Booking WWE's Version of AEW's Continental Classic Including Round-by-Round Picks

One of the best ways to present professional wrestling is through tournaments.

All Elite Wrestling has found a new spark with the Continental Classic, a round-robin competition in the style of New Japan Pro-Wrestling's acclaimed G1 Climax.

This tournament has delivered quality matches from Bryan Danielson, Eddie Kingston, Mark Briscoe and more while elevating stars on the rise such as Swerve Strickland.

WWE has never shied away from tournaments. Eight men are currently competing in an event to determine the No. 1 contendership for the United States Championship.

King of the Ring is still one of the most revered experiences in WWE history, though the company has shied away from booking it as of late. When a world championship is vacated, tournaments have been commonly set up to crown a new titleholder.

Most WWE tournaments have focused on a single-elimination structure, but a round-robin format is perfectly suited for WWE's deep roster and could give fans a new reason to tune into company programming on a weekly basis.

The following is a hypothetical look at a WWE implementation of the Continental Classic, featuring great performers such as Gunther, Bobby Lashley, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Ricochet and Shinsuke Nakamura.

This will include a round-by-round breakdown of the best way to highlight the diverse talent in this tournament across Raw and SmackDown.

Competitors and Rules

Red League (Raw)

Bronson Reed

Chad Gable

Gunther

Ricochet

Sami Zayn

Shinsuke Nakamura

Blue League (SmackDown)

AJ Styles

Bobby Lashley

Dragon Lee

Grayson Waller

Kevin Owens

Santos Escobar

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Rules

To keep things understandable, this hypothetical tournament would replace the current No. 1 contender U.S. Title Tournament and begin right away.

Gunther's Intercontinental Championship would be on the line, highlighting his desire to face the best of the best in a historic reign. The runner-up would receive a United States title match against Logan Paul.

The Continental Classic rules would be followed with three points for a win and one point for a draw. The time limit would be 20 minutes, and no interference would be allowed.

Raw and SmackDown would feature three matches each week on TV between the competitors. The top two point-earners from Raw and SmackDown would face off in the main event of their respective shows to determine the winner of each league.

The league winners would then compete at the Royal Rumble to determine the true victor and the intercontinental champion.

Round 1

Red League

Sami Zayn (3) def. Shinsuke Nakamura (0)

Chad Gable (3) def. Bronson Reed (0)

Gunther (3) def. Ricochet (0)

Blue League

AJ Styles (3) def. Dragon Lee (0)

Santos Escobar (3) def. Grayson Waller (0)

Bobby Lashley (3) def. Kevin Owens (0)

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Reason for Results

The favorites in the Red League would take an early lead. Zayn and Nakamura could try to recapture the magic of their NXT TakeOver classic.

Gable would have a chance to solidify his dark-horse spot in the tournament, beating a much bigger rival he has not defeated before. Gunther would put his first opponent behind him in another memorable clash with Ricochet.

Styles has a history with the G1 Climax and could start it out right with a fast-action battle against the newest SmackDown luchador. And in a unique heel battle, Waller would find himself outmatched by a ruthless Escobar.

Lashley and Owens would face off in the most high-profile match of the first round where KO would be left on the back foot after he being unable to conquer The All Mighty.

Round 2

Red League

Gunther (6) def. Shinsuke Nakamura (0)

Chad Gable (6) def. Ricochet (0)

Sami Zayn (6) def. Bronson Reed (0)

Blue League

Kevin Owens (3) def. Grayson Waller (0)

Bobby Lashley (6) def. Dragon Lee (0)

Santos Escobar (6) def. AJ Styles (3)

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Reason for Results

The story of the Red League would continue to be a three-horse race. Gunther would face a physical challenge in Nakamura but still emerge victorious.

Gable and Ricochet would steal the show in a battle that could be the fastest in the entire tournament. Zayn would make his own statement by defeating a dangerous big man.

For the Blue League, Owens would rebound and get some revenge against a growing rival in Waller. Lashley would remain dominant in what would be an exciting power-vs.-speed sprint.

In the biggest upset of the tournament to date, Escobar would defeat Styles, establishing himself as a threat to win out.

Round 3

Red League

Gunther (9) def. Bronson Reed (0)

Shinsuke Nakamura (3) def. Ricochet (0)

Chad Gable (9) def. Sami Zayn (6)

Blue League

Bobby Lashley (9) def. AJ Styles (3)

Grayson Waller (3) def. Dragon Lee (0)

Santos Escobar (7) vs. Kevin Owens (4) time-limit draw

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Reason for Results

This round would establish a clear top two for the Red League. Gunther and Gable would both head to a fourth-round match undefeated. Zayn would fall just short while Nakamura would finally get on the board over his rival, Ricochet.

