[9.0] "Never an wrestling match in a american company had more Pro Wrestling NOAH vibes than that one here. Best way ever to end that insane tournament (the best the AEW made so far), the final choice was GREAT and overall pretty unpredictable, something we sadly didn't had in a year later (even knowing that Okada vs Ospreay was so much better). Anyways, the match is insane, they went fully to take incredible risks not even respecting their body limits. Eddie went into a suicide dive that was came way close to be really suicide lmao. The slaps were CRAZY, Eddie put his entire heart, body and soul into this match and Moxley respected him so much, he knew how much special that was for him, a guy that became wrestler due to old AJPW tapes, a guy that had Kawada has his personal idol, finally got probably the most respectful title for him, the Triple Crown Championship. I don't think that the crowd was THE ONE here for that moment, they looked pretty quiet and didn't had good awnsers for the entire bout, but this don't make the moment worse. Impossible to make it bad, honestly."
[9.0] "It all comes down to this. 30+ matches in the tournament for this final. And I gotta say, they did not disappoint in the slighest. Brilliant stuff! Probably one of my favorites Eddie Kingston performances ever. A strike-based match where anything could happen any second, the ending comes from out of nowhere and it's fucking awesome. Like Danielson himself said, Eddie is the better striker and one thing you should never do is get in a pissing contest with him, exactly what Mox did the entire match, and even though he was pretty great in it, causing a lot of damage, ultimately, that's what led to his loss. A locked in Eddie Kingston is the most dangerous man you could ever face in the ring, he had the match on his hand the entire time. Eddies fights out of every bad scenario he is in and Mox only gets frustrated over and over. From the big blows to the bombs to even getting in the ground, everything was strategic and a huge part of what the result came to be. A love letter to their idols. The King of the Bums did it, and it was heartwarming."
[8.0] "I liked this match a lot, it was very hard hitting and the embodiment of a banger. This match was better than their match at Full Gear 2020 and that was a stipulation match this had a great ending too with Kingston winning."
[9.0] "[4.25*] I gotta be honest with you all. At my first watch I gave it a 3.5*, 7/10. But after rewatching it man, this is a modern-day classic. A match clearly not built for the average north-american fanbase but it was just never supposed to be for them, this is a clear homage to 90s AJPW and its style, and man, it is a kind of perfect one. A match centralized in suplexes, bombs, strikes and submissions, simple as that, but with every single move meaning a lot to the bout. At the first second, Bryan says that Eddie is a better striker than him and Mox, and that Mox should be careful with that, and Eddie literally ends up winning with the biggest strike of them all, the Uraken. In all of their promos, Mox always claimed that Eddie was too emotional and less strategic, but the whole match was a giant trap minimally calculated by Eddie, which it means he literally out-smarted Moxley. He brought Mox to his game, the Japanese shooting-style game, and obviously won, as he KNEW he would do. A lot of beautiful subtle things happened on this match tho. Eddie ending the chops exchange into a standing headlock because his heart was hurting and then after that he literally had a heart attack while Mox fell to the floor due to the pain on his leg. I saw some people complaining it did not have a climax. Fair enough. Mox literally got knocked out after the Backfist/Uraken, which was by the way the fourth one Eddie had connected on him + 2 Northern Light Bombs. How would it have a climax if the guy just got KOed? Welcome to a 1990 Puroresu match, brother. Storytelling and psychology at its finest. The hug afterwards was just damn beautiful too, and now Eddie is finally a Triple Crown Champion, just like all his heroes. I am legitimately in tears writing this. Beautifully done match."
[9.0] "Such a great example of a wrestler outsmarting their opponent. Mox believing hes the better striker than Kingston, so Kingston brings him to the world of AJPW and proves exactly why hes the better striker. No two better wrestlers to do this with, given their history, and no better competition to do this than the Continental classic. Finish was literally perfect, if Eddie won with anything other than a powerful strike the story wouldnt be as watertight as it is. Some great selling psychology throughout this too. MOTN for sure."
