With week one of the 2025 AEW Continental Classic in the books, it was time for the tournament really shape up as the second batch of matches commenced on the December 3 episode of "AEW Dynamite," with both the Gold and Blue Leagues now having definitive leaders.
The match that had everyone talking going into the show was the Blue League match between the two Death Riders, Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli, in what was their first singles bout against each other in AEW. Both men picked up three points seven days earlier, with Moxley defeating Mascara Dorada while Castagnoli got the better of Orange Cassidy. Marina Shafir did try and stay at ringside but was ejected by referee Bryce Remsburg, but if she had stayed she would have seen the bloodiest match of the tournament so far. Moxley was split open after being sent into the crowd and fought an uphill battle from there. Just as he felt like he was getting back into things, Claudio put an end to the match with a Running Uppercut, giving him three points on the night, six points for the tournament, and a spot at the top of the Blue League. Both men will continue their campaigns on "AEW Collision" this Saturday as Moxley will face Konosuke Takeshita, while Castagnoli will face Mascara Dorada.
Over in the Gold League, the Death Riders wanted to have members of their group at the top of both leagues as PAC went one-on-one with the AEW Unified Champion Kazuchika Okada. PAC picked up all three points against "Speedball" Mike Bailey on the Thanksgiving edition of "AEW Collision" and looked to double his tally, while Okada was still looking to get off the mark after losing his opening match to Kyle Fletcher. PAC thought he had the match won in the closing stages as he was able to withstand Okada's arsenal. He hit an Avalanche Brainbuster and followed that up with his Momentum Lariat, but when he went to lock in the Brutalizer, Okada used his experience to trap PAC in a Crucifix pin and walked away with the victory. Both men will now enter their third matches with a record of one win and one loss.
"Dynamite" ended with Kyle Fletcher sitting atop the Gold League as he picked up the win over Kevin Knight. Fletcher defeated Okada in the opening match of the entire tournament on the Thanksgiving Eve edition of "Dynamite," but Knight wasn't going to be taken lightly as he defeated Darby Allin and put Darby in the hospital seven days earlier. Knight almost did the same Fletcher as he once again hit the Coast-To-Coast Drop Kick, but Fletcher countered the UFO Splash, and after some stiff kicks and a Brainbuster, "The Protostar" picked up the win and ended the night on six points.
