It's October and you know what that means: it's time for AEW WrestleDream 2026 predictions!
Only three weeks after All Out we have another PPV extravaganza, one whose build has unfortunately been rushed due to both the quick turnaround and the death of Pac. In place of a big story around the AEW Title they've opted for a new high-concept gimmick match. More on that in a bit. But there's a lot of potentially great stuff on this lineup, per usual, particularly considering how little time they had to throw this together.
Let's get after it.....
Buy-In: Divine Dominion vs. Sisters of Sin
This came about because of a trios match on Dynamite, where DD teamed with Mercedes Mone against the Triangle of Madness, and the latter squad got the win. Since Mercedes and Thekla are fighting for the Women's Title, why not run back this tag showdown as well? The action in the trios match was pretty good, and so should this be. Since the Sisters won the first round I think Dominion ties it up.
Pick: Divine Dominion
Buy-In: FTR vs. Motor City Machine Guns
Apparently this is on the pre-show which is insane; this deserves to be on the main card. Maybe it'll bleed into the main show? Anyway, it's the first in a Best of 5 series to determine the next #1 contenders, and should be goddamn helluva tag match. MCMG have been oddly absent from TV almost entirely since they debuted on Collision a while back, but I think we'll be seeing a lot more of them now. They have to be winning the first match.
Pick: MCMG
Chris Jericho vs. Nick Wayne
These two are 1-1 in singles matches, both of which have been solid. Not sure if this will be the full blowoff to this feud or if they have a gimmick match in them. But Nick should win the feud overall since he's the future and Jericho is almost 56 years old.
Pick: Nick
TBS Championship: Persephone vs. Queen Aminata vs. Dani Luna vs. Hyan
Persey and Luna had a really good little match at All Out so this should be a fun party match. No way she's losing the title yet, she's gotta have a proper feud with someone for that to be the case. Maybe Britt turns on her at some point?
Pick: Persephone retains
National Championship: Andrade El Idolo vs. Tommaso Ciampa
This one should be pretty great, both of these guys have been killing it lately. One thing Tony's done in recent weeks is beat the champions to give the challengers some kind of momentum despite them not being likely to win the title. Ciampa didn't actually pin Andrade this week but he set him up for Samoa Joe to choke him out. Andrade ain't losing here but the match'll be a banger.
Pick: Andrade retains
Continental Championship: Jon Moxley vs. Mark Davis
Another example of the somewhat unlikely challenger getting one (or more) over on the champion, Davis pinned Moxley this week in a trios match. This'll be the "meat" match of the night. Rugged and hard-hitting, maybe a little blood. Moxley ain't losing though.
Pick: Moxley retains
AEW Trios Championship 2/3 Falls: Swerve Strickland/New Level vs. Hangman Page/Brodido
This match stole the show at All Out and I expect it to do the same here, or at least come close. Two Outta Three Falls matches are awesome when done right and this should be one such example. Give this at least as long as their All Out match. Hangman is cracking again now that Swerve is back in his life, so we have some damn fine TV to look forward to. This one could go either way. Team Swerve has beaten Team Hangman twice now if you include the All In schmozz, so it would make sense for Hangman to get a win here, but on the other hand, Swerve beating him yet again would do more to further the story and send Page into another frenzy. That's the more fun option so I'll go with it.
Pick: Team Swerve retains
AEW Tag Team Championship: Young Bucks vs. Kyle Fletcher & Kevin Knight
This one could also steal the show because holy shit. Bucks matches are always great but with Fletcher and Knight as the challengers this could end up the best tag match of the year. Matt and Nick aren't losing the belts yet, obviously, but it's gonna be entertaining as all hell.
Pick: Bucks retain
AEW Women's World Championship: Mercedes Mone vs. Thekla
I'm sad we didn't get more mic time between these two to set this one up. Their one promo interaction prior to All Out was pretty great and there's more there to explore. Alas, this match will have to speak for itself. But it should be excellent. The heel vs. heel dynamic is a little weird but I think Thekla will be the crowd favorite. This is only Mercedes' first title defense I believe, so she's keeping it of course.
Pick: Mercedes retains
AEW Men's World Championship Clockwork Carnage: Will Ospreay vs. Samoa Joe vs. Kazuchika Okada vs. Konosuke Takeshita vs. Darby Allin vs. Adam Copeland vs. Speedball Mike Bailey vs. Ricochet
Alright, so this thing.... Ospreay came up with the idea, and it's a cross between a Royal Rumble and an Iron Man Scramble. Two guys start, every three minutes a new guy is added until they're all in the match. Anyone who's pinned or submitted prior to the final entrant is eliminated. After the last guy gets in they start a 15-minute timer and whoever scores the most falls in that fifteen minutes is the champion. Kind of a silly gimmick, and how many falls would realistically happen in fifteen minutes? Couldn't we make it 20 or more? Given the talent here I'm sure this will end up being a lot of fun, but I don't love this idea. It would be a different story if Will had been champion for six months or more, but as he just won the belt in August there's virtually no chance of Ospreay losing here. It's an overly complicated match with a forgone conclusion. As I said, I'm sure I'll enjoy it when all's said and done, I'd just rather have had Ospreay vs. Okada in this slot.
Pick: Ospreay retains
Since its inception in 2023 WrestleDream has always felt like kind of a B-PPV, but there's usually plenty of stuff to enjoy, and this show is no exception. Like last year's show the tag matches seem to be the best ones on paper. We'll see how this Clockwork Carnage match goes and if it has the legs to become an annual event. I'm skeptical but I hope I'm wrong.
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