[9.0] "This was an awesome match and a great way to end the tournament. Kingston and Moxley were absolutely incredible here, and Kingston overcoming the odds and winning was a really cool moment. ****1/2"
[3.0] "Match is horrid upon rewatch. It's like showing two homeless guys a 90s AJPW match and telling them to replicate it. It's just a poor imitation. Little athleticism, unconvincing strikes, this match explains in detail everything wrong with Eddie Kingston. Some good drama I guess. I don't have a lot to say about this match, but I really just didn't enjoy it, they need to stop trying to be something they are not. Kingston was a decent choice for winner of the tournament at least. This was by far AEW's worst PPV."
[8.0] "Another stronger match for the show here. I'm really glad this and the previous match ended up delivering good stuff, as the majority of what came before them was pretty disappointing, unfortunately. Either way, this was great and I was super glad to see Kingston getting the win here, especially with it making him a Triple Crown Champion."
[9.0] "What an amazing match, incredible way to conclude the tournament. I wanted this match between Mox and Eddie in the finals ever since the groups were released, they have so much history together and the matchup fitted perfectly purpose and story of the tournament. The match can feel weird and like a disappointment to some people, but it was basically a tribute to a lot of their inspirations, that had elements of a shoot-style bout with countless similarities to old school puroresu. Watching this I've noticed several similarities to the AJPW King's Road Era, that have a lot of connections to the Triple Crown Championship concept. I think this stands out because it was a type of match we don't see very often, specially in North America, and it was beautiful to see so many tributes to a glorious era of wrestling. We all know Eddie takes a lot of their style, but I was really impressed to see Moxley doing something out of his style, and in a crazily qualified way, the guy is a complete wrestler, period. This match had awesome moments and every strike and move felt important, this makes any match enjoyable to watch and emphasizes the strategic side of the game. The only thing I didn't liked about this was the short time, the show ended nearly 10 minutes before it should, and this time should've been utilized here, this epic battle had potential to reach an unthinkable climax, and I respect the choice to end this abruptly, a lot of King's Road matches did and it was more common at the time, but I really think that this would be the case to do something bigger. Nevertheless, a beautiful love letter to their heroes and satisfying conclusion to an amazing tournament. King's Road lives forever - {****1/4}"
[6.0] "For some reason, this one just didn't work for me. Part of it was the striking seemed particularly sloppy - neither entertaining nor semi-realistic. There were lots of dead spots where the crowd were very quiet. And the finish just seemed anticlimatic. I understood the story and passion they were trying to express, but it just didn't come across to me, and it felt odd to then have this big celebration which was effectively just for a mid-card championship."
[8.0] "Another best friends grudge match. But the dynamic between Mox and Kingston is very different from Copeland and Cage. Both Kingston and Moxley had different paths to this finals, Eddie had to go through Bryan, he had to claw himself from elimination while Moxley was pinned only once by White and then, he pinned White to head into the finals against Kingston. So safe to say, Eddie had a tougher tournament and Mox was seen as the favourite to win on paper. Eddie was a great underdog, he could sell his story, his hardships, his struggles and he was damn good at getting the crowd behind him, Mox is great either as a heel or face but he is one of Eddie's most prominent rivals alongside Danielson and Castagnoli who are by the way Mox's BCC stablemates and Moxley felt right as the Final boss for Kingston. Kingston beat both Castagnoli and Danielson to reach the Finals and he was about to hit the trifecta with Moxley, he would put away his doubters once and for all. This is a great story, an excellent history that goes back more than a decade and Eddie's redemption arc against his biggest rivals and his best friend/arch rival. As expected, a hard hitting violent, gritty match. Mox beat the shit out of his best friend and taunted him to rise to his level. Eddie brought out everything he had, nothing held back. These two men engaged in a thrilling, back and forth contest, neither men faltering until the very end, when their bodies were completely beaten down. Very good match, great story, good action. ****1/4"
[6.0] "yeah, another okay match between these two. Moxley does whatever he can, but Kingston just does the same thing every time. i did like that chop spot where Moxley took a really hard chop. the outcome of this match was obvious, since no way is Moxley going to be winning a ROH title."
