AEW WrestleDream 2026: Draws & Duds

This weekend, AEW WrestleDream 2026 comes your way from Orlando, Florida. While there will undoubtedly be more matches added to the card, as of this writing, there are seven — and every single one has a championship on the line, from AEW's first-ever Clockwork Carnage match for the world title to Swerve Strickland and The New Level defending the world trios titles in a two-out-of-three falls contest.

But which of the currently announced matches have the Wrestling Inc. staff fired up and ready to order the latest AEW PPV, and which make us want to save our money? That's what we're here to find out. Here are our biggest draws and biggest duds for AEW WrestleDream 2026!

The one-year anniversary of the creation of the AEW Women's World Tag Team Championships is rapidly approaching, and while the titles have been featured on some of the company's biggest cards, the division itself isn't exactly firing on all cylinders. 

Throughout the past year there have been a grand total of three actual tag teams, none of which were the original champions. After the Babes of Wrath won the inaugural titles, they went to Divine Dominion, who have since lost them to the Brawling Birds, and the only other actual tag team in the division if we're being serious is The Sisters of Sin and they're not even in the match coming this Saturday. Instead, we have one half of the original champions in Harley Cameron teaming up with Kris Statlander as "Wrathlander" to take on The Brawling Birds, and there isn't much else you can say about this really.

Cameron and Statlander became the No. 1 contenders during the Grand Slam France edition of "AEW Collision," which is a move that I personally didn't understand at all. The Sisters of Sin are literally right there, they are your only other heel tag team — Tony Khan, what are you playing at? You want Jamie Hayter and Alex Windsor to come across as big time babyfaces and instead of putting them against Julia Hart and Skye Blue, who have been heels for nearly three years now, you put them against a woman in Cameron who is beloved for her personality despite being inexperienced in the ring, and a woman in Statlander who the fans love as well and really should be in the AEW Women's World Championship picture all of the time.

I totally understand wanting to get as many bodies on a pay-per-view as possible, and even more so when it's the women's division because they have always been criminally underutilized in AEW, but this is a match that screams "We have no idea what to do with this division." The only real time it's ever worked was when Megan Bayne and Lena Kross were the champions because they fit the role so well, and the first-ever women's Blood and Guts match last year because there was a tag team tournament happening at the same time so the stories in that match kind of made sense.

Blood and Guts is around the corner so this could play into it, but for as much as I love seeing these titles get spots on pay-per-views, this is the match at AEW WrestleDream 2026 that would have fit more in the main event of "AEW Dynamite" or "AEW Collision."

Written by Sam Palmer

Who would have thought that one of the hottest feuds heading into AEW WrestleDream 2026 would revolve around the AEW World Trios Championships? Turns out all you need is a story people can get behind and you've got yourself a draw.

In this case, Swerve Strickland and The New Level will be defending their crowns against Hangman Page and Brodido in a two-out-of-three falls match, a stipulation that has been rarely used in AEW throughout the company's seven years of existence. The last one took place back at AEW Revolution 2026 in March between Thekla and Kris Statlander, and it's never been used for a trios match at all until now. However, those who have watched CMLL in recent years know that it can be one of the most exciting ways of presenting a match in all of wrestling, and on October 17, that's what the fans in Orlando, Florida have to look forward to.

What is really making this match stand out amongst the rest of the matches on the WrestleDream card is the history between Strickland and Page. It was literally at WrestleDream back in 2023 where they had their first singles match that kind of kickstarted everything that we've seen from both of these guys, and aside from that weird period at the end of last year where they seemed to be sort of but not really friends but actually friendly enough to be tag team partners, they've hated each other the entire time, and that's the combustible element to this whole thing.

On their own, both Brodido and The New Level are excellent tag teams, and if they wanted could probably be real threats to The Young Bucks and their AEW World Tag Team Championships. Both teams know they can get the best out of Strickland and Page, but as we seen in their show-stealer at AEW All Out 2026, once Strickland and Page get in the ring together, all the strategy in the world goes out the window. Whether Kofi and Austin Creed can keep a lid on Strickland pushing Page a step too far, or if Bandido and Brody King can keep Page's head straight, will be the key to victory, and to make it even tougher, they've technically got to win twice.

These six guys tore the house down at All Out, and now with some added stakes and some extra story behind them, this could go down as one of the greatest trios title matches in AEW history.

Written by Sam Palmer

I have a sneaking suspicion that this match was supposed to be The Young Bucks vs. Darby Allin and El Hijo De Sting, but the injury to Steve Borden II forced Kyle Fletcher and Kevin Knight into a slot that makes them feel like glorified tomato cans.

At least a loss for Allin and Borden would've marked a step on Borden's journey to one day being a full-blown AEW star, but with Fletcher and Knight it feels like a regression. Fletcher already did his time as a tag superstar alongside Mark Davis, and both men are better off in singles competition. Knight just got out of a tag team that never quite reached the mountaintop, and a loss here is going to seriously put his credibility in question. I don't care how many nearfalls they cram in, there just isn't a lot of good drama here. It feels like an establishing defense for The Young Bucks, and one that is coming at the cost of two of AEW's brightest singles prospects.

It's just all wrong. I have no interest in this match, and desperately want all involved to move on to the aftermath, where they rebuild whatever was lost by this pointless sidequest.

Written by Ross Berman

Following its success in Pro Wrestling EVE, Clockwork Carnage, the match creation from the mind of Will Ospreay, will debut at WrestleDream with major stakes. The bout is for Ospreay's AEW World Championship, and despite initially seeming like it had a lot of clunky rules, AEW has explained it well over recent weeks. It may be a foregone conclusion that Ospreay will retain his title, but the uniqueness of the match, and the caliber of competitors in it, makes this match a must-see.

Eight stars, including Ospreay, will compete in the match. Two start off, and one man enters every three minutes until everyone is in the ring. Pinfalls and submissions count during this time, and anyone who takes a fall or submits during the first half of the bout is eliminated. Once everyone is in the ring, the match turns into a 15-minute Iron Man match for whoever is left, and the star with the most falls and submissions will emerge as AEW World Champion. Coming from the imagination of Ospreay in the setting of an AEW ring, it's bound to be chaotic fun.

As of this writing, outside of Ospreay, Samoa Joe and "Speedball" Mike Bailey are also in the match, with five contenders to be determined on the three-hour block of "Dynamite" and "Collision" on Wednesday. With a short build to WrestleDream, AEW is going to want to make the match as big as possible with big names, like Adam Copeland, Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita, Ricochet, and TNT Champion Darby Allin, though there's always a possibility for an upset during the TV match qualifiers these top guys will be involved in.

No matter who is the match, Clockwork Carnage being a new stipulation bout makes it an immediate draw on the WrestleDream card. AEW is always introducing new things, most recently, the Trios Roulette Royal at AEW All In London, and more often than not (exploding barbed wire death match aside), the competitors in the ring can always pull off a new, unique stipulation with flying colors. With Ospreay at the helm of this bout, more than likely one of the two men starting off, and the abilities of all who are or will potentially be involved, it's going to be a fun time for all.

Written by Daisy Ruth