AEW CONTINENTAL CLASSIC ROUND-UP: An overview of the latest matches and standings, who has shined, who is virtually eliminated and who seems to be in driver’s seat

The third week of the Continental Classic brought the best match of the tournament thus far and maybe the best TV match of the year. It also changed the fortunes of more than one participant. I’d be remiss if I didn’t shout out the great work Renee Paquette has been doing as an Erin Andrews-esque sideline reporter during C2 matches. It really adds to the sports vibe and I wouldn’t be upset if it was incorporated into the program the rest of the year.

Gold League

Kazuchika Okada vs. Jack Perry

In his first match since replacing the injured Darby Allin, Jack Perry squared off with the reigning Continental Champion. The match was good. Perry more than held his own despite legitimately twisting his ankle early. Him biting Okada’s crotch to escape the tombstone piledriver instantly became the most meme-d moment of the tournament. As was expected, Okada ended up picking up the win and another three points with the Rainmaker.

Kyle Fletcher vs “Speedball” Mike Bailey

Easily the best of the tournament by a comfortable margin. Fletcher and Bailey put on an absolute clinic of athleticism, speed, and counter wrestling. There were some brutal spots in this match including Fletcher slamming Bailey on the barricade and Bailey catching Fletcher with the double knee moonsault on the apron. The drama ratcheted up each time one kicked out of the other’s finish. When the timekeeper announced one minute remaining, it looked like we might be headed towards the first draw of the tourney. Instead, Speedball tied Fletcher up in a sunset flip and scored the surprise upset.

“Speedball” Mike Bailey vs Kevin Knight

The battle of JetSpeed did not disappoint. The tag team partners did not take it easy on each other. They really laid in the forearms and kicks. At one point they were standing on opposite sides of the ring and each went for a springboard lariat, ultimately resulting in them crashing in the middle. Speedball was unable to put Knight away with the Ultima Weapon. He attempted to use the same sunset flip tie up but didn’t quite secure it which allowed Knight to kick out. Speedball ended up having to pull out the Flamingo Driver (incorrectly identified as the Rubik’s Cube by Nigel McGuiness) for the win.

Standings:

At the end of this week there’s now a three way tie for first place between Okada, Fletcher, and Bailey with each man having six points. With each man having two matches left in the group stage, Fletcher and Okada remain the odds-on favorites to advance. There is a path however narrow for Speedball. Okada would need to win both matches (one of which is against Speedball), Speedball would need to win one his two remaining matches, Fletcher would have to lose one. Not impossible but extremely unlikely.

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…

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Blue League

Konosuke Takeshita vs Claudio Castagnoli

As commentary repeatedly pointed out this was a battle between the CMLL World Champion and the IWGP World Champion. This was quite the physical encounter with it devolving into an exchange of forearms and European uppercuts more than once. Takeshita survived a Very European Uppercut and a Neutralizer while Claudio successfully avoided the Raging Fire. Ultimately this match ended in a time limit draw, in which case each man received one point.

Standings:

There was only one match in the Blue League this week but it was extremely pivotal. By securing the one point for the draw, Claudio likely secured his spot in the semifinals. Mascara Dorada would need to beat Takeshita or Orange Cassidy and have Claudio lose to Roderick Strong in order to advance while OC would need to win both of his last matches and hope that Takeshita also loses to Dorada to make it to Worlds End. Neither of these scenarios seem at all likely.