[2.0] "I thought this was a poor imitation of both of these wrestlers combined influence. Just weak looking strikes all building up to an anticlimactic win of a new tournament designed for questionable purposes and one that ultimately accomplished nothing because it ended the same way it began. It's kind of rare Moxley loses in AEW unless it's for a good reason and this felt pretty hollow at the time and since then really proved itself to be. Neither guy works best as strong style or puro influence but they've been leaning into that for awhile now to their detriment. These are two guys who could have an awesome brawl and heated feud without the pretense of a tournament or a convoluted title but here they seem to be playing out their fantasy more than anything."
[5.0] "Jon Moxley tried hard but Eddie Kingston in the ring is a mixed bag and this unfortunately was a time where he was all over the place. It started promisingly enough but by the end it got way out of hand with bad sequences, non existant selling and a very bad looking backfist elbow to finish"
[5.0] "This is the third match between these two in AEW iirc and I just have never seen anything from them that's live up to the hype in their promos against each other. Each time they make it feel like it's going to be a great match and then they wrestle a pretty boring match with not much intensity to it."
[6.0] "Yeah ... This was quite boring. A long, long match, that was basically made entirely of chops, that didn't look that brutal for most of it ... probably due to the fact that the both guys didn't really sell for most of the match. The crowd is into Kingston, that's great, but I really can't get into his wrestling. 6/10."
[6.0] "I enjoyed the first half or so of this match, but after awhile, it devolved into a series of meaningless moves that neither guy sold culminating in a flat as a pancake finish with Kingston just hitting a spinning backfist out of nowhere and getting the pin. I'm happy for Kingston winning this tournament, but I just wasn't able to get into the last stretch of this match."
[9.0] "A modern classic. AEW have been building up to the possibility of another Eddie Kingston vs Jon Moxley match for most of the year, finally striking as the finale to the acclaimed Continental Classic tournament, and the match lived up to the months of anticipation. Two close friends turned rivals who just give everything physically for the pursuit of total glory, with Kingston's hunger to be like the Triple Crown champions he idolises so much overcoming Moxley's raw strength and brutality. What a special moment seeing Eddie win."
[7.0] "Pretty disappointing match, and goes to confirm once again how overrated Moxley is, he was the lesser wrestler here and it wasn't even close. Though Eddie is so good that it still was a pretty good match, but I definitely expected more from these two friends who are maniacal brawlers."
[8.0] "Probably, the final chapter in the saga between Kingston and Moxley was written here for now. The backstory dates back to the days of The Pandemic and was left unanswered in favor of the emotional mess in the former. Apart from the supreme in-ring action, Danielson's commentary felt like the right emotion needed from an all-round performer who would reach both extremes and respect the sport at the end. Kingston was long overdue for massive recognition in AEW even though he's currently holding the primary title of ROH & NJPW Strong, and a loosely inspired tournament crown from Japan on American soil is the cherry that looked right on the top of the cake. 4 out of 5 stars!"
[7.0] "Not a style of wrestling that I particularly love, but I did get some enjoyment out of it. Some of the strikes were brutal and Danielson was great to listen to on commentary. However I don't really like the whole spot of I'll stand here and you run the ropes to try knock me down. The finish while some will appreciate the suddenness of it, to me it was anticlimactic and abit silly."
[5.0] "It was a fine match sometimes, but really hard to watch. Ediie's story is cool and emotional, and he has a story with Moxley, and I'm glad for him, but these factors didn't help the match to be more exciting. They just didn't make it emotional enough even though some moves and moments looked pretty good."
