AEW Continental Classic Report, Dynamite 12/20/2023
The inaugural Continental Classic rolled on with a trio of Gold League matches Wednesday night on "AEW Dynamite," with Jon Moxley already having clinched a spot in the league final before the action began. Opening the show, Swerve Strickland shook off his loss to Moxley last week, getting the win he needed over RUSH to secure his place in the league final as well. RUSH kicked out at the count of one after a 450 Splash from Strickland, firing up for a flurry of strikes before Strickland regained his composure and earned the win with a Swerve Stomp.
Next up, Jay Lethal and Mark Briscoe squared off, with both men looking for their first win in the tournament and unable to qualify for the championship rounds. With pride alone on the line, Briscoe prevailed, hitting the J-Driller on Lethal to finally get into the tournament win column. After the match, the two combatants shook hands in a show of respect.
Finally, Moxley would take on Jay White, who, with a win, would pull even with both the unbeaten Moxley and Strickland to make the Gold League Final a triple threat match. Throughout the match, White would attack Moxley's left knee, including a direct chair shot on the outside of the ring while the referee was distracted. With a draw doing him no good and the time limit looming, White took advantage of a hobbled Moxley, escaping the Death Rider and finishing Moxley off with a Blade Runner. With the Gold League Final now set, Swerve made his way back out from the back to stare next week's opponents down. As he did so, White took one more cheap shot at Moxley's knee for good measure, rendering the Blackpool Combat Club member potentially hobbled heading into next week.
Moxley, Strickland, and White finish the round robin part of the tournament with 12 points each; RUSH finishes with six points, Briscoe with three, and Lethal with none. The Blue League final will be determined on Saturday's episode of "AEW Collision," which features Andrade El Idolo (9 points) vs. Eddie Kingston (6 points), Bryan Danielson (9) vs. Claudio Castagnoli (6), and Brody King (6) vs. the eliminated Daniel Garcia (0).