The 2025 Continental Classic tournament is right around the corner, and during the "Selection Special" which aired on all of the AEW social media platforms, the field for this year's tournament was revealed.
It was already confirmed at the Full Gear pay-per-view on November 22 that "The Rainmaker"Kazuchika Okada will be defending his crown in the tournament, and he will be competing in a hotly contested Gold League. Joining him in the Gold League will be another member of The Don Callis Family who declared himself for the tournament at Full Gear, former AEW TNT Champion Kyle Fletcher. The Gold League will see three debutants in the Continental Classic in the form of both members of JetSpeed, Kevin Knight and "Speedball" Mike Bailey, and PAC who will be representing the Death Riders. Rounding out the Gold League will be Darby Allin, the man PAC defeated at Full Gear, who will be returning to the competition after almost making it to the league finals in 2024.
Current IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Konosuke Takeshita had also declared himself for the tournament at Full Gear, and he will have an international onslaught of talent joining him in the Blue League. RepresentingCMLL will be Mascara Dorada, who AEW fans have become familiar with through his high-flying performances on TV and pay-per-view. Roderick Strong will be making his Continental Classic debut in the Blue League, as will "Freshly Squeezed" Orange Cassidy," who will be representing Paragon and The Conglomeration respectively. Rounding out the Blue League will be two members of the Death Riders. Claudio Castagnoli, who becomes the only man in AEW history to have competed in all three Continental Classic tournaments, and the former AEW World Champion Jon Moxley, who was the runner-up in the inaugural tournament back in 2023.
The Gold and Blue League matches will all take place on episodes of "AEW Dynamite" and "AEW Collision," with the league finals taking place at the Worlds End pay-per-view on December 27. The final of the tournament will also take place at Worlds End, meaning the men who reach the final four will have to wrestle twice in one night in order to walk out of Chicago as the winner of the 2025 Continental Classic tournament.
