| AEW Continental Championship | |||||||||||||||||
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 The AEW Continental Championship belt. | |||||||||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||||||||
| Promotion | All Elite Wrestling | ||||||||||||||||
| Date established | November 18, 2023 | ||||||||||||||||
| Current champion | Jon Moxley | ||||||||||||||||
| Date won | December 27, 2025 | ||||||||||||||||
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TheAEW Continental Championship is a men'sprofessional wrestlingchampionship created and promoted by theAmericanpromotionAll Elite Wrestling (AEW). Established on November 18, 2023, the title has a special attribute in that it is defended under Continental Rules—no one is allowed at ringside, outside interference is strictly prohibited, and matches have a 20-minute time limit. The reigning champion isJon Moxley, who is in his first reign. He won the title by defeatingKazuchika Okada in the2025 Continental Classic final atWorlds End on December 27, 2025; this also ended the title's unification with theAEW International Championship, rendering theAEW Unified Championship inactive.
The title is also the prize of the promotion'sContinental Classic (C2), an annualround-robin tournament that begins at the end of November and culminates at theWorlds Endpay-per-view event in late December. The incumbent champion at the time of the tournament is automatically entered and defends the title in the C2.Eddie Kingston became the first-ever Continental Champion after winning theinaugural tournament in December 2023.
When the title is jointly held with theROH World Championship of sister American promotionRing of Honor (ROH) and theStrong Openweight Championship of theAmerican branch of partner promotionNew Japan Pro-Wrestling, the three titles together make up the American Triple Crown Championship, also referred to as the Continental Crown. When the title is jointly held with theAEW International Championship, both titles together make up theAEW Unified Championship. As of December 2025[update], this has only happened once for both instances.
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On November 11, 2023, the Americanprofessional wrestling promotionAll Elite Wrestling (AEW) announced a tournament called theContinental Classic (C2). AEW presidentTony Khan and AEW wrestlerBryan Danielson announced that the2023 tournament would begin on the November 22 episode ofDynamite, lasting six weeks and held across episodes ofDynamite,Rampage, andCollision, and then concluding at theWorlds Endpay-per-view (PPV)event on December 30.[1][2] It was also announced that the winner of the tournament would become the inaugural holder of the AEW Continental Championship.[3]
Eddie Kingston became the inaugural Continental Champion by defeatingJon Moxley in the final of the C2 at Worlds End.[4] Kingston was also declared the American Triple Crown Champion (also referred to as the Continental Crown) upon winning the Continental Championship, as he simultaneously held theROH World Championship of sister American promotionRing of Honor (ROH) and theStrong Openweight Championship of theAmerican branch of partner promotionNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). By being part of the Triple Crown Championship, the Continental Championship was recognized by AEW, ROH, and NJPW, allowing it to be defended in all three promotions.[3][5]
On the March 20, 2024, episode ofDynamite, the championship was defended for the first time by itself, whereKazuchika Okada defeated Kingston to win the title. This in turn separated the Continental Championship from the Triple Crown. Tony Khan then clarified the rules of the championship. Title matches are held under Continental Rules, which are the same rules of the C2 in which no one is allowed at ringside, outside interference is strictly prohibited, and matches have a 20-minute time limit. He also re-clarified that whoever is champion coming out of November'sFull Gear PPV, they would automatically be entered into the C2 and would defend the title in the tournament.[6]
AtDynamite: Fyter Fest on June 4, 2025, reigning champion Okada confrontedAEW International ChampionKenny Omega to set up aWinner Takes All match forAll In on July 12.[7] A week later during the contract signing atDynamite: Summer Blockbuster,Tony Schiavone announced that the winner would alsounify the International and Continental titles as theAEW Unified Championship.[8] During the All In: Texas media call just a few days prior to the event on July 8, Tony Khan clarified that neither the Continental or International Championships would be retired and that their lineages would still be intact along with a new lineage for the Unified Championship, and the champion has the option to carry around all three belts.[9] At All In, Okada defeated Omega to become the Unified Champion.[10] Okada defended the three belts as one between All In and the2025 Continental Classic. The tournament itself was only for the Continental Championship, meaning if Okada lost, he would also have to vacate the Unified Championship.[11] In the final of the Continental Classic atWorlds End on December 27, 2025, Okada lost to Jon Moxley, thus ending the unification and forcing Okada to relinquish the Unified Championship.[12]
As of February 12, 2026, there have been three reigns. Eddie Kingston was the inaugural champion, which was the shortest reign at 81 days. Kazuchika Okada has the longest reign at 647 days, which is also the longest reign of any AEW championship, surpassing the record held byJade Cargill at the time with her 508-day reign with theAEW TBS Championship.[13] Kingston is also the oldest champion at 42 years old, while Okada is the youngest at 37.
The current champion is Jon Moxley, who is in his first reign. He won the title by defeating Kazuchika Okada in the final of the 2025 Continental Classic at Worlds End on December 27, 2025. This also ended the title's unification with the AEW International Championship, rendering the AEW Unified Championship inactive.[14]
| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| + | Current reign is changing daily |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | ||||
| 1 | Eddie Kingston | December 30, 2023 | Worlds End | Uniondale, NY | 1 | 81 | DefeatedJon Moxley in the final of the2023 Continental Classic to become the inaugural champion; Kingston'sROH World Championship andNJPW Strong Openweight Championship were also on the line, and he was dubbed the inaugural American Triple Crown Champion (also referred to as the Continental Crown) for holding all three titles.[15] | [16] |
| 2 | Kazuchika Okada | March 20, 2024 | Dynamite | Toronto, ON, Canada | 1 | 647 | This match was only for the Continental Championship, thus separating it from the Continental Crown. During this reign atAll In on July 12, 2025, Okada defeatedKenny Omega in aWinner Takes All match to win theAEW International Championship and become the inauguralAEW Unified Champion. | [17][10] |
| 3 | Jon Moxley | December 27, 2025 | Worlds End | Hoffman Estates, IL | 1 | 47+ | This was the final of the2025 Continental Classic, which was only for the Continental Championship. This subsequently ended the title's unification with theAEW International Championship, thus rendering theAEW Unified Championship inactive. | [14] |
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