All Elite Wrestling is debuting its own iteration of the squared circle’s most historic tournament. Earlier this month, AEW President Tony Khan announced the AEW Continental Classic, a round-robin tournament that will stretch throughout the end of 2023 and culminate at AEW Worlds End on December 30th. The AEW Continental Classic is essentially AEW’s answer to New Japan Pro Wrestling’s G1 Climax, a summer-based tourney that has been around for decades. Many wrestlers consider just competing in the G1 to be an honor, and a select few AEW stars like Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi have G1 tournament wins to their résumés.
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AEW upped the stakes of the AEW Continental Classic this past weekend at AEW Full Gear when Eddie Kingston entered himself into the tournament. Kingston, who currently holds both the NJPW STRONG Openweight and Ring of Honor World Championships, revealed he will be putting both of his titles on the line in every one of his tournament matches. Khan followed that up by announcing the tournament winner would be crowned AEW Continental Champion, which alongside the NJPW and ROH titles on the line would make the victor a “Triple Crown Champion” that officially ties all three companies together.
Full List of AEW Continental Classic Tournament Participants
The AEW Continental Classic is here.
AEW President Tony Khan joined AEW announcer Tony Schiavone and Eddie Kingston (NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion, ROH Champion) on AEW’s social channels for the “AEW Continental Classic Selection Special,” revealing the full list of the tournament’s 12 participants.
Blue League
- Eddie Kingston
- Bryan Danielson
- Daniel Garcia
- Claudio Castagnoli
- Brody King
- Andrade El Idolo
Gold League
- Mark Briscoe
- Jon Moxley
- Swerve Strickland
- RUSH
- Jay Lethal
- Jay White
AEW also announced that all tournament matches will have a 20 minute time limit with no one allowed at ringside. Competitors receive three points for a win and one point for a draw.
The AEW Continental Classic kicks off tonight on AEW Dynamite, which goes down at 8 PM ET on TBS with three matches. RUSH faces Jay White, Jon Moxley takes on Mark Briscoe, and Swerve Strickland battles Jay Lethal.
AEW Full Gear 2023 Results
AEW World Championship: MJF (c) def. Jay White
AEW TBS Championship: Julia Hart def. Kris Statlander and Skye Blue
Texas Death Match: Swerve Strickland def. “Hangman” Adam Page
Will Ospreay signs with AEW
Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho def. Young Bucks
AEW World Tag Team Championships – Ladder Match: Ricky Starks and Big Bill (c) def. La Facción Ingobernable vs. FTR vs. Kings of the Black Throne
AEW Women’s Championship: “Timeless” Toni Storm def. Hikaru Shida (c)
AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy (c) def. Jon Moxley
Sting, Darby Allin and Adam Copeland def. Christian Cage, Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne
Zero Hour – ROH Tag Team Championships: MJF and Samoa Joe (c) def. The Gunns
Zero Hour – ROH World Championship: Eddie Kingston (c) def. Jay Lethal
Zero Hour: Claudio Castagnoli def. Buddy Matthews
