The tournament is held at the end of the calendar year, beginning after November's Full Gear pay-per-view (PPV) event and culminating at the Worlds End PPV in late December.

AEW president Tony Khan and AEW wrestler Bryan Danielson announced that the tournament would begin on the November 22, 2023, episode of Dynamite, lasting six weeks over AEW's television shows and concluding at the Worlds End pay-per-view (PPV) event on December 30; Danielson was also announced as its first participant.

[1] The 2023 tournament was won by then-ROH World Champion and NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston, who defeated Jon Moxley in the final; as he held three championships, he was declared by AEW to be the first American Triple Crown Champion, with the combined championship known as the Continental Crown.

The tournament takes place in a round-robin format, with two blocks of six wrestlers – titled the Blue and Gold Leagues – wrestling each other across AEW's television shows, Dynamite, Rampage, and Collision.

The winner of each league final match then face each other for the AEW Continental Championship at Worlds End.