Backstage Reason For Tony Khan's Chosen Finalist Participants In AEW Continental Classic 2024

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 Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada at AEW Worlds End
 

AEW/Lee South




The 2024 Continental Classic tournament reached its conclusion at AEW Worlds End with Kazuchika Okada defeating Will Ospreay in the final to successfully retain his AEW Continental Championship. Okada was then handed the belt by a returning Kenny Omega, teasing an upcoming feud between the old rivals. Much like 2023, the tournament has been widely praised from those in the industry, especially the final — a match that Dave Meltzer claimed on "Wrestling Observer Radio" was booked to solidify the 2024 Continental Classic as perhaps the greatest tournament of all time.

"[Tony Khan] was adamant, in his mind, that he wanted to produce the best tournament — he wanted it to be the best tournament ever, but I mean, I'll just go with the best tournament in the United States ever. That's a more rational goal and that's one you could at least argue for, and to do that, Okada and Ospreay was the match that you needed at the end, and they delivered. That was the match of the night." 

With Okada's win, he becomes one of the only wrestlers in history to win five round-robin tournaments, as he adds the 2024 C2 to the four G1 Climax victories in New Japan Pro Wrestling. The loss to Okada also marks the third pay-per-view in a row where Ospreay has suffered a pinfall defeat, with WrestleDream being the event he lost his AEW International Championship and Full Gear seeing him lose his long-awaited rematch with Kyle Fletcher. Neither man has currently been announced for either of "AEW Dynamite" or "AEW Collision's" first episodes of 2025 at the time of writing, meaning that fans will have to wait and see what's next for both men.

Please credit "Wrestling Observer Radio" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.




 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 
 

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