All Elite Wrestling returned to pay-per-view Saturday night, October 17, with AEW WrestleDream 2026 LIVE from the Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Florida!
The event featured eight main-card matches, seven championships on the line, the debut of the brand-new Clockwork Carnage stipulation, and a major surprise appearance from former WWE superstar Ilja Dragunov.
Will Ospreay entered the evening with seven challengers looking to take his AEW World Championship, Mercedes Moné defended against Thekla, and the Young Bucks put their World Tag Team Championship on the line against Kyle Fletcher and Kevin Knight. Meanwhile, Swerve Strickland and The New Level faced Hangman Adam Page and Brodido in a Best Two Out of Three Falls Match for the AEW World Trios Championship.
By the end of the night, most of the champions had survived, but one championship changed hands, and AEW welcomed another major name to its roster.
Here’s everything that happened at AEW WrestleDream 2026!
Motor City Machine Guns Defeat FTR — Tailgate Brawl
The Motor City Machine Guns and FTR kicked off their Best Three-Out-of-Five Series with an excellent tag team encounter that began on the Tailgate Brawl pre-show and continued into the main pay-per-view.
Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley used their speed and experience to counter FTR’s more methodical approach, while Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler attempted to isolate their opponents and wear them down.
Stokely Hathaway also got involved, although his attempted interference backfired when he accidentally struck Harwood instead of Sabin.
Both teams delivered some impressive double-team offense, with FTR coming close to winning following a spike piledriver. Ultimately, however, the Machine Guns caught Wheeler with a double-team maneuver to secure the victory.
The win gives Sabin and Shelley a 1-0 advantage in the series, with the eventual winner earning an opportunity at the AEW World Tag Team Championship.
Winners: Motor City Machine Guns via pinfall.
Mercedes Moné Defeats Thekla — AEW Women’s World Championship
The main pay-per-view opened with Mercedes Moné defending the AEW Women’s World Championship against Thekla.
The challenger wasted little time demonstrating why she earned this opportunity, using her aggressive offense and unusual style to keep the champion off balance. Thekla connected with several impressive maneuvers, including a Spider Suplex and a diving stomp, and came close to capturing the championship on multiple occasions.
Mercedes fought back with her own high-impact offense, but Thekla continued to frustrate the champion and nearly secured the victory with the Blackout.
Unfortunately for Thekla, Mercedes had another trick up her sleeve.
With the referee distracted, Moné removed her protective face mask and used it to strike Thekla. The challenger managed to survive an immediate pin attempt, but Mercedes followed up with the Moné Maker to secure the victory.
It wasn’t exactly a clean victory, but Mercedes Moné remains AEW Women’s World Champion.
Winner: Mercedes Moné via pinfall. Still AEW Women’s World Champion.
Nick Wayne Defeats Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho and Nick Wayne met in the rubber match of their rivalry, with Wayne looking to secure the biggest victory of their series.
The match featured plenty of back-and-forth action, including several close calls and some rather questionable tactics from both competitors.
Jericho used his experience to control portions of the match, connecting with several familiar maneuvers and repeatedly attempting to force Wayne to submit to the Walls of Jericho.
Wayne, however, refused to stay down.
Things took an unusual turn when Wayne attempted a low blow, only for Jericho to reveal that he had come prepared with protective equipment hidden inside his tights. Jericho then took advantage of the referee’s distraction to deliver a low blow of his own.
Despite all that, Wayne managed to avoid the Judas Effect and catch Jericho with a small package for the three-count.
Wayne celebrated afterward, reminding everybody that he had now defeated Jericho twice in their three-match series.
And yes, the result means Jericho owes Wayne that public apology.
Winner: Nick Wayne via pinfall.
Young Bucks Defeat Kyle Fletcher & Kevin Knight — AEW World Tag Team Championship
The Young Bucks defended their AEW World Tag Team Championship against Don Callis Family representatives Kyle Fletcher and Kevin Knight in a fast-paced contest featuring plenty of high-flying offense and double-team maneuvers.
Fletcher and Knight demonstrated some impressive chemistry early, even borrowing a few moves from the champions’ playbook.
The Bucks eventually fought back, with Matt and Nick Jackson connecting with several of their trademark combinations. Both teams came close to winning, and the challengers appeared to have the champions in serious trouble following a series of spectacular attacks.
Unfortunately for the Don Callis Family, communication became an issue.
Knight tagged himself into the match at an inopportune moment, frustrating Fletcher and creating an opening for the champions. The Bucks capitalized on the confusion, catching Knight with the BTE Trigger to secure the victory.
The Young Bucks remain AEW World Tag Team Champions, while Fletcher and Knight may have some explaining to do.
Winners: Young Bucks via pinfall. Still AEW World Tag Team Champions.
Persephone Retains the TBS Championship in Four-Way Match
TBS Champion Persephone faced Queen Aminata, Dani Luna, and Hyan in a Four-Way Championship Match that gave all four women an opportunity to showcase their abilities.
