AEW heads to the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio on October 14 for a combined Dynamite and Collision card loaded with championship implications just days before WrestleDream. The night is built around the ongoing push toward the inaugural Clockwork Carnage Match, where AEW World Champion Will Ospreay will defend his title against a field that is still taking shape.
Samoa Joe and “Speedball” Mike Bailey have already secured their places in the WrestleDream match alongside Ospreay. Cleveland will determine several more entrants, with high-level singles bouts involving Ricochet, Ace Austin, Konosuke Takeshita, Brian Cage, Adam Copeland, Josh Alexander, Darby Allin, Hechicero, Kazuchika Okada, and Myron Reed all carrying qualification consequences.
Beyond the World Championship picture, the show will give Mercedes Mone, Thekla, Persephone, Britt Baker, Jon Moxley, Andrade El Idolo, and others one final opportunity to establish momentum before AEW’s major Saturday event. With multiple factions represented throughout the lineup, the card also has the potential to reshape several ongoing rivalries at once.
Clockwork Carnage field continues to grow
The central question entering the Cleveland event is who will join Ospreay, Joe, and Bailey in the Clockwork Carnage Match. WrestleDream will mark the first time AEW has presented the match, and the prize is immediately enormous: the AEW World Championship.
For more background on this topic, read Samoa Joe Reflects on AEW Unity Following Losses of PAC and Andy Williams.
Ricochet will face Ace Austin in one qualifier. It is a meeting between two exceptionally athletic performers whose strengths could make this one of the most unpredictable matches on the card. Ricochet’s experience on major stages gives him a clear advantage in pressure situations, but Austin has consistently shown that he can exploit brief openings and turn them into match-ending opportunities.
Konosuke Takeshita is also scheduled for qualifier action against Brian Cage. Takeshita’s presence gives The Don Callis Family another potential route into the WrestleDream main event, while Cage presents a uniquely difficult physical challenge. Cage’s power is obvious, but his explosiveness for a competitor of his size makes him dangerous well beyond conventional heavyweight offense. Takeshita, meanwhile, has the striking ability and big-match composure needed to withstand that kind of attack.
Adam Copeland will meet Josh Alexander, another representative of The Don Callis Family, with a Clockwork Carnage position at stake. Alexander’s technical approach and relentless intensity have made him a valuable part of the Callis group, and defeating a veteran such as Copeland would strengthen his standing considerably. Copeland enters with decades of experience and an ability to adapt when opponents try to drag him into a punishing, methodical fight.
These three qualification matches ensure that the World Championship scene will not merely be a background element on the show. Every competitor involved has a compelling reason to fight with urgency, as advancing means entering a match that could dramatically alter their place in AEW.
Darby Allin puts TNT Championship on the line
Darby Allin will defend the TNT Championship against Hechicero in another WrestleDream qualifier. The matchup adds an extra layer to an already significant contest: Allin is not only trying to retain a championship, but is also attempting to earn a place in the Clockwork Carnage Match.
Hechicero represents a particularly dangerous challenger because of his unorthodox technical style. His ability to manipulate an opponent’s limbs and position him for submissions can force even the most resilient wrestlers into survival mode. Against Allin, that style could be especially important. The TNT Champion’s willingness to absorb punishment and take risks is among his greatest assets, but it can also leave openings for a strategist who specializes in controlling joints and slowing the pace.
For Allin, a victory would preserve the TNT title and put him one step closer to potentially leaving WrestleDream with AEW’s top prize as well. For Hechicero, the opportunity is similarly massive. Winning the TNT Championship while qualifying for the World title match would make him one of the most consequential figures heading into Saturday.
Kazuchika Okada faces Myron Reed with International title implications
The Don Callis Family’s Kazuchika Okada will defend the AEW International Championship against Myron Reed of The Rascalz in a qualifier match. Okada has the championship and major-match pedigree on his side, but Reed’s speed and willingness to attack from every angle makes him an opponent who cannot be overlooked.
Reed has a chance to score the biggest victory of his AEW career, and the stakes are considerable even before WrestleDream comes into the equation. A win would take the International Championship away from Okada while also elevating Reed into the Clockwork Carnage Match. That is the kind of dual opportunity that can make a challenger especially dangerous.
Okada, however, remains one of the most accomplished wrestlers in the field. As part of The Don Callis Family, he will also be entering a night in which the group has representatives across several pivotal bouts. The faction has clear interests in the World Championship picture, the International Championship, and the trios match later in the evening. That makes its collective performance in Cleveland worth watching closely.
