As many people know by now, Tony Khan knows his stuff when it comes to the history of professional wrestling, and he is fully aware of how many major moments have taken place during the holiday season. Most notably, Starrcade was moved from Thanksgiving weekend to the Christmas period when WCW separated itself from the NWA in the early 1990s, and Khan wants the Continental Classic to have the same effect. “There is a great tradition of professional wrestling around the holidays. We all know that Thanksgiving and Christmas and these times have also been, at times in America, very strong for professional wrestling.”

There is also a business reason behind the tournament being part of the Christmas period for AEW as Khan revealed his knowledge of TV ratings that Football gets around this time of year thanks to being on the Fan Engagement and Major Events Committee of the NFL. Khan has seen the numbers that sporting events can bring in over Christmas and is hoping the Continental Classic can do that for AEW.

“I would love it for people to want to watch AEW, potentially, I hope, with their family and friends on the holidays, and having great wrestling on these days can be, I would hope, a draw, and make people watch AEW, and certainly that is always a goal, and make these must-see episodes when there could be an incentive, you know, to watch these episodes around the holidays and make them must-see programming, and just like big sporting events that happen on these holidays and are associated with these holidays, like big football games and such, make them part of the holiday season and try to make that a positive.”

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