The All Elite Wrestling Continental Classic participants were revealed for the 2025 Tournament on Monday following Full Gear 2025.
Last year the 2nd annual Continental Classic was won by Kazuchika Okada, who walked into the C2 as AEW Continental Champion.
For those new to the Continental Classic, it’s a round robin tournament. Round robin means instead of single elimination, two leagues (Blue League and Gold League) of six wrestlers will wrestle five matches. The two best records of each league move on to the semi final.
In 2023, the leagues stayed in the semi final as the winner and runner up of Blue faced each other and then the winner and runner up of Gold faced each other. The winner of each league faced each other in the final.
In 2024, things were switched up. The winner of the Blue League faced the runner up of Gold League and the winner of Gold League faced the runner up of Blue League. This had Kyle Fletcher face Will Ospreay and Ricochet face Kazuchika Okada. Under 2023 playoff rules, Kyle Fletcher would have faced Kazuchika Okada and Ricochet would have faced Will Ospreay.
Matches have a 20 minute time limit. 3 points for a win, 0 points for a loss, 1 point to each for a draw. Continental Rules means no-one is allowed ringside and outside interference will result in a wrestler being fired.
Prior to the Monday reveal, we knew at Full Gear 2025 that Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita, and Kyle Fletcher of the Don Callis Family would all be in the Continental Classic this year. This will be Takeshita’s first, Fletcher and Okada’s second.
As announced on Monday here are the 12 participants in the 2025 Continental Classic:
The Rizzler – Blue League
First Continental Classic Tournament
This selection comes from Bluesky before the selection event.
The Rizzler finally met Hasbulla which means all beef is squashed and he can finally focus on becoming the winner of the C2. The Official Ambassador of the King of Memes must wear a different crown should he wish to get through the Blue League. We already got a glimpse of his punching power earlier this week, and there’s no telling how far his power truly goes.
Rizzler may be the biggest mystery for the Continental Classic as he still sits with a 0-0 record in All Elite Wrestling, but that’s mostly because BIG BOOM A.J. has been wasting his time with QT Marshall instead of letting the real star of the show shine. We all know it’s an inevitability for The Rizzler to take over AEW, and this 2025 Continental Classic is a good place to oh wait I’m getting word that Tony Khan never announced The Rizzler for the Continental Classic. My bad.
Darby Allin
2024 Continental Classic Record: 2-2-1 (Gold League)
Darby Allin returns to the Gold League. The Continental Classic was a bit bittersweet for Darby since Darby ended up losing it due to a draw against Ricochet and then was murdered on the final episode of AEW Rampage. He would not return until All In Texas. Darby, fresh off a loss to PAC, will be re-entering to try and win the Continental Classic.
PAC
First Continental Classic Tournament
It’s amazing that this will be the first tournament for PAC. PAC was around for 2024 but was also Trios Champion so I guess they didn’t want him and Claudio in it. In 2023 he was injured. PAC has had an incredible recent return to All Elite Wrestling in rejoining his Death Rider brethren in trying to ruin the life of Darby Allin and everyone in AEW.
I am probably most excited about the inclusion of PAC than anyone else. His recent win against Darby will certainly come into play for their matchup. But PAC versus Kazuchika Okada? PAC versus Kyle Fletcher? PAC versus Mike Bailey? All about to be incredible bouts. PAC is new to the C2 but he did take part in the Best of the Super Junior XIX in New Japan Pro Wrestling losing to Ryusuke Taguchi in the semi final.
Kevin Knight
First Continental Classic Tournament
One half of JetSpeed, Kevin Knight did spend time in New Japan Pro Wrestling but never the G1 Climax. He did take part in Best of the Super Junior 30, going 3-6. In Best of Super Junior 31 he went 4-5. In his final Best of Super Junior just this year he went 4-5 again.
AEW of course doesn’t have weight limits (thankfully) so Kevin Knight has no limitations in getting into the Continental Classic. This could be a real spotlight moment for him in seeing how he handles himself against some of Blue League. He’s also going to have to tie it up with his tag team partner Speedball Mike Bailey, which we got to see a preview of in the Casino Gauntlet at Full Gear 2025.
Speedball Mike Bailey
First Continental Classic Tournament
Similar to his JetSpeed partner Kevin Knight, Speedball took part in Best of the Super Junior 30, going a much stronger 7-2 but losing to Master Wato in the Semi Final. If he’s had any other round robin experience that’s great, I just didn’t catch it from AEW partners.
I’m quite excited to see what Speedball does in this, and if whether or not his match with Kevin Knight leads to the breakup of the team. It would be disappointing but both likely want to see what they could do as singles competitors in All Elite Wrestling.
I never considered what a match like Darby Allin versus Speedball would look like and now I wanted more than air.
