Tony Khan Announces Rules & Reward For AEW Continental Classic
Tony Khan has provided some more information regarding the AEW Continental Classic including what the winner of the tournament will receive.
The AEW Continental Classic tournament will begin on the November 22nd edition of AEW Dynamite. The tournament will continue on AEW programming leading up to the finals of the tournament taking place at the Worlds End pay-per-view on Saturday, December 30th.
While the idea of a 12-man tournament sounds great, many fans were wondering what the reward was for winning the tournament.
To clarify what is going on with the Continental Classic tournament, AEW’s Owner, CEO & GM Tony Khan tweeted about the rules while also mentioning the winner will be a Triple Crown Champion capturing the AEW Continental Championship, ROH World Championship and NJPW Strong Openweight Championship.
The Continental Classic starts this week, Wednesday, Thanksgiving Eve on #AEWDynamite! 12 fighters, no interference, nobody at ringside. The winner becomes AEW Continental Champion + ROH World Champion + NJPW Strong Openweight Champion, a new Triple Crown Champion at Worlds End!
The Continental Classic starts this week, Wednesday, Thanksgiving Eve on #AEWDynamite!
12 fighters, no interference, nobody at ringside
The winner becomes AEW Continental Champion + ROH World Champion + NJPW Strong Openweight Champion, a new Triple Crown Champion at Worlds End! pic.twitter.com/3X4yBGcx54— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) November 19, 2023
The Continental Classic is a round-robin tournament with two groups of six competitors competing meaning everybody will have at least five matches. In addition to that, winners will receive three points. One point will be awarded to each wrestler for a draw. The loser gets zero points.
The ROH World Championship and NJPW Strong Openweight Championship are both held by Eddie Kingston. During the AEW Full Gear pay-per-view, Kingston talked about defending his two titles during his Continental Classic matches.
Dave Meltzer Provided Insight Into Tony Khan’s Plan For The AEW Continental Classic
While speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio after Full Gear, Dave Meltzer further explained what AEW is doing with the Continental Classic tournament.
“So the deal with this is that the Ring of Honor Championship essentially is changed to the Triple Crown. The New Japan Strong title essentially goes away as part of the Triple Crown. This is what All Japan did in the late 80s when they had the International and United National Titles all merged. And essentially, it becomes one title. The key to this is that they have a championship that is defended in New Japan, Ring of Honor, and sanctioned by all three. So that’s the uniqueness of it in the sense that it’s a three promotion.”
“So it’s a championship that was formerly the Ring of Honor Title that allows the Ring of Honor Title to be defended in three different companies as a joint promotion title.”
As of this writing, only four of the 12 wrestlers in the Continental Classic have been announced:
- Bryan Danielson
- Andrade El Idolo
- Mark Briscoe
- Eddie Kingston
There should be more names announced ahead of the tournament beginning on the November 22nd edition of AEW Dynamite.