AEW Continental Classic: What should be different this year than at last year’s inaugural tournament and thoughts on who should make up this year’s field

The second annual AEW Continental Classic is upon us. It begins on the Dynamite after Full Gear. We don’t have the field of twelve yet, but that doesn’t mean we can’t speculate on who could or should be in it, what their role might be, and who the possible winners could be.

First and foremost, I think the Continental Classic needs to be for more than just the belt currently in the possession of Okada. It needs to be for a shot at the AEW World Title. Beyond the grueling nature of the tournament and the time allotted to it, the nature of the current overarching Jon Moxley story requires that this tournament feel important enough to take precedence.

Mox should be talking up this tourney, but he’d have no reason to if it’s for just another title. The Continental Title can be a trophy, but the prize must be bigger, especially if AEW is going to directly compare this tournament to the G1 Climax.

As far as the participants go, the only person for sure in the tournament is Kazuchika Okada. We’ve seen glimpses of the Okada that I and a lot of other fans were excited that AEW signed earlier this year. With the Young Bucks off TV for awhile, Okada finally has an opportunity to branch out on his own and really demonstrate why he’s one of the best to ever do this and not just a heel who isn’t really working as heel alongside the two least serious people in the company. This needs to be his coming out party. He’s touted himself as the greatest tournament wrestler of all time with four G1 victories under his belt. It’s time he prove it.

When it comes to the rest of the field, it’s wide open. AEW has real depth at the top and upper mid-card levels so there should be no Jay Lethal-types this time around. I would also tend to think Konosuke Takeshita as International Champion needs to be protected and thus, unfortunately, exempt from the tourney. The nature of their storyline would seem to preclude both Adam Cole and MJF from participating as well.

On the flip slide, Daniel Garcia should be back in the tournament this year and get a strong push to really signify his glow up after being the underdog story last year. A wrestler like Hook could benefit from taking Garcia’s former role of scrappy fighter who can’t quite get over the hump. Hook is finally starting to get out from under the FTW stuff, having retired that title in September. This would be his chance to establish himself as a straight up wrestler without all the hardcore accoutrements.

A strong perspective field would include: Okada, Jay White, “Hangman” Page, Will Ospreay, Kyle Fletcher, Swerve Strickland, Shelton Benjamin, Bobby Lashley, Hook, Darby Allin, and Pac. That last spot is bit of a toss-up. It could go to Buddy Matthews since Brody King was in last year or a dark horse could be Nigel McGuiness.

Nigel has only wrestled twice this year, the Casino Gauntlet at All In and the final chapter of his feud with Bryan at Grand Slam – but he could find his way into this tourney as way of wanting to test himself. If that happens, Wheeler Yuta probably represents the Death Riders instead of Pac and we get a match between those two. Ricochet is also a possibility.

This potential field is not only loaded with in-ring talent of differing styles, but moves some important feuds into the tournament so they will continue to get TV time because AEW TV will be dominated by these matches. Tony Khan is going to have to show some booking courage and allow some top talent to lose to other top talent for this tournament in order to feel as important and impactful as it should.

As far as who might win, that’s hard to predict without a full field in to look out. Obviously, Okada is the favorite. I’d say Danny Garcia could be a dark horse winner if he’s in it and has a strong run. If Will Ospreay is in it, I think he’d would have to be a strong contender as would Jay White. With the technical exception of Okada, those are all babyfaces because I think this is a babyface’s tournament to lose especially if the World Title shot is added on as a prize.

Once the field is released, we’ll reconvene and examine the potential matchups and see if any of the potential winners have changed.