2025 Continental Classic
Professional wrestling tournament
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The 2025 Continental Classic (C2) was a professional wrestling round-robin tournament hosted by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The third annual edition of the AEW Continental Classic began on the Thanksgiving Eve episode of Dynamite on November 26, 2025,[1] and culminated at the Worlds End pay-per-view (PPV) event on December 27, 2025. Tournament matches were held under "Continental Rules", which featured 20-minute time limits, no one allowed at ringside, and outside interference strictly prohibited. The prize of the tournament was the AEW Continental Championship. The 2025 tournament winner was Jon Moxley.
United States
United Kingdomformat
2025 Continental Classic winner Jon Moxley | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Professional wrestling |
| Location | United States United Kingdom |
| Dates | November 26, 2025–December 27, 2025 |
Tournament format | Two-block round-robin tournament |
| Host | All Elite Wrestling |
| Venue | Various arenas (see matches) |
| Participants | 13[a] |
| Final positions | |
| Champion | Jon Moxley |
| Runner-up | Kazuchika Okada |
Overview
Established in 2023, the Continental Classic (C2) is an annual professional wrestling tournament hosted by All Elite Wrestling (AEW) that starts after the promotion's Full Gear pay-per-view (PPV) event in mid-November and ends at the Worlds End PPV at the end of December. The tournament takes place in a round-robin format, with two blocks of six wrestlers – titled the Blue and Gold Leagues – wrestling each other across AEW's television shows, Dynamite, and Collision.
Matches are held under "Continental Rules": each match has 20-minute time limit, no other wrestlers are allowed at ringside, and outside interference is strictly prohibited under threat of penalty. Similar to most soccer leagues, match winners obtain three points for a win, and drawn matches give one point to each participant, and ties are broken based on head-to-head record. After the round-robin phase, the winner of each league will face the runner-up of the opposite league in a playoff match at Worlds End to determine the two championship finalists, who will wrestle each other for the AEW Continental Championship later in the evening.
As the reigning Continental Champion, Kazuchika Okada was awarded automatic entry into the tournament. Two of his fellow stable-mates in the Don Callis Family, Konosuke Takeshita and Kyle Fletcher, announced their entry at Full Gear.[2][3] The remaining nine entrants and the draw for the blocks was announced in a Selection Special on November 24: Okada, Fletcher, Darby Allin, "Speedball" Mike Bailey, Kevin Knight, and Pac were drawn into the Gold League; and Takeshita, Orange Cassidy, Claudio Castagnoli, Máscara Dorada, Jon Moxley, and Roderick Strong were drawn into the Blue League.[4] After Allin was declared medically unable to continue the tournament after his first match against Knight, he was replaced by Jack Perry.[5][6]
In July 2025 at All In: Texas, reigning Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada defeated Kenny Omega in a Winner Takes All Championship unification match to win the AEW International Championship and become the inaugural AEW Unified Champion; since Okada won as the Continental Champion, the Unified Championship adopted the rules of the Continental Championship.[7] Although he defended both belts as one between All In and the Continental Classic, the tournament was only for the Continental Championship, meaning if Okada lost, it would end the unification, thus forcing him to relinquish the Unified Championship.[8][9]
Matches
| Gold League match | |
| Blue League match | |
| Semifinal match | |
| Tournament final match |
| Dates | Show | Venue | Matches | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 26 | Thanksgiving Eve Dynamite | The Pinnacle Nashville, Tennessee |
G | Kyle Fletcher defeated Kazuchika Okada by pinfall | 16:46 |
| B | Jon Moxley defeated Máscara Dorada by technical submission | 12:55 | |||
| G | Kevin Knight defeated Darby Allin by pinfall[a] | 11:56 | |||
| B | Claudio Castagnoli defeated Orange Cassidy by pinfall | 12:28 | |||
| Thanksgiving Collision (aired November 27) |
G | Pac defeated Mike Bailey by technical submission | 15:16 | ||
| B | Konosuke Takeshita defeated Roderick Strong by pinfall | 13:15 | |||
| December 3 | Dynamite | Fishers Event Center Fishers, Indiana |
G | Kazuchika Okada defeated Pac by pinfall | 13:32 |
| G | Kyle Fletcher defeated Kevin Knight by pinfall | 13:08 | |||
| B | Claudio Castagnoli defeated Jon Moxley by pinfall | 15:08 | |||