[5.0] "Not a bad match per se. It was exactly what you would expect between those two wrestlers. I don't consider myself a big fan of either Kingston's strong style approach or Moxley's brawler grappling so I was not really the target audience here. But generally they delivered what they promised and the crowd was into it. Overall part of the string of better matches toward the end of the PPV."
[7.0] "Even on a re-watch this still feels a bit flat: Eddie's story in the C2 and their personal history that led to this match were super compelling and interesting but something just never clicked with this match in-ring wise. I liked the chop exchanges and there were a couple of nice sequences here and there but it wasn't enough to make this a great final. Too many spinning backfists, Moxley selling the leg for one second and then forgetting about it and the infinite bulldog choke sequence where the two rolled on the floor for two minutes straight. That really took me out on the match. The ending came all of sudden and didn't have any climax, just the two spamming some slaps and all of the sudden Eddie hit the fourth backfist of his match and wins. Great moment for sure but arrived after a dissapointing match. 7/10 - 3.5*/5*"
[5.0] "Can't say I was a big fan of this one. I like Kingston but his All Japan fantasies only work when he's against a generational talent like Dragon. I did dig the callbacks and tributes but this felt dull overall. The two northern light kickouts didn't have much oomph to it nor did the crowd erupt. The commentary tried to sell this as a spectacle but it failed to reach those heights. For all the criticisms, I did like the chop sequences though. I've come around on them as a whole when guys like Kingston do it."
[6.0] "Well done. It was a tied fight between two of the of the strongest people on the roster, nothing too complex. Eddie give Moxley a lot of trouble during most part of the match, with chops and offensive, while Jon got the upperhand by capitalizing on Eddie dangerous dive, that was a very nasty bump. Danielson participation was good too, he acknowledge Kingston's ability, an unrecognizable man after their block match. Mox was better on the grappling and holds, Eddie was able to connect the Uraken during all the match, so Jon was debilitate bit by bit and even more, actually, Eddie applied his finisher in mid match kinda if he expected to not been enough. An awesome detail was when Moxley blocked of of Eddie's chops and hurt his arm while Bryan explain, tremendous. Moxley's bad leg was also there but it wasn't a factor. I liked the match but i would've prefer a different idea. ***"
[8.0] "Really good Moxley style brawl, and I can totally understand how this would be someone's favorite match tonight. This was a brawl with a majority of strikes and strong style "heart" that these two are good and showcasing. Ending was slightly anticlimatic but as a whole it was very satisfying and left me wanting more."
[7.0] "Love both these guys, but this match wasn't really for me. Very repetitive early section that seemed to repeat the endless "I hit you, you hit me" trope for what seemed like ages, and the match never kicked into third gear and ended abruptly with a very bad looking scrap fight and a flash pin off a backfist. Still, match told a good story and was of course worked with good intensity by both men, but this felt like both guys' worst habits writ large. Happy for Eddie though."
[9.0] "An excellent fight between two of the realest wrestlers on Earth right now. Eddie Kingston's quest to the top is complete, he's a Triple Crown champion. The story being told during the whole tournament is a redemption one, he had to question himself to rise again to the top. Jon Moxley is the logical opponent for this story, he's basically AEW's final boss + Eddie's best friend, of course they were going to hug after the fight. Bryan Danielson was fantastic at the commentary. The finish comes short but it's as real as the workers are."