Round 3 would bring some big contests in the Blue League. Styles would fight desperately to take down The All Mighty but fall short. A desperate Waller would find a cheap tactic to steal his first three points.

Escobar and Owens would fight to a time-limit draw in an exciting first-ever encounter, leaving the former LWO man in a clear second place while KO would need to win out to advance.

Round 4

Red League

Sami Zayn (9) def. Ricochet (0)

Bronson Reed (3) def. Shinsuke Nakamura (3)

Gunther (10) vs. Chad Gable (10) time-limit draw

Blue League

Kevin Owens (7) def. AJ Styles (3)

Dragon Lee (3) def. Santos Escobar (7)

Grayson Waller (6) def. Bobby Lashley (9)

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Reason for Results

Red League would continue to focus on the dominant Gunther and his scrappy top challenger, Gable. The two would fight to a time-limit draw to eliminate everyone but Zayn from the running.

Reed would pick up his first win, purely for pride while dashing what little hope Nakamura had left of taking this.

The Blue League would see some shocking upsets. Lee would take some revenge on Escobar, while Waller would keep finding a cheap way to steal points and put himself back in the running.

Owens would solidify his comeback, leaving an interesting mix of challengers for the final round for SmackDown.

Round 5

Red League

Shinsuke Nakamura (6) def. Chad Gable (10)

Bronson Reed (6) def. Ricochet (0)

Gunther (13) def. Sami Zayn (9)

Blue League

Bobby Lashley (12) def. Santos Escobar (7)

Grayson Waller (9) def. AJ Styles (3)

Kevin Owens (10) def. Dragon Lee (3)

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Reason for Results

In the final round, the stage would be set thanks to some key final results. After a tough fight with Gunther in Round 4, Nakamura would take out Gable, making him look vulnerable even while he advanced to the finals.

Reed would continue to rebuild his momentum at the end while leaving Ricochet at the bottom of the group. Zayn would be unable to take down The Ring General, who would leave the group stage undefeated.

The Blue League would end with more chaos. Lashley would take down Escobar to top the group. Waller would take another cheap victory and be set up to advance if KO lost in the last match.

Unable to directly interfere, Waller would try to convince Dragon to cheat to win, but in a fair final fight, KO would emerge victorious, setting up a rematch with the man who beat him in Round 1.

Semifinals

Red League Final

Chad Gable def. Gunther

Blue League Final

Bobby Lashley def. Kevin Owens

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Reason for Results

In his fourth attempt, Gable would finally overcome Gunther, pinning him clean in the main event of Raw. This would be an important moment for the Alpha Academy leader, who would earn the respect of The Ring General.

While Owens would show a renewed aggression in his rematch with Lashley, The All Mighty's dominant run would continue. He would take down KO and look like an impossible threat to overcome.

This would set the stage for WWE to solidify the rise of Gable in 2024. After conquering Gunther, a match with Lashley would be a fresh fight that would set up the Olympian as a true underdog.

Finals

Chad Gable def. Bobby Lashley to become the new intercontinental champion.

After a grueling tournament, Gable and Lashley would emerge as the men with the best stamina and physical endurance in WWE. Both would be walking in as dominant competitors.

The story would be clear. The American Alpha leader was vulnerable, likely coming in taped up after two fights with Gunther and a brutal beatdown from Shinsuke Nakamura.

The All Mighty would be the dominant star, still working relatively fresh. His only blemish on his record would come from a cheap tactic by Grayson Waller.

Despite all the odds though, a committed Gable—hopefully with his children in attendance—would finish his story. He would defeat Lashley and become the new Intercontinental champion.

Meanwhile, The All Mighty would rebound quickly to challenge Logan Paul, remaining the most dangerous man on SmackDown outside of Roman Reigns.

Final Thoughts

This is a fun experiment that could be replicated to focus on other stars. For instance, Seth Rollins could put his title on the line against the top competitors of both brands.

The women's division has enough talent across the brands to stage its own tournament as well, with either Rhea Ripley or Iyo Sky's gold hanging in the balance.

The point of this exercise though was to highlight just how fun a concept like this could be to give structure to WWE shows for almost two months. It would be a huge event and highlight how WWE can be different under Triple H.

AEW may always be the more wrestling-focused promotion, but fans still love seeing great competition in the ring.

There is so much talent in WWE that is waiting for chances like this to show what can do, and tournaments like this elevate the talent that bring their full effort to the work.