A top female AEW star loves the concept of a Women Continental Classic.
Being held consecutively for two years, once in 2023 and now again in 2024, the Continental Classic has produced some of the most exceptional matches. While Eddie Kingston won last year’s tournament, it was Kazuchika Okada who retained the crown this year.
In a brutal and close match against Will Ospreay, which also hosted the much-awaited return of Kenny Omega, Okada came out victorious. Addressing the prospect of a female version of the tournament, ex-TBS Champion Kris Statlander is open to such opportunities. Speaking with Matthew Aguilar for ComicBook, Statlander shared:
Why would I not want more opportunities as a woman on the women’s roster? I would love anything, anything really. The Continental Classic is something, we have something we haven’t had before. We haven’t had a Battle Royal in quite a long time. More tournaments, more Gauntlets, anything. Anytime the women get a chance to really step up and show out, we always exceed expectations, and I just want to be a part of everything that you could possibly be a part of.”
Statlander was involved in a classic battle against Mercedes Mone at Worlds Collide for the TBS Championship. Despite losing the match, she gained respect among the fans.
While there are no confirmed plans for a Women’s Continental Classic, Tony Khan is also open to the idea.
Tony Khan Addresses An AEW Women’s Continental Classic In The Future
Speaking to Samantha Shipman of Daily DDT at the Worlds Collide media call, Tony Khan opened up on the possibility of a Women Continental Classic tournament.
I think the [women’s] division is very strong and really, we’ve had some of our best matches in the history of AEW women’s wrestling this year. So absolutely, I think the potential is there to have a great Round Robin tournament. The scheduling is very intense, and I’ll be honest, we’ve had a lot of injuries in the women’s division in recent years. This tournament takes a toll. We saw this year that Juice Robinson was injured in the first week, and I thought we were very fortunate not to have many other severe injuries with the hard-hitting nature of the tournament.
I think a women’s Continental Classic potentially could be a very, very exciting tournament. We’ve had some of our top wrestlers in the women’s division returning from injuries recently. If we get everybody healthy, I do think it’s something I’m very interested in. It is a very grueling and challenging tournament for many reasons. I think that right now, the quality of women’s wrestling in AEW is the highest it’s ever been, and we’re continuing to build and have more great matches, more great rivalries.
We have a great, great group right now, and I think it’s the strongest it’s ever been. So I’m hoping to continue building on that, and if we keep everybody healthy and keep building and moving in that direction, I definitely think a great tournament like that would be a great development in continuing the great work that the women’s wrestlers in AEW have been doing.”
In other news: An AEW original has confirmed his absence from this upcoming PPV.