Tony Khan has opened up about the effort that goes in to booking the AEW Continental Classic every year, and all the problems that pop up along the way.
The Continental Classic tournament is one of the most celebrated creations in AEW history, and the month leading up to the Worlds End pay-per-view at the end of each year is always one fans look forward to primarily because of the tournament. The 2025 competition is nearing its conclusion as the final four were decided at the recent tapings that took place at the Hammerstein Ballroom, but how does AEW President Tony Khan put each tournament together? During a recent interview with TVInsider, the man himself opened up about the planning process, as well as when he begins to put the pieces together and how injuries can impact the field.
"Coming out of WrestleDream into Full Gear, I have thoughts about who will be in the tournament. I'm updating week to week and monitoring the injuries because it's such a hard hitting sport. One injury could be very impactful in the planning. I put all the names in my notebook and am constantly thinking about it. I have a good plan going into Full Gear for what I want to do and coming out of Full Gear. I evaluate the health of the wrestlers and then make necessary changes to the draft I made before Full Gear in the months of October and November. I work through the scenarios. There was an injury this year that led to a lot of changes to scheduling."
The injury that changed the tournament before it started was sustained by Kyle O'Reilly following the Full Gear pay-per-view in November, but the competition was changed even more shortly after it started as Darby Allin was forced to withdraw due to injury and was replaced by Jack Perry. All of these variables do take their toll on Khan, who revealed that rooms in his house are flooded with notes when it comes to booking the tournament. "When it comes to planning the Continental Classic, I go home. I have a lot of homes. Because of filming that night, it was around Nashville, and I went home to Chicago and spread papers and ideas all over the desk or sometimes on the floor. I spread all the papers out and ran all the different combinations and scheduling."
Please credit the original source when using quotes from this article, and thanks to TVInsider for the transcription.
Read more: Tony Schiavone: Facts Only Hardcore Fans Know About The AEW Commentator
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Read the original article on Wrestling Inc.
Category: General Sports
