The AEW Continental Classic returns in two weeks (at the time of writing)! Buzz around the tournament and speculation go beyond who will be participating. The inaugural tournament last year, the best tournament in a year crammed with tournaments, proved a turning point for the company during a creative identity crisis.
It was not a magic bullet to AEW problems, many of which have persisted (and I’ve written about here). However, the tournament has succeeded in engaging fans, allowing AEW a chance to address criticism, deliver some strong moments, and lead to multiple wrestlers’ storylines and character development. It also spoiled us with plenty of excellent matches.
AEW loves traditions, foreshadowing, and making fans wait a long time to receive those much-desired payoffs. The roster is overfilled with potential candidates who could benefit from the competition’s twelve slots. As always, the potential is there.
Compared to last year, AEW is in a more secure place in terms of its future and TV rights. Yet under the stewardship of Jon Moxley, the company again seeks another (gradual) paradigm shift in its identity.
The AEW Continental Classic could serve again as a bridge between phases. With that in mind, here are five things AEW should do with the AEW Continental Classic to aid this transition.
Big Stakes
Last year’s tournament established the prize of the Continental Crown. An American Triple Crown championship, a nod to All-Japan. Combining the ROH World Championship, the NJPW Strong Openweight Championship, and the newly created AEW Continental Championship set a high bar.
The problem this has created is that the winner of the tournament now cannot just receive the AEW Continental Championship.
The championship is barely a year old. Alone, it doesn’t have the legacy and prestige to carry the tournament alone as its prize.
Although the current and second Continental champion, Kazuchika Okada has been an extremely credible champion, and holding the belt has added his character and story arch as “The Bitchmaker”, the reign hasn’t been flawless.
Some excellent defenses against Claudio Castagnoli and PAC earlier this year were excellent but live in a reality where other best-in-the-world wrestlers have stolen our short and long-term attention.
Okada’s more recent (lack) of defenses work for the character and story, but not perception. Some believe AEW has too many belts. As I pondered with Konosuke Takeshita before WrestleDream, could the destination be a title unification?
Beyond titles, there are other ways to add stakes. With Okada, the prospect that The Rainmaker can equal Masahiro Chono’s five G1 tournament wins, by winning this American round-robin tournament has been teased.
What about other personal stakes and reasonings that go beyond just winning the championship? A wider tie-in to the Death Riders’ attempts to remake AEW in their image?
Develop Various Storyline
The first Continent Classic was a success beyond wrestling due to its multiple personal and rivalry-based storylines that occur through the group stages.
Beneath Eddie Kingston’s determination to rise and claim a mantle parallel to that of his Japanese heroes, there was the arc of rediscovery for Daniel Garcia.
The wrestler re-emerged and grew with defeat. Jay Lethal began to turn face and teased splitting with Jeff Jarrett and friends (that didn’t go anywhere). Swerve Strickland’s rise continued, and Jay White began to rebound after the disastrous booking of Full Gear.
There are already seeds teased. Takeshita now the International Champion gets a chance to prove he is the Alpha. What about Claudio Castagnoli getting the chance to prove he is a better man than Okada? Or Okada himself, now without The Bucks, rediscovering himself?
Or go wider. Having Castagnoli and PAC in the tournament to push the Death Rider agenda and potentially consolidate more power by winning another championship. Conclude The Don Callis Family drama in the group stages or semi-final.
Win, lose or draw.
As many falls as possible should be used to mark the progression of individual and collective stories for their participants. Winner and loser alike get set up for 2025. Book for short and long-term gains.
Short-Term – A Star Ascends
Last year, Kingston finally got his flowers. Subsequently, beating Bryan Danielson silenced both the critics in Kingston’s head and the locker room. Strickland lost the semi-final but still ascended after proving his main event caliber potential.
Whether it’s Okada winning and retaining, Takeshita getting that well-earned career-defining moment, or a surprise winner like a returning Kenny Omega, the winner needs to be front and center in 2025.
If the Continental Classic’s legacy is to become GOATed, and a true American counterpart to the G1, winning must change the wrestler’s card position and character.
Kingston ascended to a level of focused invincible before Okada cheated. Injury stopped the follow-up. At least one or two runners-up after strong performances likewise need to find their roles altered. But the same is also true for some wrestlers whose characters might have to play the long game.
Long-Term – Someone Breaks Out
Last year, Daniel Garcia through defeat resolved his inner conflict. “He’s a wrestler!” Mark Briscoe took defeat in his “rookie” singles year well. Briscoe became the ROH champion and a regular feature of Dynamite.
Not everyone can or should break out of the pack, but at least two or three players should.
Yet consider the previously mentioned losers. Garcia could be about to win his first AEW championship after re-signing with the pro wrestling company.
There has been progression with his character, but in terms of promos and microphone skills, Garcia has not had the time to develop in the way others have.
Briscoe has taken Eddie Kingston’s pre-Continental Classic mantle as the wrestler people want to be pushed to the moon. The ultimate-utility man who can fit anywhere on the card and gets himself over on the microphone.
Yet ROH is not presented as equal to AEW and as its champion, like Kingston, holding that championship has felt secondary.
Both men will get surely their time and progress. However, AEW is taking things at a glacier pace. Long-term is great, but sometimes AEW makes the road to nirvana a potholed hell.
This year, break the pattern. Speed up the progression. Let that young wrestler more than impress fans. Go all in on them within that calendar year.
Address Criticism
To clarify, AEW is and will never satisfy all its critics. Confirmation bias runs deep. No matter that the inherent story built into each match in the AEW Continental Classic is about winning the tournament, some folks will say there’s no story.
The AEW “under attack” narrative is real. The tournament like last year is definitely an opportunity to win back the trust of lapsed fans.
Make changes and developments.
The Death Riders need to grow beyond beatdowns. The AEW locker room and management will need to set boundaries. The Continental Classic is a vehicle for the next stage of division.
The divide within the locker room, those who side with Jon Moxley and those who oppose. Spread that sense and need for change further across the card. Avoid the mistakes of The Elite’s heel run.
Go further. Change the stagnant formula of ultra-competitive matches and heelish cheating finishes that have become cliché again. Vary how stories are told. Simplify or re-navigate the storytelling in a way built on the wins-and-losses mentality of AEW’s heyday without the tropes.
Learn lessons to address other long-term issues. Finally, introduce a women’s version of the tournament for another point in the year to deal with the underrepresentation of women on Dynamite.
The tournament is not a magic bullet or instant reset. Like last year, it can be used to address problems, but only consistency and maintenance will help both legacies of the AEW Continental Classic and AEW’s future.
More From LWOS Pro Wrestling
Header photo – AEW – Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world. As well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can catch AEW Dynamite on Wednesday nights at 8 PM ET on TBS. AEW Rampage airs on TNT at 10 PM EST every Friday night. AEW Collision airs Saturday at 8pm Eastern on TNT. More AEW content available on their YouTube.
