5 Favorites To Win The 2025 AEW Continental Classic

AEW announced on this week's episode of AEW Dynamite that the Continental Classic tournament is set to return and will begin next week on the company's annual pre-Thanksgiving edition of Dynamite.

The AEW Continental Classic started in 2023 and is a round-robin tournament like the New Japan Pro Wrestling G1 Climax. Last year, the tournament featured two blocks of five competitors that collided for Continental Classic superiority.

The winners of each round-robin match get three points, a draw yields one point, and a loss is zero points. The wrestlers with the top two point totals in each block wrestle in the semifinal. The winners of those two matches move on to face each other in the tournament final.

In 2024, Kazuchika Okada beat Will Ospreay in the tournament final and the full field featured Kyle Fletcher, Mark Briscoe, Daniel Garcia, Shelton Benjamin, The Beast Mortos, Ricochet, Claudio Castagnoli, Darby Allin, Brody King, and Komander. In 2023, Eddie Kingston became the inaugural winner of the tournament and beat Jon Moxley in the final.

As for 2025, it's a wide-open field. AEW has not announced block competitors yet, but these are the top five potential winners this year.

5. Kazuchika Okada

Yes, Okada was the winner in 2024, but AEW consistently bills him as the best tournament wrestler in the history of pro wrestling. Plus, Okada is technically still the AEW Continental Champion, even if it's unified with the AEW International Championship in the form of the AEW Unified Championship.

If AEW wants Okada to maintain the perception of tournament invincibility, a back-to-back Continental Classic win is a must. Plus, Okada has two major matches on the horizon. Both of those play better if Okada has momentum at his back.

Okada is facing Hiroshi Tanahashi in his last match for New Japan at Wrestle Kingdom. Okada rolling through the Continental Classic and heading into the match and winning defines Okada in the strongest way possible.

The other match is a bout against Konosuke Takeshita, which has been brewing inside The Don Callis Family for months. Okada needs to be strong for that showdown. Spoiler alert: more on Takeshita in a bit.

4. Anthony Bowens

A sleeper pick for Continental Classic tournament victor this year, but what a way to get a young up-and-comer over. Bowens has flirted with new gimmicks, oddball tag team pairings, and reuniting with Max Caster as The Acclaimed. None of that makes Bowens more interesting than him winning this year's tournament would.

Bowens has personality and charisma, and he can go in the ring. A storybook run to the finals is something fans would get behind, and it would give Bowens the credibility he has yet to find as a singles star. There won't be a drop-off in tournament match quality if he's in the mix.

3. Kyle Fletcher

Well, including Fletcher here certainly spoils my pick for his Full Gear match this weekend. Fletcher is and has been ready to elevate from the TNT Championship level in AEW.

At Full Gear on Saturday night, Fletcher is going to lose the TNT Championship to Mark Briscoe and if the tournament and a victory were waiting in the wings for him after, it will be a smooth transition to a new level in the company.

Also, Kyle Fletcher is Kyle Fletcher. The guy can't have a bad match with anyone and greatly impacts the overall tournament match quality in a positive way. Tony Khan should want someone of Fletcher's ability to help set the tone for what kind of tournament the Continental Classic is. To do that, Fletcher needs to be in it and looking strong as much as possible.

2. Ricochet

Ricochet needs to win something. Anything. He regularly gets some of the biggest heel heat on the show, but rarely has booking behind him to continue momentum as a top heel in the company.

Like Fletcher, Ricochet could show off in the ring during this tournament and have innovative matches with almost anyone. He's a compelling wrestler and character, but he needs some victories on his side to continue growing into an important star.

1. Konosuke Takeshita

Konosuke Takeshita is the winner of G1 Climax 35. | New Japan Pro-Wrestling

My tournament pick to click. Look, Takeshita is barreling toward a major feud with Kazuchika Okada, the greatest tournament wrestler ever, according to AEW. What better way to kickstart that by not only having a match inside the tournament this year, but by having Takeshita win the tournament instead of the greatest tournament wrestler ever?

Takeshita won the G1 Climax tournament in 2025 and became IWGP World Heavyweight Champion because of that win. AEW needs to keep the pedal on the floor with him. He'll be in one of the main event matches at Wrestle Kingdom and needs all the juice he can get going into that.

It seems as if AEW finally sees the full potential they have with Takeshita. The timing is ripe not only to continue that momentum, but to establish him even further as a top guy in your company. A Continental Classic tournament win accomplishes both those goals.

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