AEW announced five qualifiers for the Clockwork Carnage match, which is set for October 17 at WrestleDream, the company’s next pay-per-view. The AEW World Championship will be on the line.
All five matches are set for Wednesday, October 14, on a special three-hour edition of Dynamite and Collision.
Tony Khan ruled that current champions can also compete for a spot, as long as they put their titles on the line.
That means Darby Allin will defend the TNT Championship against Hechicero, while Kazuchika Okada puts the AEW International Championship up against Myron Reed.
Tony Khan said that top wrestlers in AEW can try to qualify for Clockwork Carnage… as long as they defend their titles if they hold them! So we just got these qualifying matches announced in a row: • Darby Allin vs Hechicero • Kazuchika Okada vs Myron Reed • Adam Copeland vs Josh Alexander • Ricochet vs Ace Austin • Konosuke Takeshita vs Brian Cage 3 HOURS ON WEDNESDAY. 🔥🔥🔥
— Drainmaker (@TheDrainmaker) October 11, 2026
Three other qualifiers are also set. Adam Copeland will face Josh Alexander, Ricochet will take on Ace Austin, and Konosuke Takeshita will meet Brian Cage.
The show will take place at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio, and will air live on TBS and HBO Max starting at 8 p.m. ET.
AEW World Champion Will Ospreay is already in the Clockwork Carnage match. Samoa Joe and Mike Bailey also earned their spots with wins over Jack Perry and Lee Moriarty, respectively.
The match features eight wrestlers and is split into two stages. In the first, a new wrestler enters every three minutes, and anyone who is pinned or forced to submit is eliminated. Once the final entrant is in, a 15-minute stage begins, and whoever scores the most falls during that stretch wins.