[5.0] "Honestly not as bad as I expected, since I went into this assuming both guys would bring the absolute worst out of each other in an embarrassing game of "who's the more BADASS main-character" oneupmanship, but they ultimately still managed to have a mildly decent enough level of physicality on display for me to admit this was slightly more good than bad. I was laughing at Kingston right before the bell just because, in typical cosplay fashion, he was trying to do Kawada's signature lateral squat stretch, yet he could only get maybe 1/8th as low as Kawada would get (and that's really the perfect representation for Kingston's attempts at enacting the 90s AJPW style, isn't it? ). Their 1st half wasn't very interesting, just both guys doing their faux-MMA opening phase with clearly pulled strikes and holds before moving into their various, more serious offence, none of which looked super convincing but was at least mostly fine (aside from Kingston's chops looking pretty weak). They made a big deal of their spot where Kingston supposedly injured his arm as Moxley blocked one of Kingston's chops, but it looked completely plain and not at all convincing as a supposedly big injury moment that Kingston and the commentary team then sold it as. It didn't matter anyways, because that was I believe the only moment there was a focus on an injury to the arm, which makes you wonder why they treated it as such a major turning point only for it to soon feel totally inconsequential. Thankfully, Kingston's chops eventually managed to get good impact, though that was sadly during their generic chop trading, which is a sequence so overdone in AEW/by Kingston that I struggled to care whenever it comes out. And it was still the case that his lariats, Urakens, machine gun chops, and knees were still pretty weak. They started randomly trading big moves with more intensity, which on a mindless level I found more entertaining, but at the same time it came with more sloppiness and no-selling, which was distracting. Moxley's grappling work was fine and at times good, though during transitions he would often look a bit sloppy with overly loose holds (and for someone who apparently trains in jiu-jitsu, he really should know better than to give up positions so easily, at least if he's really trying to add a sense of real combat to his matches). Kingston's real time selling and fire-ups featured his usual annoyingly nasally cries and goofy expressions, but at least Moxley was there to act far more serious to keep the match together (something I never thought I'd compliment modern Moxley on). They had yet more 50/50 strike trades in the finishing stretch, this time with them being more rapid and scrappy, and then after another Uraken Kingston suddenly got the win, which was so odd when literally 30 seconds earlier Moxley had knocked him down after their headbutt trades. So, like a lot of Kingston's victories lately, that win moment didn't feel remotely built up to or earned. I'm honestly surprised that for how many Kingston-isms there were in this match that I didn't end up outright disliking it and ultimately thought it okay. I guess I have to put that down to Kingston not going as overboard with his dorky tributes and spotlight moments, plus Moxley doing a solid enough job wrangling him in their sloppy sequences. I'm not sure I can take another year of this sort of stuff from Kingston. **3/4"
[9.0] "You got to love Eddie Kingston and the route he took to winning the Continental Classic. Knocking off Danielson and beating Mox for the title was perfect."
[9.0] "Mox vs Eddie. Match of the Night easily imo, if only because of the end of Edge vs Christian. Fantastic wrestling, fantastic story, fantastic ending, fantastic match. 9/10, or ****.5."
[8.0] "This felt a little like the recent Orange Cassidy/Mox matches where Mox was basically the final boss, just a total brute for our underdog hero to finally overcome. The story of the Continental Classic tournament was Eddie Kingston defeating all odds to make it to the finals. There was no doubt who would win here, but these guys still told a great story and absolutely beat the hell out of each other. ****"
[6.0] "This match didn't move me whatsoever. It wasn't bad by any stretch of the imagination and the atmosphere was on point and the finish was quite fun, however most of the action just didn't interest or excite me. To be fair this was my first AEW event I've ever watched so I didn't quite get the context of either of these wrestler but the in-ring action just wasn't anything spectacular"
[8.0] "This was a dope match to settle the final for the CC. They did some technical wrestling early on, but this match was mainly about these two pushing each other to the limit, and seeing who would end up surviving. Hard chops, vicious stomps and Kingston neck went through hell especially after he rammed his head into the barricade, wish Moxley wouldve focused more on his neck after that. They got into one more slug fest at the end, and Eddie ended up catching Moxley with a backfist to win.****"
[10.0] "Absolutely sublime match here, definitely the peak of the show for me. These two have never missed together and this was a true banger. Kingston looked maybe as good as he ever had, the way the crowd was living and dying on his offense and selling was just beautiful. This right here is what it's all about for me, in my top 10 for the year."