Kyle Fletcher
2024 Continental Classic Record: 4-1 (Blue League)
Lost in Semi-Final to Will Ospreay
We don’t appreciate how fast Kyle Fletcher has developed in the past few years. Why wasn’t he on the 2023 Continental Classic? Because he was still in Aussie Open and just started working more singles matches in ROH. He won the ROH World Television Championship at Final Battle 2023. His singles matches in AEW were always losses. If he was in 2023 C2? He likely would have gone 0-5.
In 2024? He was beating Kazuchika Okada in the upset of the tournament.
Fletcher moves from Blue League to Gold League in re-entering the Continental Classic, and puts himself up as one of the favourites for the tournament. No longer TNT Champion, no Will Ospreay to deal with, this could be a very open field for Fletcher to once again win.
2024 Continental Classic Winner Kazuchika Okada
2024 Continental Classic Record: 3-1-1 (Blue League)
Won in Semi-Final against Ricochet
Won in Final against Will Ospreay
Kazuchika Okada proclaimed himself the greatest tournament wrestler of all time once he won the Continental Classic, essentially putting it on part with the NJPW G1 Climax and saying he now surpassed Masahiro Chono. Your mileage may vary on such a claim, but hey he’s a heel he can claim whatever he wants. It’s more AEW being completely happy with running with it.
Okada came into the 2024 Continental Classic as champion due to beating Eddie Kingston for the title, and ended up a little disappointing for his reputation in a draw against TNT Champion Daniel Garcia and the loss to Kyle Fletcher. He did beat Shelton Benjamin, Mark Briscoe, and The Beast Mortos to get himself into a playoff spot.
He beat the winner of Gold League in Ricochet and then had one of the best matches of his AEW tenure against Will Ospreay to take the 2024 Continental Classic. He returns this year now in Gold League (I guess you beat the Gold League champion you move to Gold League) as a definite favourite.
Okada is likely happy that Konosuke Takeshita is on the other side and he won’t have to deal with him. Unless, of course, they both make the playoffs. Okada will also like to avenge his loss to Kyle Fletcher last year, even though both are Don Callis Family members.
Konosuke Takeshita
First Continental Classic Tournament
Konosuke Takeshita just this year won the NJPW G1 Climax and now has a chance to win the AEW Continental Classic. That would be a pretty incredible achievement.
One of the only champions that isn’t Okada in this (he walks in as IWGP World Heavyweight Champion), Takeshita is a definite favourite to win this. It would be pretty tough to swallow not winning this when he won the G1 Climax.
There’s some familiar faces in the round robin for him. He’s faced Roddy in a four way match, Orange Cassidy in a four way for the Continental Championship and in a singles match for the International Championship, Moxley in three singles match (lost all three), Dorada in a three way at All Out Toronto, and Claudio for the ROH World Championship at Battle of the Belts III back in 2022.
I would consider Takeshita a heavy favourite to place either first or second in the Blue League.
Jon Moxley
2023 Continental Classic Record: 4-1 (Gold League)
Won Three Way Match versus Jay White and Swerve Strickland in Semi-Final
Lost to Eddie Kingston in Final
Jon Moxley returns for the Continental Classic. He had no time to enter in 2024 as he was AEW Men’s World Champion and unlike the NJPW G1 Climax? The World Champion does not compete in it.
Moxley is a very strong contender in this, just as he was in 2023. The difference is that… this is a bit weaker of a Jon Moxley. In 2023 he only lost to Jay White before his loss to Eddie Kingston in the final. In 2024 he was the unstoppable AEW Men’s World Champion. Now? He’s taken a lot of losses.
From Kyle O’Reilly (surprised he isn’t here too) and Roderick Strong (who is in Blue League) it’s a Jon Moxley struggling to get back to his winning ways. His last singles win in AEW was back in October against Tomohiro Ishii. The I Quit match loss to Darby Allin at WrestleDream 2025 really knocked his equilibrium out.
Moxley will have to deal with The Conglomeration again in the Blue League, but also might have to deal with one of his own in the Blue League as well.
Claudio Castagnoli
2023 Continental Classic Record: 2-2-1 (Blue League)
2024 Continental Classic Record: 3-2 (Gold League)
The only three timer of the C2, Claudio actually tied Will Ospreay in points last year but Will Ospreay defeated Claudio at Winter is Coming on December 11, 2024. That’s why you have to watch all the matches. You never know if a match weeks prior to the playoffs actually ends up the deciding factor for one of the playoff spots.
Claudio returns to Blue League and this time he’s got a few familiar foes. The real question is what happens when his leader in the Death Riders meets him one on one. Back in 2023, when it was still the Blackpool Combat Club, Claudio went to a draw against Bryan Danielson. Had he won? There would have been a four way tie with 9 points on Claudio, Danielson, Eddie Kingston, and Andrade El Idolo. That draw ended up being the point to put Danielson on top and to keep Claudio out of the playoffs.
