We are just a few days past Eddie Kingston winning the 1st, of hopefully many, Continental Classics (which I will refer to as the C2 going forward). With that in hand I want to look at the entire tournament at a high level, as well as what the tournament did for the participants.
“BLUE LEAGUE.”
Eddie Kingston (9 Points) - Tournament winner, Group winner. This tournament was everything for Eddie, he has been crowned the modern day Triple Crown Champion. He is like the legends on the 90’s All Japan champions that Eddie has based much of his career on. This is without a doubt the career pinnacle of Kingston, unless he one day becomes a world champion in AEW. This was a win for Kingston without a doubt.
Bryan Danielson (10 points) - Group Runner-Up. Danielson was the first participant announced for the tournament. Before Kingston put up his ROH and NJPW titles, it looked like this would be Danielson’s tournament to win. In early stages it didn’t look like he would be able to continue, and the new eye patch and the tough run in the tournament may give the Danielson character as baseline bad ass face persona going forward. The C2 was also a win for Danielson.
Andrade El Idolo (9 points) Group 3rd place. There is a lot to say here, that is all meta narrative. Mainly that a guy that was on his way out of the company was protected more than talent that will be in AEW in 2024. Why this was done has escaped me, was it a favor to Ric Flair? A way for Tony to stay good with other talent the way he treated Andrade? Either way, this tournament set up Andrade for a big return run in WWE when that comes. For him this was a win, for Tony Khan I would not be as kind.
Claudio Castagnoli (7 points) Group 4th Place. The workhorse of the blue group, the C2 was a microcosm of Claudio in AEW. He is always good for top quality tv matches that do not break out much past the sound of the bell to start and end matches. The C2 was no different. The draw with Danielson was the most memorable match of his run, which once again sums up his place in AEW. The tournament was a negative for Claudio, because he defined him as a mid-card act from here on out.