| December 6 | Collision | Greater Columbus Convention Center GalaxyCon Columbus, Ohio |
B | Orange Cassidy defeated Roderick Strong by pinfall | 13:23 |
| B | Máscara Dorada defeated Claudio Castagnoli by pinfall | 12:00 | |||
| B | Konosuke Takeshita defeated Jon Moxley by pinfall | 17:29 | |||
| December 10 | Dynamite: Winter Is Coming | Gateway Center Arena Atlanta, Georgia |
G | Kazuchika Okada defeated Jack Perry by pinfall | 12:58 |
| G | Mike Bailey defeated Kyle Fletcher by pinfall | 19:10 | |||
| December 13 | Collision: Winter Is Coming | Utilita Arena Cardiff Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom |
B | Claudio Castagnoli vs. Konosuke Takeshita went to a time-limit draw | 20:00 |
| G | Mike Bailey defeated Kevin Knight by pinfall | 12:56 | |||
| December 17 | Dynamite: Holiday Bash | Co-op Live Manchester, England, United Kingdom |
B | Jon Moxley defeated Roderick Strong by pinfall | 18:10 |
| G | Pac defeated Kyle Fletcher by pinfall | 14:54 | |||
| Collision: Holiday Bash | B | Orange Cassidy defeated Máscara Dorada by pinfall | 11:12 | ||
| Collision: Holiday Bash (aired December 20) |
G | Jack Perry defeated Mike Bailey by pinfall | 12:41 | ||
| G | Kevin Knight defeated Kazuchika Okada by pinfall | 13:53 | |||
| December 20 | Dynamite on 34th Street (aired December 24) |
Hammerstein Ballroom New York City, New York |
B | Konosuke Takeshita defeated Orange Cassidy by pinfall | 15:26 |
| B | Máscara Dorada defeated Roderick Strong by pinfall | 9:20 | |||
| G | Jack Perry defeated Pac by pinfall | 14:28 | |||
| December 21 | Christmas Collision (aired December 25) |
G | Kyle Fletcher defeated Jack Perry by pinfall | 19:18 | |
| B | Konosuke Takeshita defeated Máscara Dorada by pinfall | 11:40 | |||
| B | Roderick Strong defeated Claudio Castagnoli by pinfall | 3:22 | |||
| G | Kevin Knight vs. Pac went to a time-limit draw | 20:00 | |||
| B | Jon Moxley defeated Orange Cassidy by pinfall | 17:03 | |||
| G | Kazuchika Okada defeated Mike Bailey by pinfall | 16:02 | |||
| December 27 | Worlds End | Now Arena Hoffman Estates, Illinois |
SF | Kazuchika Okada defeated Konosuke Takeshita by pinfall | 17:17 |
| SF | Jon Moxley defeated Kyle Fletcher by technical submission | 23:33 | |||
| F | Jon Moxley defeated Kazuchika Okada by pinfall | 20:01 | |||
Leagues
| Qualified to league final |
| Blue League | Gold League | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Konosuke Takeshita | 13 | Kyle Fletcher[α] | 9 |
| Jon Moxley | 9 | Kazuchika Okada (c) | 9 |
| Claudio Castagnoli | 7 | Kevin Knight | 7 |
| Orange Cassidy | 6 | Pac | 7 |
| Máscara Dorada II | 6 | Jack Perry[a] | 6 |
| Roderick Strong | 3 | "Speedball" Mike Bailey | 6 |
| (c) – the incumbent champion at the beginning of the tournament | |||
- Fletcher won the Gold League due to his head-to-head victory against Okada.
| Blue League | Cassidy | Castagnoli | Dorada | Moxley | Strong | Takeshita |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cassidy | N/a | Castagnoli (12:28) |
Cassidy (11:12) |
Moxley (17:03) |
Cassidy (13:23) |
Takeshita (15:26) |
| Castagnoli | Castagnoli (12:28) |
N/a | Dorada (12:00) |
Castagnoli (15:08) |
Strong (3:22) |
Draw (20:00) |
| Dorada | Cassidy (11:12) |
Dorada (12:00) |
N/a | Moxley (12:55) |
Dorada (9:20) |
Takeshita (11:40) |
| Moxley | Moxley (17:03) |
Castagnoli (15:08) |
Moxley (12:55) |
N/a | Moxley (18:10) |
Takeshita (17:29) |
| Strong | Cassidy (13:23) |
Strong (3:22) |
Dorada (9:20) |
Moxley (18:10) |
N/a | Takeshita (13:15) |
| Takeshita | Takeshita (15:26) |
Draw (20:00) |
Takeshita (11:40) |
Takeshita (17:29) |
Takeshita (13:15) |
N/a |
| Gold League | Bailey | Fletcher | Knight | Okada | Pac | Perry[a] |
| Bailey | N/a | Bailey (19:10) |
Bailey (12:56) |
Okada (16:02) |
Pac (15:16) |
Perry (12:41) |
| Fletcher | Bailey (19:10) |
N/a | Fletcher (13:03) |
Fletcher (16:46) |
Pac (14:54) |
Fletcher (19:18) |
| Knight | Bailey (12:56) |
Fletcher (13:03) |
N/a | Knight (13:53) |
Draw (20:00) |
Knight (11:56) |
| Okada | Okada (16:02) |
Fletcher (16:46) |
Knight (13:53) |
N/a | Okada (13:32) |
Okada (12:58) |
| Pac | Pac (15:16) |
Pac (14:54) |
Draw (20:00) |
Okada (13:32) |
N/a | Perry (14:28) |
| Perry[a] | Perry (12:41) |
Fletcher (19:18) |
Knight (11:56) |
Okada (12:58) |
Perry (14:28) |
N/a |
| Semifinals Worlds End December 27, 2025 | Championship Final Worlds End December 27, 2025 | ||||||||
| B1 | Konosuke Takeshita | 17:17 | |||||||
| G2 | Kazuchika Okada (c) | Pin | |||||||
| G2 | Kazuchika Okada (c) | 20:01 | |||||||
| B2 | Jon Moxley | Pin | |||||||
| G1 | Kyle Fletcher | 23:33 | |||||||
| B2 | Jon Moxley | TKO | |||||||
- Darby Allin sustained an injury during his first match with Kevin Knight; he was replaced in the tournament by Jack Perry.