[9.0] "One of my favorite AEW matches of the whole year. Kingston and Mox were fantastic in this one. The hard hits, the passion, even the sudden finish, a great tribute to the AJPW in the 80s and 90s. So great to see Eddie in the top of the mountain, finally. (****1/2)."
[6.0] "Honestly just not my kind of match. I know this was a large amount of striking but I just found it pretty slow. Had some cool points like the chop sections, but otherwise, an okay match that I can see why people like, but just not for me. I will say that I like Eddie's character work as well. Danielson on commentary was good as well."
[5.0] "A slapping contest no more, no less. If you're expecting to see any kind of in-ring skill you'll probably come away just as disappointed as I was. Is there intensity? You could say so, but Moxley was clearly nerfed for the sake of the plot. Feels like a TV match"
[8.0] "This match is one where I *know* that it's a great match but it didn't necessarily always click for me. Lovers of the Kings Road style will adore this match so much. So much of this match is built upon the style and techniques of 90s All Japan. Eddie came back and overcame the odds here in one of the most emotionally powerful endings to a match in 2023. And what's more, the Bulldog Choke spot with checking Eddie's hand 3 times to see if he had passed out sets up a similar spot in the main event - great booking by AEW. 4/5."
[3.0] "3.5 - This was deathly cold for the most part. They looked weirdly awkward, constantly communicating their spots loudly, it's like they had nothing planned. Eddie missed his dive, Moxley's bulldog choke was terrible, constantly moving it around, and there was some bad no-selling of the back fists. Didn't think this was a good enough end to the C2, but I wasn't sure it would be given the participants. The only good spots were the chop exchanges that got the crowd on their feet, and I really liked the kind of surprise ending."
[8.0] "Well I was looking for more. The stricking was pretty normal and the final stretch essentially didn't exist since the match ended from out of nowhere due an Uraken. Perhaps I just wanted more Fighting Spirit, no sell and Mox bleeding at the end of the day. Cage/Copeland. ****1/4"
[6.0] "Felt slower and less personal than it should have been. Was fairly standard brawl between these two. Could have been much more dramatic, though Bryan's commentary adds a lot to this match. Weirdly enough, one of Kingston's weaker matches in the tournament lol."
[7.0] "I remember being quite disappointed with their I Quit match from years ago which had an excellent build, so this was much better but still missing something to take it to the next level for me."
[9.0] "I don't know whether Eddie Kingston crash headfirst into the barricade was planned, but his selling in the wake of it was immaculate, and it set a tone of danger that persisted throughout the match. A hard-hitting and terrific brawl, and a well-deserved career-defining victory for Eddie. ****1/2"
[5.0] "Far too many "trading blows" spots here for my taste. I'm kine with Kingston winning the tournament, he's paid his dues and it's great to see him get his flowers but I don't think Mox was the right guy for this match because even though they have history with one another, their styles are just a little too similar and so it ended up looking and feeling like every other Kingston match in the tournament."
[9.0] "Instant classic. Totally different than the formula we're used to in AEW and a perfect defeat for Moxley, who has been booked nigh-unstoppable. The tests of will, the restraint, the taunts, it was excellent and everything I love about Eddie Kingston. He is, without a doubt, the guy with the most heart in wrestling today. And as someone who doesn't care for Moxley most of the time, he shined here and played his role perfectly, just like he did in his first match with Orange Cassidy. This was a complete deconstruction of every overpowered Moxley trope we've been subjected to, and I'll eat my hat and say that it was worth it to see Kingston defy the odds. Mox's holds were countered, larriots stopped, chops outmatched. The crescendo to finally selling each other's increasingly desperate hits was such a thrill to watch. Amazing, sincere stuff that reminded me, in a night of mediocre wrestling, why I love this medium. This is my personal favorite in-ring story in recent memory. The commentary was also top-notch, which I respect the hell out of."
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