic was revealed to be a round-robin tournament consisting of two groups of six wrestlers. The first four confirmed participants were Bryan Danielson, Andrade El Idolo, Mark Briscoe, and Eddie Kingston. [2] It was also announced that the winner of the tournament would become the inaugural holder of the AEW Continental Championship. Kingston also announced that his ROH World Championship of sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH) and his Strong Openweight Championship of partner promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) would be on the line, with the winner of the tournament holding all three championships and declared the first American Triple Crown Champion, also referred to as the Continental Crown, representing AEW, ROH, and NJPW. It was also revealed that the champion at the time of the next Continental Classic would automatically be entered into the tournament and defend the title in the tournament. [3] [4]

The inaugural tournament's matches were scheduled to be held across episodes of Dynamite, Rampage , and Collision , with the semi-finals (promoted as the "League Finals") held on December 27 at Dynamite: New Year's Smash and the tournament final (promoted as the "Championship Final") held at the Worlds End PPV. [5] All 12 participants and their groupings in the inaugural Continental Classic were revealed during the "Selection Special" that aired midday on November 22 across AEW's social media. The two blocks, or leagues, were named Gold League and Blue League, with the Gold League matches beginning that night on Dynamite. [6]

During the inaugural tournament's final week, it was given the secondary name of "Tournament For Tots" as AEW and their action figure manufacturer partner Jazwares, donated $1 million dollars worth of toys for the Toys for Tots charity for underprivileged children. [7] [8]

Overview

Format and rules

Round Robin format:

Venues

2023

Legend
 Gold League match
 Blue League match
 Tournament final match
Tournament matches
DatesShowVenueMatchesTime
November 22 Dynamite Wintrust Arena
Chicago, Illinois 		G Swerve Strickland defeated Jay Lethal by pinfall 13:51
G Jay White defeated Rush by pinfall 13:53
G Jon Moxley defeated Mark Briscoe by pinfall 11:29
November 25 Collision Petersen Events Center
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 		B Claudio Castagnoli defeated Daniel Garcia by pinfall 10:27
B Brody King defeated Eddie Kingston by pinfall 16:41
November 29 Dynamite Target Center
Minneapolis, Minnesota 		G Jon Moxley defeated Jay Lethal by submission 11:19
G Rush defeated Mark Briscoe by pinfall 11:25
G Swerve Strickland defeated Jay White by pinfall 15:27
December 2 Collision Erie Insurance Arena
Erie, Pennsylvania 		B Brody King defeated Claudio Castagnoli by pinfall 12:35
B Andrade El Idolo defeated Daniel Garcia by pinfall 11:01
B Bryan Danielson defeated Eddie Kingston by pinfall 16:50
December 5 Collision
(aired December 9)		 Bell Centre
Montreal, Quebec, Canada 		B Eddie Kingston defeated Claudio Castagnoli by pinfall 18:04
B Andrade El Idolo defeated Bryan Danielson by pinfall 18:33
December 6 Dynamite G Jon Moxley defeated Rush by technical submission 14:32
G Swerve Strickland defeated Mark Briscoe by pinfall 15:44
G Jay White defeated Jay Lethal by pinfall 11:24
Rampage
(aired December 8)		B Bryan Danielson defeated Daniel Garcia by technical submission 15:35
December 13 Dynamite: Winter Is Coming College Park Center
Arlington, Texas 		B Andrade El Idolo defeated Brody King by pinfall 14:45
G Rush defeated Jay Lethal by submission 4:30
G Jay White defeated Mark Briscoe by pinfall 11:19
G Jon Moxley defeated Swerve Strickland by pinfall 16:23
December 16 Collision: Winter Is Coming Curtis Culwell Center
Garland, Texas 		B Claudio Castagnoli defeated Andrade El Idolo by pinfall 15:33
B Eddie Kingston defeated Daniel Garcia by pinfall 12:12
B Bryan Danielson defeated Brody King by pinfall 15:11
December 20 Dynamite: Holiday Bash Paycom Center
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 		G Swerve Strickland defeated Rush by pinfall 14:53
G Mark Briscoe defeated Jay Lethal by pinfall 13:53
G Jay White defeated Jon Moxley by pinfall 15:09
December 23 Collision: Holiday Bash Frost Bank Center
San Antonio, Texas 		B Claudio Castagnoli vs. Bryan Danielson ended in a time-limit draw 20:00
B Daniel Garcia defeated Brody King by pinfall 10:21
B Eddie Kingston defeated Andrade El Idolo by pinfall 15:39
December 27 Dynamite: New Year's Smash Addition Financial Arena
Orlando, Florida 		G Jon Moxley defeated Swerve Strickland and Jay White by pinfall 23:14
B Eddie Kingston defeated Bryan Danielson by pinfall 22:37
December 30 Worlds End Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Uniondale, New York 		F Eddie Kingston defeated Jon Moxley by pinfall 17:16

