AEW WrestleDream: 9 big takeaways for Clockwork Carnage, Ilja Dragunov's future, what's next and more

Will Ospreay put the bow on a wild Saturday evening at Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, retaining the AEW Men’s World Championship in the main event of WrestleDream 2026. Across the card “Hangman” Adam Page and Brodido became Trios Champions, Mercedes Moné and Persephone kept on rolling in the women’s division, Ilja Dragunov debuted, The Young Bucks slipped past Kevin Knight and Kyle Fletcher, and Andrade retained the National Championship. 

As we get ready for AEW Blood and Guts in less than a month, here’s eight takeaways from WrestleDream 2026.

1. Chaotic championship carnage

In a wrestling world where moves, stories, and matches are all ripped from things that have been done in the past, credit to AEW CEO Tony Khan for continuing to innovate with new match concepts. 

Clockwork Carnage hit all the right notes, with “Speedball” Mike Bailey getting ousted first and Kazuchika Okada surprisingly eliminating Konosuke Takeshita. The second phase of the match saw things kick into high gear, with the lead changing hands numerous times within seconds of the phase starting. Ospreay closed out the match with a literal last-second Hidden Blade on Adam Copeland to retain his Men’s World Championship.

The direction from here feels quite clear: With Cope announcing this past Wednesday that 2027 will be his last year wrestling, we’re surely going to see the WWE Hall of Famer giving everything he has into one last run for the world title. Ospreay and Cope had a contentious handshake following the match, and the camera lingered on Samoa Joe at the top of the stage, so I’d assume that’s the angle we’re barreling toward. 

My only hot take on Clockwork Carnage is that if you earned a pin or submission in the first phase, you start the second phase with that amount of falls. In this situation, Okada would’ve automatically started Phase 2 with one fall, having eliminated Takeshita.

Other than that small gripe, I thought the match concept was fantastically chaotic in a way that reminds me of the old championship scramble years ago. And yes, in my book Brian Kendrick is a former WWE Champion. 

2. Mo Moné, no Thekla

After claiming the AEW Women’s World Championship at All In earlier this year, there was little question that Mercedes Moné’s reign would be sustained throughout the year. As the absolute top of the women’s division and arguably the best women’s wrestler of all-time, Moné is just getting started in AEW.

But nothing is ever a given in AEW, and the former champ, Thekla, rode a star’s entrance into a bar-setting match Saturday that showed she every bit belongs in the main-event scene. Thekla and Moné exchanged mat wrestling, intensity, storytelling, and matched each other every step of the way. Ultimately, Moné used her mask as an advantage before hitting the Moné Maker for the pinfall. 

Moné will unquestionably face some bumps in the road, but 2026 should see her continue to roll on and build her portfolio as champion. What’ll be interesting to watch is who she inevitably drops the belt to, and whether that ends up being a veteran contender or if she continues to pay it forward and help establish rising talent, the likes of Maya World. 

For Thekla, it’s back to the drawing board after falling just short in her pursuit of another world title. She looked like absolute money in the build-up to Saturday and during the match, holding her own against Moné. There was a strange post-match moment after Moné pinned Thekla, where the challenger sold the beating. But once she got to the apron, she gestured toward the camera and appeared to be done selling on her way up the ramp. I’m curious to see if there’s any fallout from that moment. 

3. The only way out is through

That’s Jon Moxley’s motto as he and AEW navigate the on-screen grief of losing beloved Death Riders member, PAC. 

“Mox” and Mark Davis exchanged hands in a tough, technical WrestleDream battle that left both men bleeding heavily at the end of the bout. The match saw Davis throw everything he had at Moxley, including a vicious apron piledriver that led to the champ considering throwing in the towel. But the Death Riders willed him back into the ring, and he fought while pouring blood to eventually choke out Davis. 

Already considered AEW’s ace, Moxley continues to put on performances that blend the lines between visceral emotion and evocative storytelling. Nothing in wrestling has felt more genuine than watching him attempt to navigate the challenges presented to him. 

4. The Dragon debuts

Ilja Dragunov is All Elite, and he might be Tony Khan’s most underrated free agent get yet.

An absolute warrior whose intensity made him stand out during his run in WWE, Dragunov is going to be a monster when he mixes it up with the in-ring technicians that make up the AEW roster.

He has plenty of logical first stops, but it’d be a shame for the promotion to make us wait at all before getting the inevitable Dragunov vs. Moxley bloodbath.

5. Swerve and a stumble

The only match on the card that saw titles change hands came in what is arguably AEW’s fiercest rivalry. “Hangman” Adam Page got the best of Swerve Strickland, with the latter being served the decisive pinfall to hand the trios belts over to Page, Bandido and Brody King.

