Kingston in action as Continental Classic continues on TSN+

The Continental Classic continues on Saturday night with the Blue League getting action underway as Eddie Kingston takes on Brody King and Daniel Garcia meets Claudio Castagnoli. You can catch AEW Collision followed by AEW Rampage on a special night LIVE on Saturday starting at 8pm et/5pm pt streaming on TSN+.

Continental Classic Blue League match: ROH World Champion and New Japan Strong Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston (0-0) vs. "Big, Bad" Brody King (0-0) - There is perhaps nobody as invested in the Continental Classic than Eddie Kingston. Of the 12 competitors in the round-robin tournament, Kingston has by far the most to lose. At the outset of the tournament, Kingston agreed to put both his ROH World Championship and his New Japan Strong Openweight Championship on the line in it, meaning that the winner of the Continental Classic will become the first ever AEW Triple Crown Champion. A student of wrestling history like few others in the industry, Kingston knows the importance and stature of the Triple Crown Championship in All Japan Pro Wrestling, a title held by the likes of Jumbo Tsuruta, Mitsuhara Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada and Jun Akiyama. The union of the Pacific Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Championship, NWA United National Championship and the NWA International Heavyweight Championship, the Triple Crown Championship is one of the most sought-after prizes in Japan and it comes as no surprise then that Kingston would love to establish an American version, even at great personal risk. In order to have a chance to become the inaugural champion, Kingston must walk a precarious path and that begins on Saturday night against Brody King. As Tony Schiavone noted in the announcement of the tournament field, AEW fans are familiar with King as both a tag-team wrestler, as one half of the Kings of the Black Throne with Malakai Black, and a trios competitor, with Black and Buddy Matthews as the House of Black, but not so much as a singles wrestler. They will see quickly just how skilled King is at going it alone. King is a former AAW Wrestling Heavyweight Champion, holding a title that has been also claimed by Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens and Kingston himself among others. In fact, one of the two singles matches the two men have had in the past was a successful title defence of that championship by King in 2018. King also won the pair's only other one-on-one encounter earlier that year. With only five matches in the round-robin, every one counts and both Kingston and King will want to start their Continental Classic off right. Which of these two hard-hitters will pick up a win on Saturday night?

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Continental Classic Blue League match: Claudio Castagnoli (0-0) vs. "Red Death" Daniel Garcia (0-0) - In their opening match of the Continental Classic, Claudio Castagnoli takes on Daniel Garcia in what should be an intriguing encounter. One of three Blackpool Combat Club members in the tournament, Castagnoli's championship pedigree is obvious. A former two-time ROH World Champion, Castagnoli has also held the WWE United States Championship and a litany of tag-team titles from numerous federations over the years. Castagnoli's strength and technical prowess make him one of the Continental Classic's favourites, but the depth of the field means that he's just as likely to crash and burn as he is to cruise through it. Saturday night's opponent, Garcia, is one of many of the 12 entrants with a great deal to prove. At 25, Garcia is the youngest competitor and will be stepping into the ring against five other men with a significant amount of ring time more than his own. Garcia made his professional wrestling debut in 2018. Castagnoli made his in 2000. But what he lacks in experience, he makes up for in technical ability. A former ROH Pure Champion, Garcia is emerging as one of the best young technicians in AEW. The Buffalo native has taken the likes of "The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson, Andrade El Idolo (coincidentally, both men are in Blue League) and AEW World Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman to the limit and holds a win over Danielson. Castagnoli and Garcia have met four times in the past with the former picking up the victory on each occasion, but none of the four matches were singles encounters. Who will have his hand raised on Saturday night?