The 2024 Continental Classic is underway, and what a collection of fights we had for the first Gold and Blue League battles! With every competitor having battled in their first tournament match, AEW World Trios Champion Claudio Castagnoli, Brody King, Will Ospreay, Kyle Fletcher and Shelton Benjamin all netted three points while TNT Champion Daniel Garcia and AEW Continental Champion each scored one point as a result of their draw on COLLISION. Mark Briscoe, The Beast Mortos, Ricochet, Juice Robinson, and Darby Allin are all sitting with zero points after their first nights of action, but there's still a long road to travel before we get to the finals at WORLDS END 2024 in Orlando!
The tournament action continues tonight on DYNAMITE, live from the Fishers Event Center in Fishers, IN where House of Black's Brody King will lock up with AEW World Trios Champion Claudio Castagnoli in the Gold League while Kyle Fletcher and Shelton Benjamin meet in Blue League competition! Plus, as a result of last week's assault on Jay White, “Switchblade” will go head-to-head with AEW World Trios Champion “The Bastard” PAC while Swerve Strickland and Max Caster meet one-on-one after their own backstage clash! Plus, Anna Jay and Penelope Ford renew their rivalry while 12 of AEW's best, including Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly, enter the Dynamite Dozen Battle Royale for a shot at claiming the Dynamite Diamond Ring from MJF!
AEW's flagship program kicks off at 8pm ET/7pm CT on TBS, and you can get ready for the action with a visit to AEW's official YouTube channel to watch highlights from last week's editions of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well as so much more! Then join us Saturday night at GalaxyCon in Columbus, OH for a special night of COLLISION where Willow Nightingale and Serena Deeb compete in their WRESTLE DYNASTY 2025 International Women's Cup Qualifier!
CONTINENTAL CLASSIC
Gold League
House of Black's Brody King(3) vs. AEW World Trios Champion Claudio Castagnoli(3)
Last year Claudio Castagnoli and Brody King were both entries in the Blue League of the inaugural Continental Classic, and in their first match-ups of the field, each scored a victory: Claudio over Daniel Garcia and Brody over eventual C2 winner Eddie Kingston. On the December 2, 2023 edition of COLLISION from Erie, PA, those two beasts engaged in their second Blue League bout, this time against one another, and it was the man honoring House of Black who left the Erie Insurance Arena with another three points to his tally.
It was the last victory Brody achieved during the Continental Classic, but for Claudio that loss could be looked at as one of the primary reasons he did not make it to the finals of the Blue League. It's pure speculation, but if he hadn't lost to Brody King and if everything else in the Blue League had gone the exact same, he'd have been one point ahead of Bryan Danielson in the standings and Claudio would have been the one fighting Eddie Kingston in the Blue League Finals. But that's the past, it is immutable, there is only the now and in the now Castagnoli has an opportunity at redemption against Brody King coincidentally almost one year to the day of last year's C2 encounter.
In the only league play rematch from 2023, can the AEW World Trios Champion overcome the monstrous obstacle he could not one year ago? In the time since Claudio's been victorious in matches that included Brody at WORLDS END 2023 and ALL IN: LONDON 2024, but neither of those involved Claudio pinning Brody's shoulders to the mat or making him give up the ghost. Is this a monkey Castagnoli can get off his back or will Brody King repeat history in this match while he aims to change it moving forward?
Blue League
The Hurt Syndicate's Shelton Benjamin(3) vs. The Don Callis Family's Kyle Fletcher(3)
In the Blue League battle going down tonight on DYNAMITE, it's another first-time match in a Continental Classic field chock full of them: “The Protostar” Kyle Fletcher versus “The Standard of Excellence” Shelton Benjamin! After scoring victories over Will Ospreay at FULL GEAR 2024 and The Beast Mortos in his first Blue League battle, Kyle Fletcher is riding high on momentum as he moves forward towards his goal of winning the 2024 Continental Classic but he's running into one of the toughest fights of the entire field in the form of Hurt Syndicate's Shelton Benjamin. There's no question that Shelton is one of the best athletes in AEW, a world-class amateur wrestler who's among the most decorated professionals competing today, and who, even after 24 years fighting around the world, continues to get better. It's scary to look at a competitor like Shelton and see how he finds ways to get better year-after-year despite starting his professional wrestling career already one of the most gifted athletes to ever do it.
