PWMania.com previously reported that last week’s episode of AEW Collision announced the debut of the Clockwork Carnage Match, a concept created by the reigning AEW World Champion, Will Ospreay. This unique match will take place at the 2026 AEW WrestleDream PPV, where Ospreay will defend his title against seven competitors using this format. Samoa Joe has already qualified for the match, and Mike Bailey is scheduled to face Lee Moriarty in a qualifying match on tonight’s Collision.
In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer provided a list of potential competitors for the match, taking into account those already on the card and logical choices. The potential competitors include Adam Copeland, Darby Allin, Claudio Castagnoli, Nick Wayne, Gabe Kidd, Josh Alexander, Konosuke Takeshita, Orange Cassidy, Ricochet, and Wardlow. Meltzer also mentioned RUSH as a possible contestant but noted that RUSH recently stated on social media that he does not expect to wrestle anytime soon.
The Clockwork Carnage Match format has two participants start, with a new competitor entering every 3 minutes. Anyone pinned before all eight participants have entered will be eliminated. Once all competitors are in the ring, 15 minutes will remain, and the wrestler who secures the most falls during that time will be declared the winner. AEW WrestleDream 2026 is scheduled for Saturday, October 17th, at the Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Florida. The event will air live on PPV, HBO Max in the U.S., and on MyAEW internationally.
