The 2023 Continental Classic, colloquially abbreviated as the C2, was a professional wrestling round-robin tournament hosted by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The tournament began on the November 22, 2023 episode of AEW Dynamite and culminated at the Worlds End pay-per-view (PPV) event in December 30, 2023. 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 a points deduction. Eddie Kingston – who also put his ROH World Championship and NJPW Strong Openweight Championship on the line in the tournament – won the tournament by defeating Jon Moxley in the final, and was crowned the first-ever AEW Continental Champion.
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Professional wrestling |
| Location | United States Canada |
| Dates | November 22, 2023–December 30, 2023 |
Tournament format(s) | Two-block round-robin tournament |
| Host(s) | All Elite Wrestling |
| Venue(s) | Various arenas (see matches) |
| Participants | 12 |
| Final positions | |
| Champion | Eddie Kingston |
| Runner-up | Jon Moxley |
History
editOn 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
editThe 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, Rampage and Collision. Matches are held under "Continental Rules": each match has twenty-minute time limit, no other wrestlers are allowed at ringside, and outside interference is strictly prohibited under threat of a one-point deduction. 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. The winner of each league final match then face each other for the AEW Continental Championship at the Worlds End pay-per-view (PPV) event.[9]
Eddie Kingston was the incumbent ROH World Champion and NJPW Strong Openweight Champion heading in to the tournament; he put these championships on the line as a tournament prize, with the winner to be recognised as the American Triple Crown Champion and the three championships collectively referred to as the Continental Crown.
Matches
edit| Gold League match | |
| Blue League match | |
| Tournament final match |
Leagues
edit| Qualified to league final |
| Blue League | Gold League | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bryan Danielson | 10 | Jon Moxley | 12 |
| Eddie Kingston[a] | 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 |
- ^ Kingston advanced to the Blue League final due to his head-to-head victory over Andrade breaking the tie.
| 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 | ||||||||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ Rose, Bryan (November 11, 2023). "AEW announces Continental Classic tournament, Bryan Danielson first entrant". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
- ^ Renner, Ethan (November 18, 2023). "AEW announces new title & Continental Classic competitors". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
- ^ Thomas, Jeremy (November 19, 2023). "Tony Khan Gives More Details on AEW Continental Classic, Will Conclude At Worlds End". 411Mania. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Carey, Ian (November 22, 2023). "AEW reveals full list of entrants for Continental Classic tournament". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
- ^ Tessier, Colin. "AEW Partnering With Toys For Tots, Raising Over $1 Million Worth Of Toys". Yahoo!. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Thomas, Jeremy (November 19, 2023). "Tony Khan Gives More Details on AEW Continental Classic, Will Conclude At Worlds End". 411Mania. Retrieved November 19, 2023.