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On Sunday night, AEW announced the participants in their second annual Continental Classic tournament. First-round matches begin this Wednesday on Dynamite. Here are my thoughts on each of the entrants, in alphabetical order by league:
Blue League
Shelton Benjamin: A good use of Benjamin at this stage of his career and AEW tenure; a guarantee that the Hurt Syndicate will also have a prominent role on television over the next few months.
Mark Briscoe: A fan favorite, Briscoe was one of the stars to come out of last year’s tournament, even if his win-loss record wasn’t great. Expect him to improve upon those numbers this time around.
Kyle Fletcher: Coming off a win against Will Ospreay at Full Gear, Fletcher has to be one of the top contenders to win his league. I’m looking forward to seeing him in this kind of tournament.
Daniel Garcia: Like Fletcher, Garcia has momentum, having won the TNT Championship from Jack Perry on Saturday. It still feels like he has a lot to prove, and he could do that in this setting.
The Beast Mortos: Mortos, Benjamin and Briscoe are guys in this league who can probably afford losses more so than Fletcher, Garcia and Okada. AEW seems to be trying to do something with Mortos and his character, though I’m not sure what that something is yet.
Kazuchika Okada: The Continental Champion, Okada is no stranger to the round-robin style of the Classic. His time in AEW has been known more for being The Elite’s sidekick rather than the best wrestler in the world reputation he cultivated in New Japan; does he have one more great tournament performance in him?
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Gold League
Darby Allin: Allin seemed to stake his claim as the next challenger to Jon Moxley’s AEW World Heavyweight Championship at the conclusion of Full Gear. This appears to be a detour from that, but he’ll have to deal with one of Mox’s minions in the tournament in Claudio Castagnoli.
Claudio Castagnoli: The only Death Rider representation in the Continental Classic, don’t be surprised if Claudio and Darby tangle late in the tournament with a lot on the line.
Brody King: Every tournament needs a good big man, and that’s what King brings to the table here. Despite finishing at the bottom of the standings last year, he had a good showing. Too bad it didn’t translate to much of a push afterward.
Will Ospreay: Has to be the odds-on favorite, especially after losing to Fletcher at Full Gear. With Fletcher in the other league, a rematch in the finals is not out of the realm of possibility.
Ricochet: Perhaps no one else has more to prove in this tournament than Ricochet. He’s going to be compared to some of the best AEW has to offer in the ring and he needs to show he still belongs in that conversation.
Juice Robinson: A wild card in more ways than one, this is a good spot for Robinson to get his legs back under him as a singles wrestler and to break free from the Bang Bang Gang for a little bit. His wild-eyed character could use some room to grow, and this tournament could be the right petri dish for him.
The Blue League is more of a toss-up at this stage with a clear line of delineation between three solid contenders and three that would be surprises. In the Gold League, Ospreay stands head-and-shoulders above the others. Allin and Claudio probably cancel each other out, and I don’t see any of the others winning over Ospreay. For those upset at Ospreay’s loss to Fletcher, this could be a tournament that gets him back on track.
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(You can always reach PWTorch editor Wade Keller at kellerwade@gmail.com. You can also send live event results and news tips to pwtorch@gmail.com. Also, we’re always looking for volunteer contributors to help us round out of coverage of the pro wrestling scene.)
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