The 2024 Continental Classic finished at World’s End 2024 with their two semi finals matches and the final to decide the winner.
You can find all content on the Continental Classic from GrapPro here.
Learn more about the participants of the 2024 Continental Classic here.
Week One Review
Week Two Review
Week Three Review
Week Four Review
Week Five Review
World’s End Preview
The results from World’s End 2024:
Gold League Winner versus Blue League Runner-Up
Will Ospreay (Blue League Runner-Up) defeated Kyle Fletcher (Gold League Winner)
Kazuchika Okada (Gold League Runner-Up) defeated Ricochet (Blue League Winner)
Continental Classic Final
Kazuchika Okada defeated Will Ospreay to win the 2024 Continental Classic
Reviewing the Blue League
The Blue League ended up producing the winner of the 2024 Continental Classic, just as it did in 2023 with Eddie Kingston winning the CC as the Blue League Runner-Up. The winner of the Blue League for two years in a row did not make the final.
Kyle Fletcher 4-1 (Blue League Winner)
Wins versus The Beast Mortos, Shelton Benjamin, Kazuchika Okada, and Daniel Garcia
Loss versus Mark Briscoe
Loss to Will Ospreay in the Continental Classic Semi-Final
This was a great showing for Kyle Fletcher who desperately needed momentum after his big Full Gear win against Will Ospreay. Going 4-1 and defeating Kazuchika Okada and Mark Briscoe during the block means he has a great argument to fight for either the Continental Championship or TNT Championship going forward.
Losing to Will Ospreay felt like a given when both men were separated by league as we all knew they’d go back head to head by World’s End. It was originally thought to be the final but AEW decided to flip the positions of the runner-ups this year.
Fletcher has set himself up as a midcard to upper midcard wrestler with these wins and I see him wearing gold very soon. Daniel Garcia might be facing Mark Briscoe for the TNT Championship on Saturday but he better worry about Fletcher wanting his shot at Grand Slam: Australia.
Kazuchika Okada 3-1-1 (Blue League Runner Up, Continental Classic Winner)
Wins against Mark Briscoe, The Beast Mortos, and Shelton Benjamin
Draw to Daniel Garcia
Loss against Kyle Fletcher
Defeated Ricochet and Will Ospreay to win the Continental Classic
We were waiting to see the Kazuchika Okada of old at some point in this Continental Classic. All of his matches were strong but not to the level we’d expect from Okada. Then came the Will Ospreay match.
Okada saved his best performance for when it counted and boy he was extraordinary against Ospreay. An absolutely brilliant performance to win the C2 and keep hold of the Continental Classic he defeated 2023 winner Eddie Kingston for.
I’m sure down the road Kyle Fletcher is going to want a shot against Kazuchika Okada and the Continental Championship, but also Daniel Garcia might want another crack from going to a draw. The real intrigue is that Kenny Omega presented Okada with the Championship. That has to be the big dream match for Y’All In Texas.
2025 could be The Year of the Rainmaker and World’s End was just the beginning to light that fire.
Mark Briscoe 3-2
Finished 1-4 for Gold League in 2023
Wins against Daniel Garcia, Kyle Fletcher and The Beast Mortos
Losses against Kazuchika Okada and Shelton Benjamin
Mark Briscoe was able to improve on his totals from last year and score two more wins, still unfortunately not enough for him to get into the playoffs.
Briscoe reminded everyone he isn’t in the shadow of his brother and not just a tag team specialist. I’ve said before that I feel Mark Briscoe filled Eddie Kingston’s role as a People’s Champion and his win against Kyle Fletcher was just that. Definitely one of the top 5 best matches of the C2.
Where does Briscoe go from here? He is getting a TNT Championship shot after defeating Daniel Garcia. He’s likely to cash in his win against Fletcher whenever Fletcher gains some gold. It feels like The Conglomeration lost a member in Kyle O’Reilly at World’s End, but that could serve to giving the group more focus on teaming together for a Trios or Tag Team Championship.
Mark Briscoe can be proud of how good he did in the C2.
Daniel Garcia 2-2-1
Finished 1-4 for Blue League in 2023
Wins against Shelton Benjamin and The Beast Mortos
Draw to Kazuchika Okada
Losses against Kyle Fletcher and Mark Briscoe
Daniel Garcia was also able to improve upon his record in 2023, where his lone win came against Brody King in the final match. Here he was able to go to a draw against fellow champion Kazuchika Okada, pull wins against Shelton Benjamin and The Beast Mortos, but lost to Kyle Fletcher and Mark Briscoe.