With no need for the champion to be involved in the deciding fall, Persephone faced the possibility of losing her championship without ever being pinned.
The challengers took advantage of the chaotic environment, with several exchanges taking place both inside and outside the ring. Queen Aminata delivered some particularly hard-hitting offense, while Dani Luna and Hyan each came close to securing the victory.
In the closing moments, Hyan appeared to have an opportunity to win, but Persephone capitalized on the situation and connected with a moonsault to score the pinfall.
Despite facing three challengers, Persephone managed to leave Orlando with her championship intact.
Winner: Persephone via pinfall. Still TBS Champion.
Andrade El Ídolo Defeats Tommaso Ciampa — AEW National Championship
Andrade El Ídolo defended the AEW National Championship against Tommaso Ciampa in a match that combined some excellent wrestling with a healthy dose of comedy.
Both men exchanged hard strikes and impressive offensive maneuvers, with Ciampa repeatedly coming close to capturing the championship.
The match also featured one of the more ridiculous moments of the evening when Ciampa attacked Andrade’s discarded ring gear and actually attempted to pin it.
Yes, you read that correctly.
Fortunately for Andrade, his pants managed to kick out.
Once the match returned to something resembling a normal wrestling contest, Ciampa continued to push the champion to his limits. He attempted to use the championship belt and a steel chair, but the referee intervened.
That distraction allowed Andrade to take advantage of the situation, eventually connecting with the DM to secure the victory.
Andrade remains AEW National Champion, while Ciampa will have to settle for coming closer to defeating a pair of wrestling tights than anybody probably expected.
Winner: Andrade El Ídolo via pinfall. Still AEW National Champion.
Hangman Adam Page & Brodido Win AEW World Trios Championship
Swerve Strickland and The New Level defended the AEW World Trios Championship against Hangman Adam Page, Bandido, and Brody King in a Best Two Out of Three Falls Match.
The champions took the early advantage, with Kofi and Austin Creed working together to isolate Bandido and secure the first fall.
That left the challengers facing an uphill battle, but Hangman and Brodido quickly rallied.
Page’s ongoing rivalry with Swerve Strickland added another layer of intensity to the match, with the two men repeatedly going after one another whenever the opportunity presented itself.
The challengers eventually evened the score when Bandido and Brody King combined to pin Austin Creed, setting up a decisive third fall.
What followed was an exciting stretch of action featuring all six competitors, several spectacular high-flying maneuvers, and numerous near falls.
The finish came when Bandido countered Swerve’s attempt at a finishing maneuver into a victory roll, securing the deciding fall and winning the championships.
Afterward, Kofi and Creed showed respect to the new champions by handing over their title belts. Swerve, however, wasn’t quite as gracious, teasing Hangman before dropping the championship belt rather than handing it to him.
The rivalry between Swerve and Hangman clearly isn’t finished.
Winners: Hangman Adam Page & Brodido, 2-1. NEW AEW World Trios Champions!
Ilja Dragunov Makes His AEW Debut!
One of the biggest surprises of the evening came when Renee Paquette introduced AEW’s newest signing.
Following a video featuring a ticking metronome, Ilja Dragunov made his entrance to a tremendous reaction from the Orlando crowd.
The former WWE superstar entered the ring and celebrated his arrival, officially beginning a new chapter in his professional wrestling career.
Dragunov is known for his intense, hard-hitting style, and his addition gives AEW another talented performer capable of delivering some outstanding matches.
With the likes of Jon Moxley, Konosuke Takeshita, Samoa Joe, and numerous other hard-hitting wrestlers on the roster, Dragunov certainly won’t have any shortage of potential opponents.
Jon Moxley Defeats Mark Davis — AEW Continental Championship
Jon Moxley defended the AEW Continental Championship against Mark Davis in what turned out to be one of the most physically punishing matches of the night.
And if you’ve watched much Jon Moxley over the years, you probably won’t be surprised to learn that there was blood involved.
Davis attacked the champion with a relentless barrage of strikes, opening a wound near Moxley’s eye and repeatedly targeting the injury.
Moxley refused to stay down, fighting through the punishment and answering with his own hard-hitting offense. The two men exchanged vicious elbows, chops, and headbutts, with neither willing to give the other an inch.
Davis came close to winning several times, but Moxley continued fighting back despite appearing to be on the verge of collapse.
Eventually, the champion managed to trap Davis in a sleeper hold with a bodyscissors. Davis attempted to escape but gradually faded, forcing the referee to stop the match.
Moxley survived another brutal encounter and remains AEW Continental Champion.
Winner: Jon Moxley via referee stoppage. Still AEW Continental Champion.
Will Ospreay Wins Clockwork Carnage — AEW World Championship
The main event featured the debut of Clockwork Carnage, an eight-man contest with Will Ospreay defending the AEW World Championship against Samoa Joe, Mike Bailey, Adam Copeland, Konosuke Takeshita, Kazuchika Okada, Ricochet, and Darby Allin.
The match began with Ospreay and Takeshita, with additional competitors entering every three minutes.
