Who doesn’t love a good pro wrestling tournament? AEW is hoping the answer is “nobody” as it prepares for its inaugural Continental Classic.
Undoubtedly drawing a bit of inspiration from NJPW’s annual G1 Climax, the Continental Classic will feature two groups, or Leagues, as they’re being called, of six wrestlers each. They will compete in round robin fashion against the other members of their League, with a point system for wins, losses and draws along the way.
The top two wrestlers in each League will go head to head on the Dec. 27 episode of AEW Dynamite, with the winners of those two matches competing in the tournament final at Worlds End on Dec. 30. Not only will the winner become the first ever AEW Continental Champion, but since Eddie Kingston also put his two titles up for grabs, that winner will also be a Triple Crown Champion defending three championships going forward (at least that’s what we gather).
Since only four wrestlers in the 12-person field were announced ahead of time, all eyes were on the Selection Special live stream Wednesday afternoon. Here’s how the groups shook out.
AEW Continental Classic participants and groups:
Blue League
- Bryan Danielson
- Andrade El Idolo
- Brody King
- Claudio Castagnoli
- Daniel Garcia
- Eddie Kingston
Gold League
- Jon Moxley
- Swerve Strickland
- Rush
- Mark Briscoe
- Jay Lethal
- Jay White
The AEW Continental Classic kicks off with the first round robin matches on the Wednesday, Nov. 22 episode of Dynamite and continues through the end of 2023.