That is what Kyle Fletcher has to look forward to stepping into the ring with tonight, but if “The Protostar” can find a way to overcome Shelton's in-ring experience edge as well as the knowledge gained from the 14-year difference in their respective careers, this could very well be the boost Fletcher needs to run the table in the stacked Blue League! As for Shelton, well he's only tasted defeat once in his AEW career thus far and he's not looking to experience it again any time soon. He's also proven that he doesn't need the Hurt Syndicate to help secure his victories whereas Fletcher has, at times, leaned on that Don Callis Family crutch to get his wins. This is a situation where not only is outside interference banned, but no seconds are even allowed at ringside with the C2 competitors.
How will that play into the field moving forward, especially where it concerns Kyle Fletcher and The DCF? It's Kyle's chance to prove he can do it all on his own without the help of Callis and his ilk, but if he can't, Shelton Benjamin is ready to take these three points and move on to the next one!
ONE-ON-ONE...
Anna Jay vs. Penelope Ford
Though Anna Jay is boxed out of the AEW Women's World Championship picture as a result of losing to Mariah May in their No Disqualification match on November 16th, she's not content with just waiting until Mariah loses that title to become a title contender. After all there's another title in the Women's Division which Anna can pursue, that TBS Championship held by Mercedes Moné, and Anna pursuit of that challenge starts tonight with the renewal of an old rivalry!
It's been nearly three years since Penelope Ford and The Bunny felt to Anna Jay and Tay Melo in one of the most unforgettable Street Fights in AEW history. It was the culmination of a heated rivalry that first began on the 4/21/20 edition of AEW DARK where Anna Jay faced Penelope Ford in the former's second AEW match. The two would meet in a tag bout on the 12/30/20 DYNAMITE that celebrated the late-Mr. Brodie Lee's life, at the ALL OUT 2021 Casino Battle Royale it was Ford who eliminated Anna from the field, and Ford who scored victory at RAMPAGE: GRAND SLAM 2021 in their second singles match.
Anna and Tay Melo did get a tag team victory over Ford and The Bunny on the following DYNAMITE when Anna Jay choked out Penelope with her Queen Slayer, and of course the aforementioned bloody Street Fight during RAMPAGE: NEW YEARS SMASH 2021 that capped off the vicious rivalry.
Yet in all that fighting, at no point did Anna Jay score a one-on-one victory over Penelope Ford. Ford is 2-0 over her rival in singles, just as Anna is 2-0 in tag team competition; so with both women looking to ignite a new fire in their AEW careers, tonight on DYNAMITE they meet in singles competition for the first time in over three years! Will this be the ignition for Anna Jay's fight to the TBS Championship, or the kickstarter to Penelope Ford's return to competition after being frustrated by Jamie Hayter?
RENEWING A RIVALRY...
Swerve Strickland vs. Max Caster
The Acclaimed had it won at FULL GEAR 2024; if not for the fact Max Caster tagged himself into the match, Anthony Bowens would've had Zay pinned for the three count to earn The Acclaimed their second reign as AEW World Tag Team Championship. Instead Caster ended up the victim of a Gin 'n' Juice from Private Party and the defending champions retained their titles over three game challengers. How this will affect The Acclaimed when it comes to their team remains to be seen, but what we did see last week was the self-proclaimed “Best Wrestler Alive” running his mouth at Swerve Strickland following the former AEW World Champion's loss to Bobby Lashley as if Caster himself didn't also feel the sting of defeat just a few days prior.
That brings us to tonight where, much like Anna Jay and Penelope Ford, we will see a rivalry renewed when Max Caster and Swerve Strickland go one-on-one for the very first time! Over the course of 2022 these two competitors got quite familiar with each other in tag team action as The Acclaimed fell to Swerve In Our Glory at ALL OUT 2022 in a World Tag Title match, topped them in a rematch at DYNAMITE: GRAND SLAM 2022 to begin their first World Tag Team Championship reign, and defeated Swerve In Our Glory at FULL GEAR 2022 in the rubber match!