The match was fantastic between what could ultimately be six world title contenders. Austin Creed carried the action for his team, doing most of the heavy lifting and helping set up Kofi for the first pinfall. Bandido earned the second pinfall on Creed with a monkey flip splash, and he basically took out the entire trio on his own for the third fall. Bandido landed an absurd double avalanche Spanish Fly onto the New Level, then reversed Strickland’s Big Pressure into a roll-up for the victory.

This one doesn’t appear to be close to over, as Strickland teased handing his belt to Page, but then dropped it as the two exchanged words up the ramp. There’s also many miles to go in the journey for Page, who teased some frustrations and got into a minor physical altercation with King early in the tilt. Mark my words — at some point Page and Strickland will become partners, and that tag-team turn will be exceptional. 

I also found myself questioning if it’s insane to think Creed could be a singles world champion in AEW? He has all the makings of a top contender and seems to be thriving since his jump over to the promotion. 

6. The Prodigy 

Chris Jericho has quietly put together an outstanding 2026 campaign. He’s been built up with rivalry wins over Ricochet and Tommaso Ciampa across the early half of the year, so it meant something when Nick Wayne earned not one, but two wins against the wrestling legend.

Wayne and Jericho blended comedy with telling their veteran vs. rising star story Saturday night. Wayne took some gnarly spots, like being tossed back-first onto the steel stairs and taking a picture perfect moonsault outside the ring. But after exchanging low blows, Wayne avoided the Judas Effect for the roll-up pinfall.

The intentional focus on building up Wayne bodes well for where he finishes out the year. He’s sat in the background of the AEW scene for the past few years, and it feels like the right time for him to be thrust into the spotlight. Consecutive wins over Jericho should go far in moving him up the roster and into contention for one of the men’s mid-card titles. 

7. Keep it a Buck(s)

The absolute best tag-team to ever walk the planet — it feels like I’m typing this on a monthly occasion when referencing The Young Bucks. 

In another outstanding performance that reminded me of their classic against Will Ospreay and Swerve Strickland at All In two years ago, Saturday night saw the Bucks be matched every step of the way against Kevin Knight and Kyle Fletcher. This was four athletes at their absolute best, competing at an absurd pace — they each found their spots and had the crowd on the edge of their seat for every near-fall. The end saw some frustration between Fletcher and Knight, when a tag lined up the downfall of the Don Callis Family and a BTE Trigger on Knight for the pinfall. 

It would appear FTR and the Motor City Machine Guns are battling for which team is next in line, competing in a best-of-five series to name the top contenders. For now, the Bucks will likely pop in and out of contests to stay fresh as they await who I’d presume to be Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley. 

AEW has been slow to pull the trigger on any falling out between the Don Callis Family, but this may be the exception to the rule with an easy money-making tilt between Fletcher and Knight written in the stars.

8. She’s next

The thing about AEW’s mid-card is it’s consistently building toward world title challengers, while also refreshing who’s next.

The next on the women’s side appears to be Persephone, whose TBS Title victory in August has been followed by a strong run in which she’s dispatched everyone in her way. 

Saturday’s tilt against Dani Luna, Hyan, and Queen Aminata served the perfect step forward in continuing to establish Persephone as a legit contender. It was a crushing Fatal 4-Way that had a clear end it was building toward, with Persephone pinning Hyan to retain her championship. 

The champ has appeared to be biding her time awaiting Maya World’s return to the ring, who coincidentally announced Saturday that she’s been cleared to return to the ring after a month on the shelf. That feels like the right runway for an established, longer-term rivalry.

9. A pants party

No one has looked quite as good in AEW losses as Tommaso Ciampa. With another championship on the line, Ciampa did everything but claim the National Championship in Saturday’s war with Andrade El Idolo. 

Ciampa and Andrade’s match essentially boiled down to who could rip their pants off faster, blending brutality with entertainment. In the end, Ciampa tried to get the title and a chair involved, only for Andrade to DDT him on the chair before connecting with a DM for the win. 

Andrade is in a fascinating situation, holding an eventual guaranteed world title shot. He’ll likely continue to carry momentum forward with the National title for now, maintaining his position among the top stars in the AEW men’s division, but it’s hard to see him digging too deeply into a rivalry with his chance at heavyweight gold lingering.

Since winning the TNT title in his debut, Ciampa is essentially 0-for-everything in big matches. He’s putting on excellent matches and appears right on the cusp of winning the big ones, but he’ll need to find a couple of quality wins to remain considered a viable challenger.