During the opening stage, wrestlers could be eliminated by pinfall or submission. Mike Bailey became the first casualty when Takeshita defeated him, while Takeshita himself was later eliminated by Okada.
Once Samoa Joe entered as the final participant, the match transitioned into its fifteen-minute scoring period. Every pinfall or submission earned a point, with the wrestler holding the highest score at the end becoming AEW World Champion.
And that’s when things got particularly interesting.
Joe quickly scored a fall over Darby Allin, only for Ricochet to take advantage and score a point of his own. Okada also got on the scoreboard, while Ospreay eventually answered by pinning Ricochet.
Darby Allin then began collecting points, including a victory over Adam Copeland, while Ospreay continued battling to keep pace.
As the final minutes approached, the scoreboard became increasingly competitive. Ospreay, Joe, and Allin each reached two points, while Copeland fought his way back into contention with consecutive spears.
For a moment, it appeared that the match might end in a tie.
But with time running out, Ospreay connected with a Hidden Blade on Copeland and secured the decisive pinfall, bringing his total to three points.
That was enough to win the first-ever Clockwork Carnage Match and retain the AEW World Championship.
It was a complicated concept on paper, but the final minutes delivered exactly the sort of drama AEW was hoping to create.
Winner: Will Ospreay with three points. Still AEW World Champion.
AEW WrestleDream 2026 — Complete Results
| Match | Winner |
|---|---|
| AEW World Championship — Clockwork Carnage | Will Ospreay (retains) |
| AEW Women’s World Championship | Mercedes Moné (retains) |
| AEW World Tag Team Championship | Young Bucks (retain) |
| AEW World Trios Championship | Hangman Adam Page & Brodido (new champions) |
| AEW Continental Championship | Jon Moxley (retains) |
| AEW National Championship | Andrade El Ídolo (retains) |
| TBS Championship Four-Way | Persephone (retains) |
| Chris Jericho vs. Nick Wayne | Nick Wayne |
| FTR vs. Motor City Machine Guns | Motor City Machine Guns |
| Sisters of Sin vs. Divine Dominion | Divine Dominion |
| Don Callis Family vs. Alex Breeze, Papi D & Rhys Maddox | Don Callis Family |
| Death Riders & The Dogs vs. Bang Bang Gang & The Conglomeration | Death Riders & The Dogs |
Stinger’s View
Well, WrestleDream is in the books, and I have to give Tony Khan some credit. For all my complaining about AEW putting on another pay-per-view just three weeks after All Out, they certainly delivered plenty of wrestling.
Maybe too much wrestling, but that’s another discussion.
The big question going into the show was whether Clockwork Carnage would work, and based on the results, I think there’s a pretty good argument that it did. The rules sounded like something somebody came up with after staying awake for three days playing wrestling video games, but the scoring system created an interesting situation where several wrestlers had a legitimate chance to win right up until the end.
Ospreay retaining was the right call, in my opinion. He’s been doing an excellent job as champion, and I don’t see any reason to take the belt off him just yet.
The big championship surprise was Hangman Adam Page and Brodido defeating Swerve Strickland and The New Level. I picked the champions to retain, but I can’t complain about the decision. Hangman and Swerve have been involved in one of AEW’s most memorable rivalries, and having Hangman take another championship away from Swerve gives them another reason to keep trying to kill each other.
I was also pleased to see the Motor City Machine Guns defeat FTR in the opening match of their series. I actually picked FTR to win, but I’m perfectly happy being wrong about that one. Both teams are tremendous, and I hope AEW gives them enough time to make this five-match series something special.
The Young Bucks retaining was expected, although the growing tension between Fletcher and Knight could be an interesting development. And Mercedes Moné retaining against Thekla wasn’t particularly surprising, either, although using her protective face mask to win certainly wasn’t the most honorable way to go about it.
As for Andrade and Ciampa, I picked Ciampa to win the National Championship. Instead, Andrade retained, and apparently Ciampa had a match with a pair of wrestling pants somewhere along the way.
Professional wrestling, ladies and gentlemen.
Ilja Dragunov showing up was a nice surprise, and I’m genuinely interested in seeing what AEW does with him. He’s a tremendous talent, and if Tony Khan can resist the temptation to throw him into a random six-man tag team match next Wednesday, there are some outstanding possibilities for him.
And then there’s Jon Moxley, who apparently remains determined to bleed in every wrestling arena in America. I’m starting to think the man should get a discount on bandages.
Overall, WrestleDream looks to have been another successful night for AEW. We got a new championship team, a major debut, some interesting storyline developments, and a main event that introduced a new match concept without completely falling apart under the weight of its own rules.
And for those keeping score at home, I managed to correctly predict eight of the ten matches in my WrestleDream preview and predictions.
Eight out of ten!
That’s an 80% success rate, which is pretty good considering I spend most of my time complaining about wrestling booking instead of actually doing any of it.
What did you think of AEW WrestleDream 2026? Did Clockwork Carnage live up to the hype, and which match was your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!
