Plans For AEW's Upcoming Continental Classic Tournament

During the 2023 Full Gear pay-per-view event on Saturday night, Eddie Kingston made an announcement. Kingston declared his participation in the inaugural AEW Continental Classic, set to commence this Wednesday on Dynamite.

In a bold move, he stated that both the ROH World Championship and the NJPW Strong Openweight Title would be on the line in every match he competes in throughout the tournament.

AEW President Tony Khan, in a statement during the Full Gear media scrum, emphasized the prestige of the Continental Classic. He confirmed that the winner would be recognized as the Triple Crown Champion, a unification of multiple titles.

Providing further insights, Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio detailed the tournament's structure and its historical significance. He explained, "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.”

Meltzer further clarified, “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.”

⚡ Maxwell Jacob Friedman Retains AEW World Championship Against "Switchblade" Jay White at Full Gear

In the main event of tonight's All Elite Wrestling Full Gear pay-per-view, Maxwell Jacob Friedman successfully retained the AEW Wo [...]

— Caylon Knox Nov 19, 2023 12:16AM