Mercedes Mone and Thekla lead women’s trios showdown
Mercedes Mone will defend the AEW Women’s World Championship against Thekla at WrestleDream, but their issues will come to the surface before then in six-woman tag team action. Mone will team with Divine Dominion’s Megan Bayne and Lena Kross against Thekla and her Triangle of Madness stablemates, Skye Blue and Julia Hart.
The match is an important final test of Mone’s readiness before her championship defense. Teaming with Bayne and Kross gives the champion formidable allies, but it also places her in a match against a fully established unit. Thekla, Blue, and Hart know each other’s tendencies and will have an opportunity to isolate Mone or create doubt around the champion before Saturday.
For Mone, the objective is not simply to win. She will want to avoid entering WrestleDream with Thekla holding any psychological edge. Thekla will be looking for exactly the opposite outcome: proving that she can pin, submit, or otherwise decisively outmaneuver the AEW Women’s World Champion before their one-on-one meeting.
Bayne and Kross also have an opportunity to make a strong statement as Divine Dominion shares the ring with Triangle of Madness. With WrestleDream approaching, any factional advantage established in Cleveland could have consequences beyond this one match.
Persephone and Britt Baker reunite against Dani Luna and Hyan
TBS Champion Persephone will join Britt Baker against Dani Luna and Hyan. Luna returns to AEW action for the first time since challenging Persephone for the TBS Championship at All Out on September 26, where she was unsuccessful in taking the title.
The four-woman tag provides Luna with an immediate chance to regain momentum against the champion. She does not need to wait for another title match to send a message; pinning Persephone, or even contributing to a victory over Baker and Persephone, could quickly make the TBS division more complicated.
Hyan arrives with recent history of her own. On the September 9 Dynamite Rebel Heart special, Persephone, Baker, and Hikaru Shida defeated Hyan, Thunder Rosa, and Maya World. That result gives Persephone and Baker confidence, but Hyan now has a different partner and another opportunity to change the narrative.
Baker’s involvement is also notable. Aligning with the TBS Champion presents a different dynamic than a standard singles contest, and the pairing will have to work effectively against Luna’s power and Hyan’s intensity. The match could help clarify which competitors are best positioned to challenge for championship opportunities after WrestleDream.
Death Riders and Don Callis Family renew hostilities
Continental Champion Jon Moxley teams with fellow Death Riders Gabe Kidd and Daniel Garcia against Mark Davis, Jake Doyle, and Wardlow of The Don Callis Family in a trios encounter. There is already a recent result hanging over this match: Davis and Doyle defeated Moxley and Kidd in tag team competition during last Tuesday’s Dynamite Grand Slam France special.
That victory gives Davis and Doyle momentum, while the addition of Wardlow makes the Callis Family team even more physically imposing. Wardlow’s power can change the direction of any trios bout in an instant, particularly if Moxley, Kidd, or Garcia are worn down by the team’s collective offense.
The Death Riders are unlikely to take the prior defeat lightly. Moxley brings the Continental Championship into the broader conversation even if it is not being defended in this match, and Garcia’s inclusion supplies another driven, technically sound competitor to the team. Kidd, meanwhile, has direct motivation after being part of the losing side in France.
This is more than a rematch with one additional wrestler on each side. It is another chapter in the conflict between two groups with major stakes throughout the card, and a win could help define the power balance heading into WrestleDream.
Will Ospreay and Andrade El Idolo face Samoa Joe and Tommaso Ciampa
The AEW World Champion will also be in action before he defends his title. Ospreay teams with United Empire stablemate and National Champion Andrade El Idolo against Samoa Joe and Tommaso Ciampa.
Joe has already qualified for Clockwork Carnage, meaning he will stand across from Ospreay at WrestleDream regardless of what happens in Cleveland. That makes this tag match a crucial chance for Joe to impose himself on the champion and demonstrate that Ospreay’s title reign is vulnerable.
Ciampa’s involvement creates an especially intriguing wrinkle. His hard-hitting style and ability to thrive in chaotic environments make him a valuable ally for Joe against Ospreay and Andrade. On the opposing side, Andrade arrives with championship status of his own as National Champion, while his United Empire connection with Ospreay gives the team a foundation that Joe and Ciampa will need to disrupt.
With Bailey already qualified as well, the Clockwork Carnage Match is becoming a field full of elite contenders. Cleveland’s combined Dynamite and Collision event will decide much of the remaining landscape. By the end of the night, Ospreay should know far more about the opponents standing between him and a successful AEW World Championship defense at WrestleDream.
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Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.