Those losses to Briscoe and Fletcher are going to become TNT Championship shots, with Briscoe already getting his on the first Collison of 2025.
I’m sure Garcia is going to want another crack at Kazuchika Okada, but I doubt that happens until he’s no longer TNT Champion.
Daniel Garcia had a lot of growing over the year, and his C2 improvement is proof of the growth.
Shelton Benjamin 2-3
Wins against Mark Briscoe and The Beast Mortos
Losses against Kazuchika Okada, Daniel Garcia, and Kyle Fletcher
Shelton Benjamin provided a veteran powerhouse role in the Continental Classic, essentially replacing Andrade El Idolo from 2023.
I liked Shelton’s work in the Continental Classic, especially his matches against Kyle Fletcher and Mark Briscoe. I think he did good in proving he could hang with the AEW roster without having any unnecessary wins or pushing him too hard over other talent.
I think we see Shelton Benjamin work more in a tag team capacity in 2025 along with Bobby Lashley in the Hurt Syndicate, but I would have no issues with him showing his ability in solo competition. Great work by Shelton to prove he still has it.
The Beast Mortos 0-5
Losses to everyone
Poor Beast Mortos. The Big Donut.
The Beast Mortos looked very good in all of his matches and proved he was a great wrestler against various styles but unfortunately he wasn’t better than anyone. The Beast Mortos has struggled to obtain wins in All Elite Wrestling and unfortunately that continued to cost him here. I would love to see The Beast Mortos get another crack at it in 2025 but it’s hard to see someone who went 0 for 5 being asked to return. Just ask Jay Lethal.
Hopefully Beast Mortos can redeem himself in 2025 in another division, especially the Trios Division with LFI.
Reviewing The Gold League
The Gold League had to deal with a substitution as Juice Robinson was injured after his match with Will Ospreay and replaced by Komander.
The Gold League has yet to claim a winner in the Continental Classic after two cracks at bat, and both years has been due to the deep competition involved. In 2023 it was having Jon Moxley, Swerve Strickland, and Jay White all in the same League. This year it was a stacked division of Ricochet, Will Ospreay, Claudio Castagnoli, and Darby Allin all bringing star power and costing each other wins.
Ricochet 3-1-1 (Gold League Winner)
Lost in Semi-Final to Kazuchika Okada
Wins against Brody King, Komander, and Will Ospreay
Draw to Darby Allin
Loss to Claudio Castagnoli
Loss to Kazuchika Okada in the Continental Classic Semi-Final
I was low on Ricochet coming into this. His performances as a babyface debut left some to be desired, especially his shot against Konosuke Takeshita at Full Gear. Ricochet definitely knew he needed to find a new gear if he wanted to succeed in AEW, and he has found that by embracing the hate he’s been getting.
People find him annoying? Be as annoying as possible on promos. People think he’s a flippy doo guy? Flip the hell out. Do everything it takes to win, no matter what anyone has to say.
This helped Ricochet lock in victories against Brody King, Komander, and his rival Will Ospreay. He did lose to Claudio Castagnoli, but his draw against Darby Allin was him at his most insufferable. To win the Gold League not on a decisive victory but just on the loser point you get in a draw? Maddening.
Ricochet tried his best against Kazuchika Okada, but ultimately fell short in the Semi-Final. He ended up having to deal with toilet paper getting thrown at him thanks to Swerve Strickland after his loss. As we know on AEW Dynamite? Ricochet didn’t take that lightly.
Nobody helped recreate themselves and evolve into a better form in the Continental Classic quite like Ricochet. Even if he didn’t win? The C2 set him up in 2025.
Will Ospreay 3-2 (Gold League Runner-Up, Continental Classic Finalist)
Wins against Claudio Castagnoli, Brody King, and Juice Robinson
Losses against Darby Allin and Ricochet
Win against Kyle Fletcher in the Semi-Final
Loss to Kazuchika Okada in the Continental Classic Final
This is why Tony Khan paid Will Ospreay the big bucks.
Will Ospreay was phenomenal in the Continental Classic, arguably the best performer in the C2. His matches against Brody King and Darby Allin were some of the best of the blocks, with both of his playoff matches being top of the whole round-robin.
Ospreay didn’t win the whole thing, but the C2 helped put in motion his support for Darby Allin against the Death Riders, and his blood soaked promo at World’s End solidified that he’s not just one of the best wrestlers in the world. Not just a superstar that came from New Japan Pro Wrestling. He’s now been baptized in blood and bleeds AEW colours.
