wrestling / TV Reports
Pantoja’s AEW Continental Classic 2025 Night 9 Review
Image via AEW
Loading...AEW Continental Classic Night 9
December 24th, 2025 | Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan, New York
We’ve got two shows on Christmas Eve and Christmas to get us through block play and prepare us for Saturday’s PPV, so let’s get to it. Also, this is one of my favorite wrestling venues ever. I’ve always loved the look and I attended many ROH shows there, as well as the first ECW event in the building.
Blue League: Konosuke Takeshita [7] vs. Orange Cassidy [6]
A win for Takeshita would clinch him a spot in the playoffs, while a win for OC would give him the lead. Early on, Takeshita wore down OC with his sheer size and power advantage. From slamming him on the apron to delivering vicious kicks and strikes, Takeshita was in control. OC rallied by busting out some swift DDTs and by dodging some of Takeshita’s biggest attacks. A Blue Thunder Bomb sent us into the commercial break but upon returning, OC turned an avalanche Raging Fire into Stundog Millionaire. He added a tope tornado DDT and Takeshita found himself in trouble. An Orange Punch didn’t keep Takeshita down but one on the outside sent Takeshita into the crowd for a potential countout victory. Takeshita made it back in where OC tried several flash pins, including an inside cradle that Takeshita kicked out of and turned into Raging Fire to win in 15:20. A very good start to the action here. Their styles shouldn’t really work together, yet it came off very well. [***¾]
Blue League: Mascara Dorada [3] vs. Roderick Strong [0]
Dorada remains alive with a win while Roddy is out there to play spoiler and for his own pride. The crowd decided to sing “Feliz Navidad” when this started. This was a solid exhibition from the start. Not a ton of heat here and it’s two guys who nobody expects to see anywhere near the finals, so it lacked something from the audience. Dorada is still a blast to see as some of his spots are very cool. Roddy delivered a pretty sick backbreaker onto the apron heading into the break. They were going back and forth when the show came back, with Dorada using his quickness and Strong throwing more impactful offense. Dorada ultimately won with a nice Shooting Star Press in 9:20, though it was a finish that felt kind of flat. This was good, but never sniffed being anything more. [***]
Gold League: Jack Perry [3] vs. PAC [6]
A win for PAC gives him the lead, while a win for Perry sets up ap a 6-way tie going into the final show. It seems like PAC took Perry a bit too lightly early on. He didn’t expect Perry to be ready to outwrestle him and then take him out with a wheelbarrow bulldog outside. PAC went after the leg and used that to hold serve throughout the commercial break. The ankle has been an issue for Perry and PAC just kept going after it. Perry fought back like the valiant babyface he is but PAC kept finding ways to cut off his momentum. The belly to belly suplex into the corner was especially brutal. Again, Perry kept coming back and his reverse rana was cool, while his lariat was surprisingly effective. Perry had the Brutalizer well scouted, countering with a pin and by biting PAC’s hand. That last one opened the door for him to use a pinning combination to steal the win in 14:28. I like the booking here. The match was good, though like the rest of Perry’s tournament, it peaked at good. [***¼]
| Blue League | Points | Gold League | Points |
| Konosuke Takeshita | 10 (3-0-1) | PAC | 6 (2-2) |
| Claudio Castagnoli | 7 (2-1-1) | Kyle Fletcher | 6 (2-2) |
| Orange Cassidy | 6 (2-2) | Kevin Knight | 6 (2-2) |
| Jon Moxley | 6 (2-2) | Kazuchika Okada | 6 (2-2) |
| Mascara Dorada | 6 (2-2) | Mike Bailey | 6 (2-2) |
| Roderick Strong | 0 (0-4) | Jungle Jack Perry | 6 (2-2) |