In the two years since that violent clash, the only engagement The Acclaimed and Swerve have had was actually as members of Team AEW inside Blood & Guts this past July when they, along with Darby Allin and Mark Briscoe, were victorious over The Elite. With all that has gone down in the four months since that war, it feels like a lifetime ago, and those changes have now brought Swerve back into battle with Max Caster! It would be remiss however to neglect one giant concern looming over this entire match and that's the fact Caster took a Hurt Syndicate business card from MVP weeks ago. Where is Caster's head it in regards to that situation, and will Swerve's on-going issues with Hurt Syndicate play a roll in tonight's fight?
GRUDGE MATCH...
“Switchblade” Jay White vs. AEW World Trios Champion “The Bastard” PAC
Though sometimes it may feel like every match that could be done has already been done, this year's Continental Classic is proof that there are a bevy of matches we have not experienced before, but beyond those dozen men there are even more fights the AEW faithful have yet to witness, including this one right here!
AEW World Trios Champion “The Bastard” PAC and “Switchblade” Jay White have shared an All Elite Wrestling ring only twice before with the first time at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2024 when the Bang Bang Gang retained the Unified World Trios Championship over Death Triangle. The second came three days later on DYNAMITE when both were entrants into the FORBIDDEN DOOR 2024 World Champion #1 Contender's Casino Gauntlet, and each match had one thing in common. In the title fight, Juice Robinson shoved PAC off the top rope as he set-up for the Black Arrow, leaving “The Bastard” ripe for a Blade Runner from Jay White to secure the win for BBG. In the Casino Gauntlet it was again Juice who shoved PAC off the top rope to save White, only this time it just delayed the end result as Will Ospreay cut “Switchblade” down with a Hidden Blade en route to pinning Orange Cassidy for the victory.
So twice PAC and Jay White have met in various forms, and twice Juice Robinson has directly impacted the end result of the match, but none of those were one-on-one matches, and unfortunately Juice Robinson has been struck down with an injury forcing him out of the Continental Classic, meaning it's highly unlikely he'll be a deciding factor in this one. That just leaves “The Bastard” and “Switchblade” to settle this between each other after The Death Riders assaulted him and Hangman Page last week on DYNAMITE!
Will Jay White follow in Hangman's footsteps and get another victory over a Death Rider? Or will “The Bastard” even things up for what's went down between he and White earlier this year?
DYNAMITE DOZEN BATTLE ROYALE...
Adam Cole vs. Kyle O'Reilly vs. ROH World TV Champion Brian Cage vs. “The Murderhawk Monster” Lance Archer vs. Mark Davis vs. ??? vs. ??? vs. ??? vs. ??? vs. ??? vs. ??? vs. ???
11/20/19, Indianapolis, IN: MJF and Adam Page are the last two men standing in the 1st Dynamite Diamond Ring Battle Royale
11/27/19: Chicago, IL: MJF defeats Adam Page to claim the Dynamite Diamond Ring for the first time
Repeat that scenario in 2020 and 2021, different locations, but same results; Maxwell Jacob Friedman is one of the last two men standing in the Battle Royale and manages to defeat his co-winners (Orange Cassidy and Dante Martin) to keep the ring on his finger.
In 2022 the game changed because MJF wasn't just a 3-Time holder of the ring, he was also the reigning AEW World Champion. That meant instead of participating in the Dynamite Dozen Battle Royale, MJF became the prize, well more accurately both the ring on Max's finger and the belt around his waist became the prize. Ricky Starks wasn't able to claim either as the winner of the Battle Royale, which meant MJF enjoyed a fourth year as the holder of the ring.
By the time the 2023 Dynamite Dozen Battle Royale rolled around MJF was no longer the World Champion, but he maintained that as a 4-Time winner of the Dynamite Diamond Ring, he wouldn't enter into the Battle Royale but, as he did in 2022, face the winner of the contest. In that case it was Juice Robinson, but as with each previous year, MJF found a way to leave with the ring around his finger.
This year the scenario remains the same, the winner of the Dynamite Dozen Battle Royale will face MJF and try to wrest the ring away from him for the first time since 2019. At this point we know two of the men who'll be entering the field to get their hands on Max, and it's safe to say that for Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly it's less about claiming the ring and more about putting their hands around the throat of Maxwell Jacob Friedman!