I doubt Fletcher and Ospreay are over, same to Ricochet and Ospreay, but I’m more interested to see how Will Ospreay backs up Darby Allin to fight the Death Riders.
Claudio Castagnoli 3-2
Finished 2-2-1 in Blue League in 2023
Wins against Darby Allin, Brody King, and Ricochet
Losses to Komander and Will Ospreay (Ospreay had tiebreaker)
Once again Claudio chokes in the final match of the Continental Classic. Last year it was going to a time limit draw against Bryan Danielson which allowed Eddie Kingston to come back from 0-2 to take the Runner-Up spot in the Blue League in 2023.
This year? All he had to do was defeat Komander. Komander was an injury replacement for Juice Robinson and hadn’t won a match in relief for Juice. Winning the match would give him 12 points total and the Blue League victory. Instead, all of his cheating caught up to him as Komander used Claudio’s brass knuckles hidden in Darby’s jacket to crack it across Claudio’s head and pull off the victory.
Claudio has nobody to blame but himself, but I’m sure as a member of the Death Riders he blames everyone except himself for disappointing.
I would be surprised to see Claudio try the CC in 2025 after two straight years of allowing victory slip away from him in the final match. All he can take pride in is stopping Darby Allin.
Darby Allin 2-2-1
Wins against Will Ospreay and Komander
Draw to Ricochet
Losses against Claudio Castagnoli and Brody King
Darby Allin was absolutely spectacular in his matches with Komander, Ospreay, and Brody King, and the only reason I wouldn’t be singing his praises louder is he missed making the playoffs. Beaten up in entering it, he lost in a mercy kill to Brody King. He was able to pull off an impressive victory against Ospreay and showed even against Komander he’ll put it all on the line, but a loss to Claudio due to cheating and going to a 20 minute draw against Ricochet cost him any chance at the playoffs.
Darby continues to struggle to climb the mountain to get to the Death Riders, to the point where they tossed him down a flight of stairs at the final Rampage. Darby was nowhere to be seen at World’s End or the first Dynamite of 2025 except the intro.
Brody King 2-3
Finished 2-3 in Blue League in 2023
Wins against Darby Allin and Komander
Losses against Claudio Castagnoli, Will Ospreay, and Ricochet
Poor Brody. Once again finished 2-3. At least this time it definitely feels like he’s more of a singles competitor now than just the muscle for the House of Black. I think it’s time he separates permanently from them.
Where should Brody King go? Side by side Will Ospreay and Darby Allin in the fight against the Death Riders. He may have beaten Darby Allin for his first win but he also protected him from Claudio doing more damage. He was unable to defeat Claudio in their match but that was due to Claudio taking the easy way out.
Hopefully 2025 we see Brody King get in title contention, whether it’s against Konosuke Takeshita, Daniel Garcia, or even Jon Moxley himself.
Juice Robinson 0-1
Injured out of Continental Classic and replaced by Komander
Juice Robinson just can’t avoid the injury bug, taking a bad injury in his fantastic match against Will Ospreay. My hope is he can come back healthy soon in 2025 and back up Jay White. Would love to see him enter the C2 in 2025 to get some retribution.
Komander 1-3
Injury Replacement for Juice Robinson
Win against Claudio Castagnoli
Losses against Ricochet, Darby Allin, and Brody King
Komander was a surprise fill-in for Juice Robinson as he wasn’t someone who really had any win momentum. But Komander was always ready for a challenge, and I think the Continental Classic showed people how much the young man has improved in AEW.
He did need to cheat to win one of his matches, but I don’t blame him after other heels got away with it. Turnabout is fair play, and beating Claudio was a victory for AEW against the Death Riders.
Komander can also hold his head high as the ROH World Television Champion after Final Battle, and hopefully he continues to grow in ROH.
Best Matches
The top 5 matches for the Continental Classic 2024 for me were:
5. Mark Briscoe versus Daniel Garcia
AEW Collision, December 7, 2024
4. Will Ospreay versus Kyle Fletcher
AEW World’s End, December 28, 2024
3. Kyle Fletcher versus Mark Briscoe
AEW Collision: Winter is Coming, December 14, 2024
2. Darby Allin versus Will Ospreay
AEW Dynamite: Holiday Bash, December 18, 2024
1. Will Ospreay versus Kazuchika Okada
AEW World’s End, December 28, 2024
That closes the book on the 2024 Continental Classic. If you want my thoughts on how to improve the Continental Classic for the third event, check out Continental Classic Needs Its Own MAX Event.
