Welcome to the week three review of the AEW Continental Classic 2024 on GrapPro.
You can find all content on the Continental Classic from GrapPro here.
Learn more about the participants of the 2024 Continental Classic here.
Update From Last Week: Based on only three matches so far announced for the Holiday Bash of Dynamite and Rampage, that means 10 matches remaining for the Dynamite and Collision episodes at the Hammerstein Ballroom for the final week. I could see AEW trying to add maybe one or two more to bring that down to eight, but it will still mean a pretty Continental Classic heavy final week before World’s End.
Week One Review
Week Two Review
The matches for the third week of 2024 Continental Classic:
AEW Dynamite: Winter is Coming
Gold League
Will Ospreay (2-0) defeats Claudio Castagnoli (2-1)Rirochet (2-1) defeats Brody King (1-2)
AEW Collision: Winter is Coming
Blue League
Kazuchika Okada (2-1-1) defeats The Beast Mortos (0-3)
Mark Briscoe (2-2) defeats Kyle Fletcher (3-1)
Current Results
Kyle Fletcher 3-1
Kazuchika Okada 2-1-1
Mark Briscoe 2-2
Daniel Garcia 1-1-1
Shelton Benjamin 1-1
The Beast Mortos 0-3
Will Ospreay 2-0
Claudio Castagnoli 2-1
Ricochet 2-1
Darby Allin 1-1
Brody King 1-2
Komander 0-3
Blue League Overview
Announced matches at AEW Dynamite Holiday Bash
Shelton Benjamin versus The Beast Mortos
Even with the loss, Kyle Fletcher maintains in top pole position to finish the Blue League in one of the top two slots. Unlike the Gold League there’s less matches left in the final week. Shelton Benjamin will face Kazuchika Okada and Daniel Garcia. Mark Briscoe has The Beast Mortos. Daniel Garcia also has Kyle Fletcher’s final match.
I could see The Beast Mortos playing spoiler on Mark Briscoe or getting his first win against Shelton Benjamin. I would like to see him leave the C2 with at least one win.
Fletcher versus Garcia I’m convinced builds into a TNT Championship match at Grand Slam: Australia so you can finish either on a draw or a win for Fletcher to give him 10/12 points.
I feel pretty good on Okada beating Benjamin to get to 10 points.
Gold League Overview
Announced matchesat AEW Dynamite Holiday Bash
Will Ospreay versus Darby Allin
Announced Matches for AEW Rampage Holiday Bash
Brody King versus Komander
They are absolutely going down to the wire on this one with no clear favourite. If Darby ends up defeating Ospreay it’ll be a four way tie with 6 points a piece. Brody King could join that tie with a win against Komander going into the final week.
The final week (Hammerstein Collision and Dynamite) is going to be jammed pack with matches in the Gold League. Claudio will have matches with Komander and Darby Allin. Will Ospreay has matches with Ricochet and Brody King. Those final spots will end up decided on that final week.
If Ospreay does defeat Darby? That might give him a powerful advantage going into the final week stretch.
I expect Ospreay to get the 2nd Gold League spot to face Kyle Fletcher as the winner of the Blue League. The next spot? Darby Allin would feel like the right to make it and face Okada but I could also see Claudio getting it.
AEW Dynamite: Winter is Coming
December 11, 2024
Will Ospreay defeats Claudio Castagnoli for another 3 points in the Gold League
Will Ospreay started the match like a house of fire, likely because he was behind in matches compared to everyone else. Ospreay’s goal was clearly to try and exhaust Claudio. Claudio has one of the biggest tanks in the game but the pace that Ospreay was ripping was all about ensuring Claudio had to go in a pace he wasn’t accustomed to.
There were some great moments in this match. Maybe my favourite was Ospreay at the top doing a weebles wobbles about to fall off before catching himself and doing a top rope flip. The crowd was interacting with it the entire time.
Huge flying European uppercut for a two followed by a big lariat by Claudio. It once again got a two, and Claudio tried to right to the Neutralizer. However, Ospreay was clearly expecting it and hooked him for more than a three count.
Claudio tried to attack Ospreay post match only for Darby Allin to run out for the save. Good moment for Darby and Will to have a pose off to build their match next week.
Ricochet defeats Brody King to get his next 3 points in the Gold League.
Ricochet has been showing a lot more attitude, from the match with Komander to the promo with Renee Paquette. He reminds me of AJ Styles in the 2000s. That attitude is necessary to believe in yourself against someone like Brody King, who stayed on game and relied on his strength and ability to absorb impact.
