The inaugural Continental Classic in 2023 very much told the story of Eddie Kingston’s battle to overcome, as well as 11 other participants, his own personal demons and finally lay hands on some gold in AEW. By this point, Kingston had become both the ROH World Champion with a win over long-time rival Claudio Castagnoli and the NJPW Strong Openweight Championship, and he had put both of them up in the tournament to form a Triple Crown of-sorts with the Continental Championship. 

That in itself was not an easy task, losing the opening match to Brody King and then his second to Bryan Danielson. He would turn the tide in his favor by the end of the league stage, beating Castagnoli and then Andrade to ensure his place in the semi-finals – against none other than the man who had beaten him before, Danielson. 

By this point, Kingston had never beaten Danielson in three attempts to do; earlier in the Continental Classic, before that in the 2021 AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament, and in their first CHIKARA bout in 2010. They had very real and deep-seated issues with one another stemming from that shared past on the independent circuit, and this match was treated, much like the tournament as whole, Kingston’s road to redemption and proving himself to those who had doubted him so much before. 

After Castagnoli, Danielson was the next demon in his career that Kingston needed to vanquish. And Danielson was not going down without a fight and going out of his way to prove he was better in mind, soul, and body than the man stood opposite him. Kingston needed to overcome in all three regards, and while there are those who will bemoan the belief behind it, he did finally manage to do that. 

Danielson was punishing, and for much of the bout Kingston was holding on for dear life. Again, much like he had been in the tournament altogether. But it was his sheer refusal to allow Danielson to be right about him that won out. He was never better than his opponent. He was just refused to lose. And he found an answer for all of the things he hadn’t before. Those answers put him in the position to flip the scenario, and finally he asked Danielson a question he couldn’t answer. 

If the 2023 Continental Classic tells a story of Kingston’s road to redemption and his crowning moment, then this bout against Danielson ranks as one of if not the most important moments in that story. And it still ranks as one of the best matches in a litany of great matches in the tournament’s brief history.

Written by Max Everett