The AEW Continental Classic was a tournament held by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The tournament began on November 22, 2023, and ended on December 30 at the Worlds End pay-per-view event. The winner of the tournament, Eddie Kingston, became the Triple Crown Champion, holding the inaugural AEW Continental Championship, the ROH World Championship, and the NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship.
History[]
On the November 11, 2023 episode of Collision, AEW President Tony Khan and Bryan Danielson announced that a round-robin tournament with two groups of six wrestlers, dubbed the "Continental Classic", would begin on the November 22 episode of Dynamite and conclude on December 30 at the Worlds End pay-per-view event. It was later announced that the winner of the tournament would also become the inaugural AEW Continental Champion. Additionally, the ROH World Championship of Ring of Honor (ROH) and the NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship of New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), both held by Eddie Kingston, would be defended throughout the tournament. At the conclusion of the tournament, all three championships would be defended collectively by the winner as the Triple Crown Championship.
The tournament was contested by two blocks of six wrestlers, with each match having a 20 minute time limit. Competitors received three points for a win, one point for a draw, and zero for a loss. Additionally, no one was allowed to be at ringside during matches. The top two wrestlers in each block advanced to the league finals, with ties being broken by head-to-head results. In the case of a tie that could not be broken by head-to-head results, the tied competitors would all advance. The winners of the league finals faced off in the championship final at Worlds End.
Standings[]
| Blue League | Gold League | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bryan Danielson | 10 | Jay White | 12 |
| Eddie Kingston | 9 | Jon Moxley | 12 |
| Andrade El Idolo | 9 | Swerve Strickland | 12 |
| Claudio Castagnoli | 7 | Rush | 6 |
| Brody King | 6 | Mark Briscoe | 3 |
| Daniel Garcia | 3 | Jay Lethal | 0 |
Results[]
| Blue League | Andrade | Castagnoli | Danielson | Garcia | King | Kingston |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrade | — | Castagnoli (15:34) |
Andrade (18:33) |
Andrade (11:02) |
Andrade (14:45) |
Kingston (15:39) |
| Castagnoli | Castagnoli (15:34) |
— | Draw (20:00) |
Castagnoli (10:27) |
King (12:34) |
Kingston (18:04) |
| Danielson | Andrade (18:33) |
Draw (20:00) |
— | Danielson (15:35) |
Danielson (15:12) |
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 (15:12) |
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) |
— |
Finals[]
| League Finals Dynamite (December 27) |
Championship Final Worlds End (December 30) | ||||||||||||
| B1 | Bryan Danielson | 22:37 | |||||||||||
| B2 | Eddie Kingston | Pin | |||||||||||
| B | Eddie Kingston | Pin | |||||||||||
| G | Jon Moxley | 17:16 | |||||||||||
| G1 | Jon Moxley | Pin | |||||||||||
| G1 G1 |
Jay White Swerve Strickland |
23:14 | |||||||||||