The match was all about how much impact Ricochet could take before he couldn’t take anymore. Once Brody hit the cannonball it felt over but Ricochet did kick out. Brody should have went right back on offence but he took a little too much time to get back into it.
Ricochet was able to sunset flip powerbomb Brody King and hit him with a Shooting Star Press but Brody King literally just absorbed the impact and got back up. After a huge chop to Ricochet on the apron, Brody went right back to the superplex. This ended up being a mistake, with Ricochet getting King’s head on the exposed turnbuckle.
The crowd hated Ricochet hitting two Spirit Gun’s to get the pin. Brody King was absolutely the favourite of the match.
AEW Collision: Winter is Coming
December 14, 2024
Kazuchika Okada defeats The Beast Mortos to move into second in the Blue League
As a big fan of The Beast Mortos it’s unfortunate that a result like this would be obvious going in. Thankfully, Kazuchika Okada allowed The Beast Mortos to shine on offence.
This could have just been a glorified squash, and I’m sure those who think AEW needs more of those so the stars shine brighter would have wanted that. But I’m a fan of the National Hockey League, where routinely I see rookie goaltenders come up and stop the best shots from the most valuable players in the league. When you get to the big leagues? Everyone is the top of their game, and even if someone is a little bit better? That doesn’t mean they can’t get caught.
Kazuchika Okada still did a fine job showing that despite The Beast Mortos throwing his best shots at him? He always looked in control. He always decided the pace. After Mortos did his twirling suicida to the outside it was clear he was trying to bring the tempo up. A DDT and a few count breaks ensured the pace slowed down. When Mortos tried to fire back up? Okada once again threw water on him with a big DDT.
Okada eventually betrays his own gameplan, refusing to go down on Beast Mortos backbreakers and that allows Mortos to hit three straight on him. Okada goes back to his strategy with a Money Clip but it doesn’t slow Mortos down. Okada then tries to strike to strike and it leads to a double down.
Okada then runs his own moves of doom: fireman carry neckbreaker, top rope elbow drop (complete with clearing everyone out of the way when nobody is, which cracks me up every time), Rainmaker Pose, Rainmaker attempt (always fails now so Okada eventually can hit the…), dropkick, then the real Rainmaker.
Mark Briscoe shocks Kyle Fletcher to deliver The Protostar’s first loss in the Blue League
You can’t have a round robin without a few upsets.
Fletcher did a great job establishing early on he was bigger and stronger than Mark Briscoe. Briscoe established his ability to be able to handle those bigger and stronger strikes. Kyle Fletcher hitting the turnbuckle brainbuster onto Mark Briscoe on the outside and using the barricade instead was fantastic.
The Continental Classic has been working hard to establish the importance of countouts. Even if wrestlers are not being counted out, they often have bad things happen to them due to the struggle of avoiding that countout loss. It set up a good shot of Kyle Fletcher doing a flex pose then going back to selling his ribs, proving he’s been watching his Rick Rude homework.
Unlike the Okada match, Fletcher’s confidence is this time his downfall. He wastes too much time posing and too much time preparing his spots. When he catches Briscoe off guard with a half nelson suplex he doesn’t immediately follow up. He sells, he poses, and then he gets caught with a big lariat.
Fletcher’s heel work here was fantastic. The face mannerisms, trying to use the ropes to cheat, the big selling for Mark Briscoe, it was all about making Mark look great and getting the fans behind Mark. He realizes, unlike a lot of his contemporaries, that when you have to lose? You should be making your opponent look incredible when you do it.
Mark Briscoe hit the Cutthroat Driver but couldn’t make the cover immediately and Fletcher rolled to the floor. Unlike Fletcher, Briscoe stayed right on Kyle and didn’t give him much of a chance to recover. The pace of the match sped up considerably with Mark now obsessed to hit the Jay Driller. He avoided a kick to the balls, got the Jay Driller up, and won the match clean before the 20 minutes expired.
Absolutely fantastic match with a great story. Mark Briscoe in the past had gone to the Jay Driller in spite of himself, costing him victories. He switched to the Cutthroat Driver and it got him his first win against Daniel Garcia. Now against a bigger and stronger opponent, someone people gave him little chance at victory, it would be the Jay Driller that eventually gets him the victory.
Kyle Fletcher, coming off one of the biggest wins of his career, has his winning streak broken due to the lack of killer instinct he showed in the previous matches. Against Ospreay before C2 and Okada during the C2, Fletcher didn’t take his eye off the ball like he did against Briscoe. There was too much pride, and pride came before the fall.
That loss keeps Fletcher from completely running away with the Blue League and puts Briscoe back in the conversation.
Tune in next week for our coverage of week four of the AEW Continental Classic 2024
