Eddie Kingston Defeats Jon Moxley At AEW Worlds End To Win Continental Classic

Eddie Kingston is the first AEW Continental Crown Champion.

During AEW's Worlds End pay-per-view on December 30, former partners and rivals Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston battled it out to determine the winner of the inaugural AEW Continental Classic. As noted, Moxley won the Gold League while Kingston won the Blue League for the right to defend his ROH World and NJPW STRONG Openweight Championships while also vying to capture the first AEW Continental Crown Championship.

Bryan Danielson joined commentary for the bout that saw Kingston hit a risky dive out of the ring that resulted in him bouncing his head and neck off of the ringside barricade. Kingston was able to shake it off, but it lead to Moxley dictating the pace for a bit as the double champion recovered enough to clobber him with clotheslines.

In the closing moments, Moxley and Kingston slugged it out until Kingston clocked him with a spinning back fist. Kingston went for the cover and scored the three-count in order to win the tournament. During his celebration, Kingston paid tribute to independent wrestler Mad Kurt, who died this week at the age of 26.

Kingston has held the STRONG Openweight title since July 5 when he defeated KENTA. Meanwhile, while he's served as the reigning ROH World Champion since defeating Claudio Castagnoli at "AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam" on September 20. Now that the first Continental Crown Champion has been decided, it's already been confirmed that the Continental Classic will return in 2024.