Claudio won’t be thinking of draws. He will be thinking of punishing his opponents. Nobody has entered more Continental Classics, and yet he has not made the playoffs in doing so.
Orange Cassidy
First Continental Classic Tournament
It’s a bit surprising this is the first C2 for Orange Cassidy, but it makes sense when you remember he was AEW International Champion back in 2023 and gunning for the AEW Men’s World Championship in 2024.
Cassidy also has a lot of familiar faces for this. The Blue League is definitely not much for fresh matchups but it is for guaranteed bangers. I have no doubt in my mind that OC and the rest will have great matches throughout the Blue League.
Every year there’s someone you can identify as a weak link. In 2023 it was Daniel Garcia of Blue League and Jay Lethal of Gold League. In 2024 it was Beast Mortos of Blue League and Komander (formerly Juice Robinson) of Gold League. Orange Cassidy is a former AEW International Champion so I don’t like ever considering him a weak link, but he hasn’t been the top guy OC since returning. Mark Briscoe and Kyle O’Reilly have really taken the top guy spots of The Conglomeration.
Can Orange Cassidy use the C2 to propel him back to the World Championship or will he be a punching bag for the Blue League?
Roderick Strong
First Continental Classic Tournament
This… might be the first round robin of Roderick Strong’s career?
I know. I was shocked too. Maybe Cagematch is missing something. Maybe I missed something. I couldn’t find any record of him working a singles round robin. Just a tag team one for Pro Wrestling NOAH for the G Cup Junior Heavyweight League. He teamed with Slex. Yup. Slex.
This being the very first for Roddy makes one wonder exactly how he’s going to work in this. We’re talking about one of the strongest engines in pro wrestling. Roddy rarely sweats. Roddy never gasses out. He was basically made for something like this. He might be a bit grey now but he’s still same ol’ Roddy. He should at the very least be considered a darkhorse candidate.
He’s also a reluctant member of The Conglomeration. How will things go in the group after Roddy faces Orange Cassidy? Will be real interesting to see how it goes.
Máscara Dorada
First Continental Classic Tournament
AEW hit it out of the park with this one. Máscara Dorada is becoming an absolute stud every time he appears in All Elite Wrestling. Appearing for CMLL and member of El Sky Team, Dorada is one of the most incredible athletes alive in pro wrestling today. He’s got a few giants to deal with in this Blue League, especially Claudio and Takeshita, but we’ve already seen him hold his own against Konosuke Takeshita and Kazuchika Okada at All Out Toronto. I was in the audience and trust me he left an impression on everyone in Toronto that night.
Some may think he will be a pin eater in this but I don’t see him going any worse than 2-3. I think Moxley is going down to him for sure, and that just leaves one more to be looking at the lights. Don’t be surprised if it ends up a duo of balds with Claudio being the giant killed.
I would not bet against him even winning a spot in the Blue League semi final should everything go his way.
Who is Missing?
There’s a few wrestlers I thought could have been in Continental Classic, so I thought I’d end this discussing who I think missed the cut and maybe should have been in.
Josh Alexander
Much like Roderick Strong I think Josh Alexander was born to be in a round robin tournament. I am hoping the reason he isn’t in this is like I said in the After 48: it’s either C2 or Kenny Omega. If he does get his match with Kenny Omega? I too would have skipped the C2 to face The Cleaner for the first time.
Ace Austin
Ace missed the cut for the AEW National Championship and now the Continental Classic? It was likely him or Kevin Knight and they decided to have both members of JetSpeed in this instead. It’s too bad. Hopefully he goes after Ricochet for that National Championship at World’s End 2025 instead.
Juice Robinson
Juice was in the 2024 Continental Classic but got injured after the first match. I thought he might want some retribution and enter the 2025 C2. I guess he’s too distracted by the money he won at the Saturday Tailgate Brawl.
Eddie Kingston
No longer partnered with Hook since he went back to The Opps, you’d think Eddie would be free to try and win back his AEW Continental Championship. Likely he’s too focused on getting his revenge on Hook and The Opps than open up old wounds against Moxley and Claudio.
Kyle O’Reilly
KOR not in this after his big win against Jon Moxley really surprised me. I thought he was made to get into this, but I figure they were choosing between him and Orange Cassidy and decided OC needed this more.
The Leagues
Gold League: Kazuchika Okada, Speedball Mike Bailey, “The Protostar” Kyle Fletcher, Kevin Knight, PAC, Darby Allin
Blue League: Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Konosuke Takeshita, Roderick Strong, Máscara Dorada, Orange Cassidy
The Continental Classic begins tonight on the Thanksgiving Dynamite.
