Posted in: AEW, Sports, TV | Tagged: AEW Dynamite, wrestling

AEW Dynamite Thanksgiving Eve Preview: Continental Classic Begins

El Presidente previews AEW Dynamite's Thanksgiving Eve show as the Continental Classic begins with Okada vs. Fletcher, Moxley vs. Dorada, and more!

Greetings, comrades! It is I, your El Presidente, reporting to you live from my luxury bunker beneath the Presidential Palace, where I am preparing a magnificent Thanksgiving feast of deep-fried turkey and the tears of my political enemies! But before we celebrate this most American of holidays, we have important business to discuss – tonight's AEW Dynamite from Nashville, Tennessee!

Comrades, if there is one thing I have learned from my various battles with the CIA, it's this: nothing brings people together quite like a good tournament. Just last week, I was sharing a cigar with my old friend Kim Jong-un, and he was telling me about his country's annual "Supreme Leader's Invitational Bowling Championship." I said to him, "Kim, my friend, this is nothing compared to wrestling's greatest tournament – the Continental Classic!" He immediately ordered his scientists to develop a Continental Classic viewing satellite. This is the power of round-robin tournament wrestling!

Tonight, the 2025 Continental Classic begins with three spectacular first-round matches, and let me tell you, comrades, the stakes could not be higher!

The Rainmaker Faces Family Dysfunction

First, we have the reigning AEW Unified Champion Kazuchika Okada defending his tournament crown against his own Don Callis Family member, Kyle Fletcher! Ah, comrades, this reminds me of the time I had to face my own cousin Jorge in a "Winner Takes the Presidential Palace" match. The family dinner afterward was very awkward, I assure you.

Okada has held gold for more than 600 days and seeks to break the legendary Masahiro Chono's record for major tournament victories. But Fletcher – "The Protostar" himself – is one of the few men to have defeated Okada, doing so in last year's Continental Classic! And comrades, the tension in the Don Callis Family is thicker than the security perimeter around my Swiss bank accounts. Fletcher was noticeably upset that neither Okada nor Konosuke Takeshita were there to support him when he lost the TNT Championship to Mark Briscoe at Full Gear.

This is what happens in capitalist wrestling families, comrades! Everyone for themselves! In my regime, we practice collective success – when one member of my cabinet wins, we all take credit. When one loses, we throw them in prison. It is a very efficient system!

First-Time Dream Matches

Next, we have Darby Allin taking on Kevin Knight in what promises to be an absolutely electric encounter! Knight, one-half of the spectacular JetSpeed tag team, makes his Continental Classic debut against the daredevil Allin, who is still recovering from his brutal battle with PAC at Full Gear just four days ago.

Comrades, I have always admired Darby Allin's commitment to throwing his body around with reckless abandon. It reminds me of my own youth, when I would cliff-dive into the Rio Grande to escape CIA assassination attempts! The key difference is that Allin does it for the art of wrestling, while I did it to avoid drone strikes. Both are noble pursuits!

Knight has tournament experience from NJPW's Best of the Super Juniors, but the Continental Classic is a different beast entirely. Can the young Jet soar to new heights, or will Allin's experience carry the day?

Moxley Seeks Redemption

In Blue League action, we have Jon Moxley facing CMLL World Trios Champion Máscara Dorada! Ah, comrades, poor Moxley has been having what we in the dictator business call "a rough quarter." He tapped out to Kyle O'Reilly not once, but twice recently – once in Blood & Guts and again at Full Gear!

I understand Moxley's frustration, comrades. Just last month, I tapped out to Fidel Castro's ghost in a supernatural submission match. It was very embarrassing, and the CIA has the footage, which they threaten to release every time I criticize American foreign policy!

Máscara Dorada represents the proud tradition of lucha libre, and he comes into this tournament with tremendous momentum after defeating members of the Don Callis Family at Full Gear. This clash of styles – Moxley's brutal American strong style versus Dorada's high-flying lucha excellence – is exactly what makes the Continental Classic so special!

Championship Tournament Continues

The AEW Women's World Tag Team Championship Tournament also reaches the semifinal stage, as the Babes of Wrath (Willow Nightingale and Harley Cameron) battle the Sisters of Sin (Julia Hart and Skye Blue)! These teams have been at each other's throats for months, comrades, much like me and the Organization of American States!

The Babes of Wrath must be wary of Thekla and her toxic interference tactics. I once employed similar tactics when I hired a witch doctor to curse the opposition party's campaign headquarters. It worked spectacularly until the witch doctor defected to Miami!

The Opps Celebrate

And finally, comrades, The Opps will celebrate Samoa Joe's shocking AEW World Championship victory over Hangman Adam Page! HOOK's betrayal of Page was more shocking than the time my Minister of Tourism revealed he had been working for TripAdvisor all along!

What will Joe say as the new champion? How will he address Swerve Strickland's return? And what role will HOOK, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Katsuyori Shibata play in this new golden era? Tune in to find out, comrades!

Before I go, I must send my best wishes to my fellow Bleeding Cool correspondent Chad McMahon, who remains on the run through the streets of Punxsutawney after his daring escape from a medical facility following a serious journalism-related injury. Chad, my friend, I have extensive experience evading authorities in small Pennsylvania towns – call me and I will send my extraction team! Also, please stop suffocating yourself with plastic bags while watching WWE Raw. Even I have limits to my commitment to wrestling journalism!

And comrades, do not forget to check out Bleeding Cool's comprehensive guide to the Continental Classic for all the tournament details, brackets, and analysis you need to fully appreciate this magnificent competition!

AEW Dynamite airs tonight at 8 PM Eastern/7 PM Central on TBS and streaming on HBO Max! I will be watching from my bunker while simultaneously monitoring for CIA infiltration of my Thanksgiving turkey supply chain!

¡Viva la revolución! ¡Viva AEW Dynamite! ¡Viva the Continental Classic!

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