All eight competitors for this weekend’s Clockwork Carnage match have been confirmed.
At AEW WrestleDream this Saturday, the company’s first-ever Clockwork Carnage match will take place, with the winner leaving as AEW World Champion.
Stepping into the match will be Samoa Joe, Speedball Bailey, Adam Copeland, Konosuke Takeshita, Kazuchika Okada, Ricochet, Darby Allin, and, of course, defending champ Will Ospreay.
The final five spots in the match were confirmed on Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite.
In a physical singles match, Konosuke Takeshita tapped out former Don Callis Family teammate Brian Cage with a Dragon Sleeper. Joining Takeshita in the match will be rival Kazuchika Okada, who avoided a 450 Splash from Myron Reed then connected with a Rainmaker to win his qualifier on Wednesday.
Adam Copeland took down fellow Canadian Josh Alexander, catching him with a spear for the pinfall win. The win puts Copeland into his third-ever shot at the AEW World Championship. Shortly after his performance, Copeland announced that he plans to retire from wrestling in 2027.
Ricochet took down Ace Austin, scoring a Spirit Gun then Vertigo for the pinfall win, securing his long-awaited first-ever AEW title opportunity. In the final match of the night, Darby Allin caught Hechicero with a pair of Coffin Drops for the win. The victory puts Allin on track to potentially regain the AEW World Title, which he carried early in 2026.
In a Clockwork Carnage match, wrestlers enter one-by-one, with any wrestler who gets pinned or submitted during this stage of the match eliminated. Once all eight have entered, a 15-minute clock begins. By the end of the timer, the wrestler with the most falls wins.
Mike Bailey and Samoa Joe earned their spots in the title match during earlier weeks of TV. Being the champ, Ospreay was automatically qualified for the bout.
Following Wednesday’s Dynamite, here’s an updated look at Saturday’s AEW WrestleDream pay-per-view:
Tailgate Brawl (Pre-Show)
- Julia Hart & Skye Blue vs. Megan Bayne & Lena Kross
- Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley vs. Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler (Match 1 in Best of 5)
Main Card
- Nick Wayne vs. Chris Jericho
- Andrade El Idolo vs. Tommaso Ciampa (AEW National Championship)
- Jon Moxley vs. Mark Davis (AEW Continental Championship)
- Persephone vs. Hyan vs. Dani Luna vs. Queen Aminata (TBS Championship)
- Swerve Strickland, Austin Creed & Kofi vs. Hangman Adam Page, Bandido & Brody King (AEW World Trios Championships) (Best Two Out of Three Falls)
- Alex Windsor & Jamie Hayter vs. Harley Cameron & Kris Statlander (AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championships)
- Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. Kevin Knight & Kyle Fletcher (AEW World Tag Team Championships)
- Mercedes Moné vs. Thekla (AEW Women’s World Championship)
- Will Ospreay vs. Samoa Joe vs. Speedball Bailey vs. Adam Copeland vs. Konosuke Takeshita vs. Kazuchika Okada vs. Ricochet vs. Darby Allin (AEW World Championship) (Clockwork Carnage Match)
