AEW’s Continental Classic is coming up, and Ilja Dragunov has made it clear that he wants a spot.
Speaking on AEW Advance, the promotion’s social media show, Dragunov said the tournament is possibly a fan favorite for good reason. He ran through the past winners, Eddie Kingston in 2023, Kazuchika Okada in 2024 and Jon Moxley in 2025, and checked with the host that he had the order right. He said:
I mean, it’s possibly one of your favorites for a reason. There is a lot of thought that I have on the Continental Classic because looking back at 2023, Eddie Kingston. 2024, [Kazuchika] Okada. ‘25, [Jon] Moxley. I did get it right in the order?
He argued the tournament stands for mental toughness. As he remembered it, each of those winners went through injuries, setbacks and memorable moments on the way, and he singled out Kingston’s win as an especially big emotional one. He also reflected on his own history with Kingston and teased a possible match between the two down the line.
This tournament represents mental toughness, because as far as I remember, all these people went through injuries, through setbacks, through really memorable moments, especially with Eddie. A big moment. A big emotional moment,” he added.
Then he turned back to the tournament itself. He said it represents strength and resilience, and he believes AEW’s landscape is about to change because he is there.
His case was that a tournament built on grit, intensity and emotional moments would be missing something if he weren’t in it, though he added that the decision isn’t his to make.
This tournament is representing strength, resilience, and I feel like the landscape of AEW is about to change. Why? Because I am here. So if you talk about strength, about grit, and especially resilience and intensity, and something memorable and emotional to happen, it would be second-hand embarrassing to take away the chance for the people, for me to maybe not be there but I’m not the person to make the decision,” he concluded.
Dragunov made his AEW debut at WrestleDream and wrestled The Beast Mortos on the October 28 taping of AEW Fright Night Collision.