Can either of those men be the one to finally end MJF's run with the ring? And what of the other ten men who will be involved in this fracas? The focus may be on Cole and O'Reilly, two men who've been bonded since 2010, but there are ten other competitors all looking to be the one to get in the ring with MJF and try to break his streak!
WE'LL HEAR FROM JAMIE HAYTER!
Last week Jamie Hayter moved on in the AEW bracket of the WRESTLE DYNASTY 2025 International Women's Cup Qualifiers with a victory over Queen Aminata, but the specter of Julia Hart is still hovering over everything the former AEW Women's World Champion has done the last few weeks. Tonight we will hear from Hayter as she awaits the results of Willow Nightingale versus Serena Deeb this Saturday on COLLISION, and about this situation with House of Black's dark princess.
RAMPAGE
As part of Wednesday night's action-packed night, the AEW faithful in attendance will get to see Continental Classic action before the rest of the world as we tape Friday night's edition of RAMPAGE immediately following the conclusion of DYNAMITE! Be there in-person at Fishers to catch these three great C2 bouts:
CONTINENTAL CLASSIC...
Gold League
Ricochet (0) vs. Komander (0)
Unfortunately Juice Robinson has sustained an injury necessitating him stepping down from competing in the Continental Classic, but where his door closes, one has opened for high-flying sensation Komander! Tonight, as part of the RAMPAGE taping, he steps into the 2024 C2 for his first match while Ricochet attempts to rebound from his loss last week against Claudio Castagnoli. Can the first alternate shake things up with a victory in his first Gold League match, or will Ricochet be able to score his first points after last week's loss? We've already seen one draw in the first round, so there's also that third possibility that these two denizens of the sky will balance each other out and go the distance!
Blue League
TNT Champion Daniel Garcia (1) vs. The Beast Mortos (0)
Speaking of that draw, TNT Champion Daniel Garcia is back in action after going to a stalemate with AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada, and now faced with the monstrous Beast Mortos as his second opponent in the Blue League! Last year Garcia proved himself more than capable of taking down a powerhouse when he bested Brody King, so can he do it again in this first-time match? We know Mortos is ready to bring the pain after falling to Kyle Fletcher in his first league battle, can he put his first points on the board at the TNT Champion's expense? And if he does defeat Garcia, could that put Mortos in line for a title fight as well?
AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada (1) vs. Mark Briscoe (0)
As for the other champion in the Blue League, this week Kazuchika Okada is set to face-off with a man he's shared a ring with nine other times over the last nine years, yet never once met in a singles match: former ROH World Champion Mark Briscoe! From 2015 and 2017, “Chicken” and “The Rainmaker” were both ally and enemy for six matches between Ring of Honor and NJPW, splitting their two matches as foes while going 1-3 in their bouts as allies. Since coming to AEW, the two men have been in the same ring on three occasions, once inside Blood & Guts, once as part of the Casino Gauntlet at ALL IN: LONDON 2024, and finally in the 4-Way AEW Continental Championship bout at ALL OUT 2024 where Okada pinned Orange Cassidy to retain.
That brings us to tonight where, as part of the RAMPAGE taping for this Friday night, the two men meet one-on-one for the first time with crucial points in the Blue League on the line! Okada netted a single point last week in that draw with Daniel Garcia while Mark posted zero after losing to Shelton Benjamin in their clash. Can Mark bounce back to avoid repeating his 2023 Continental Classic performance, or will the reigning Continental Champion get his first victory of the tournament?
DYNAMITE begins at 8pm ET/7pm CT on TBS, hailing from the Fishers Event Center in Fishers, IN, and is loaded with action as we progress down the road to WORLDS END 2024 in Orlando! We've got Continental Classic action in both the Gold and Blue Leagues, as well as PAC versus Jay White, Anna Jay taking on Penelope Ford, the Dynamite Dozen Battle Royale, Swerve fighting Max Caster, and so much more! Prepare for all the excitement by dropping in on the official AEW YouTube channel to catch highlights from last week's editions of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well as so much more! Then join us at GalaxyCon in Columbus, OH on Saturday for a special night of COLLISION where Willow Nightingale meets Serena Deeb in their WRESTLE DYNASTY 2025 International Women's Cup Qualifier!