Leagues

2023

Legend
 Qualified to league final
Participants
Blue LeagueGold League
Bryan Danielson 10 Jon Moxley 12
Eddie Kingston [lower-alpha 1] 9 Swerve Strickland 12
Andrade El Idolo 9 Jay White 12
Claudio Castagnoli 7 Rush 6
Brody King 6 Mark Briscoe 3
Daniel Garcia 3 Jay Lethal 0
  1. ↑ Kingston advanced to the Blue League final due to his head-to-head victory over Andrade breaking the tie.
Tournament overview
Blue League Andrade Castagnoli Danielson Garcia King Kingston
Andrade —Castagnoli
(15:33)		Andrade
(18:33)		Andrade
(11:02)		Andrade
(14:45)		Kingston
(15:39)
Castagnoli Castagnoli
(15:33)		—Draw
(20:00)		Castagnoli
(10:27)		King
(12:34)		Kingston
(18:04)
Danielson Andrade
(18:33)		Draw
(20:00)		—Danielson
(15:35)		Danielson
(15:11)		Danielson
(16:50)
Garcia Andrade
(11:02)		Castagnoli
(10:27)		Danielson
(15:35)		—Garcia
(10:21)		Kingston
(12:12)
King Andrade
(14:45)		King
(12:34)		Danielson
(15:11)		Garcia
(10:21)		—King
(16:41)
Kingston Kingston
(15:39)		Kingston
(18:04)		Danielson
(16:50)		Kingston
(12:12)		King
(16:41)		—
Gold League Briscoe Lethal Moxley Rush Strickland White
Briscoe —Briscoe
(13:53)		Moxley
(11:29)		Rush
(11:25)		Strickland
(15:44)		White
(11:19)
Lethal Briscoe
(13:53)		—Moxley
(11:19)		Rush
(4:30)		Strickland
(13:51)		White
(11:24)
Moxley Moxley
(11:29)		Moxley
(11:19)		—Moxley
(14:32)		Moxley
(16:23)		White
(15:09)
Rush Rush
(11:25)		Rush
(4:30)		Moxley
(14:32)		—Strickland
(14:53)		White
(13:53)
Strickland Strickland
(15:44)		Strickland
(13:51)		Moxley
(16:23)		Strickland
(14:53)		—Strickland
(15:27)
White White
(11:19)		White
(11:24)		White
(15:09)		White
(13:53)		Strickland
(15:27)		—
League Finals
Dynamite : New Year's Smash
(December 27)		Championship Final
Worlds End
(December 30)
      
Bryan Danielson 22:37
Eddie Kingston Pin
Blue Eddie Kingston Pin
Gold Jon Moxley 17:16
Jon Moxley Pin
Swerve Strickland
Jay White 		—
23:14

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References

  1. ↑ Defelice, Robert (November 11, 2023). "Tony Khan Announces AEW Continental Classic Tournament Starts On 11/22, Concludes At AEW Worlds End". Fightful. Archived from the original on November 12, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  2. ↑ Rose, Bryan (November 11, 2023). "AEW announces Continental Classic tournament, Bryan Danielson first entrant". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online . Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  3. ↑ Renner, Ethan (November 18, 2023). "AEW announces new title & Continental Classic competitors". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online . Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  4. 1 2 Thomas, Jeremy (November 19, 2023). "Tony Khan Gives More Details on AEW Continental Classic, Will Conclude At Worlds End". 411Mania . Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  5. ↑ Murphy, Don (November 11, 2023). "AEW Collision results (11/11): Murphy's review of Sting, Darby Allin, and Adam Copeland vs. Lance Archer, Vincent, and Dutch, Willow Nightingale vs. Julia Hart, Daniel Garcia vs. Andrade El Idolo". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on November 13, 2023. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  6. ↑ Carey, Ian (November 22, 2023). "AEW reveals full list of entrants for Continental Classic tournament". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online . Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  7. ↑ Tessier, Colin. "AEW Partnering With Toys For Tots, Raising Over $1 Million Worth Of Toys". Yahoo!. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  8. ↑ Lambert, Jeremy (December 13, 2023). "AEW Partnering With Toys For Tots, Raising Over $1 Million Worth Of Toys For Kids". Fightful. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
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