Tournament matches are held under "Continental Rules", in which matches have a 20-minute time limit, no one is allowed at ringside, and outside interference is strictly prohibited. The incumbent Continental Champion at the beginning of each tournament is automatically entered and defends the title throughout the tournament.
History
On November 11, 2023, the American professional wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) announced a tournament called the Continental Classic (C2). 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 over AEW's television shows and concluding at the Worlds Endpay-per-view (PPV) event on December 30; Danielson was also announced as its first participant.[1] It was also announced that the winner would become the inaugural AEW Continental Champion, and that the incumbent champion would automatically be entered into subsequent tournaments.[2]
In July 2025 at All In: Texas, reigning Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada defeated Kenny Omega in a Winner Takes AllChampionship unification match to also win the AEW International Championship, with both titles held and defended together as the AEW Unified Championship; since Okada won as the Continental Champion, the Unified Championship adopted the rules of the Continental Championship.[4] Amid confusion over the Unified title in regards to the C2, it was confirmed that only the Continental Championship would be the prize of the 2025 tournament. It was also revealed that should Okada lose the Continental Championship in the C2, he would also lose the Unified Championship.[5] In the final of the Continental Classic at Worlds End on December 27, 2025, Okada lost to Jon Moxley, thus ending the unification and forcing Okada to relinquish the Unified Championship.[6]
Overview
The AEW Continental Classic is an annual tournament that starts after the promotion's Full Gear PPV event in mid-November and ends at the Worlds End PPV at the end of December. The tournament takes place in a round-robin format, with two blocks of six wrestlers – titled the Blue and Gold Leagues – wrestling each other across AEW's television shows, Dynamite and Collision (and formerly Rampage). The incumbent Continental Champion automatically qualifies for the tournament,[a] with the other 11 participants announced shortly prior to the beginning of the tournament. Matches are held under "Continental Rules": each match has a 20-minute time limit, no other wrestlers are allowed at ringside, and outside interference is strictly prohibited under threat of penalties. The tournament is commonly known as the "C2", in reference to the G1 Climax, a similar annual round-robin tournament hosted by AEW's partner promotion, New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
Similar to most soccer leagues, match winners obtain three points for a win, and drawn matches give one point to each participant. After the round-robin phase, the top two wrestlers in each league qualify for a league final match, with ties broken based on head-to-head record.[b] In 2023, the finalists in each league faced each other at New Year's Smash prior to the Continental Championship match at Worlds End; from 2024, the format was modified so that league winners face the opposing league's runner-up in the opening matches of Worlds End prior to the championship final later in the night.[7]
(c) – the Continental Champion at the beginning of the tournament Numbers in brackets indicate how many points were won by each participant Italics indicate losing league finalists Struckthrough text indicates participants replaced due to injury
↑In the 2023 tournament, when the Gold League ended with a intractable three-way tie for qualification, the league's final was a three-way match. From 2024 onwards, if a tie for qualification remains intractable, it is broken by a one-game playoff.
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