AEW Continental Classic Set To Return

AEW's Continental Classic round-robin tournament will return during next week's "AEW Dynamite" for the third year running.

The tournament, established in 2023 with its first winner and inaugural Continental Champion in Eddie Kingston, divides competitors into two leagues in its early stages – much like NJPW's G1 Climax – with qualifiers from those leagues competing in the subsequent semis and final to determine the winner and titleholder; up until this year, that had been the Continental title, but that has since been unified with the International Championship to produce the Unified Championship at All In Texas. 

The return of the tournament was announced on Wednesday night's "AEW Dynamite," confirming that the tournament will return to TV next Wednesday, following the Full Gear event this weekend. As of the time of writing, no names or brackets have been announced. 

Presuming he remains the Unified Champion beyond this weekend, last year's tournament winner, Kazuchika Okada, is sure to have an opportunity to retain his crown. Aforementioned winner, Kingston, returned to the ring at All Out for the first time since last year, having been sidelined with a broken leg when the 2024 Continental Classic was staged.

Claudio Castagnoli, Brody King, Mark Briscoe, and Daniel Garcia are the only names to have wrestled in both tournaments. The league format has until now began with 12 participants divided into six-man blocks, spreading fives weeks of matches out for each. It's unknown whether the tournament will see any changes in that regard, but Tony Khan said in October that some of the Continental Classic will be taking place during AEW's UK tour.