Claudio Castagnoli, Orange Cassidy, and Eddie Kingston all advanced in the Continental Cup’s first round on Saturday’s Collision from Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Castagnoli picked up the first win of the night, defeating Bang Bang Gang’s Ace Austin. Austin made things difficult, but Castagnoli caught him with a Pop-Up European Uppercut and pinned him to advance.
Orange Cassidy followed with a victory over Matt Sydal. Sydal went for a Shooting Star Press late in the match, but Cassidy escaped and immediately connected with a Beach Break for the finish.
Eddie Kingston closed the show in the main event against the Don Callis Family’s Jake Doyle. Kingston weathered heavy shots from Doyle before landing two Urakens and locking in a submission to force the tap.
The Continental Cup features 16 competitors with no set bracket. Once all eight first-round matches are complete, the winners will be randomly drawn into quarterfinal matchups. All tournament bouts ban outside interference and have no time limit.
The remaining first-round matches are spread across the next two shows. Jon Moxley faces Jack Perry and Jay White takes on David Finlay on the August 12 Dynamite, while Brian Cage vs. Hechicero, Kyle O’Reilly vs. Roderick Strong, and Katsuyori Shibata vs. Nigel McGuinness are booked for the August 15 Collision.
The semifinals take place in Glasgow on August 26, with the final set for All In London at Wembley Stadium on August 30. The winner walks away with the AEW Continental Championship.