AEW Dynamite (Oct. 14, 2026) served a massive helping of over three hours of wrestling as the go-home to WrestleDream. The biggest news came from Adam Copeland revealing his plans to retire. The show also featured two title matches, five qualifiers for Clockwork Carnage, Jon Moxley eating a pin, Julia Hart spitting black mist, a massive brawl to close the night, and more from Wolstein Center in Cleveland, OH.
There are three moments I want to touch on before getting to the matches.
Adam Copeland’s
retirement plans
Copeland announced that 2027 will be his final year as a professional wrestler. That news came as a huge surprise. Cope delivered the scoop in a post-match promo after winning his Clockwork Carnage qualifier. This was prompted by another bit of news that Christian Cage suffered broken ribs and a collapsed lung in the ladder match at All Out. Copeland assessed his own status to see the finish line coming, and he wants the world championship.
True surprises in AEW don’t happen that often. This was so far out of left field that I don’t think anyone saw it coming. It will be interesting to see what cool stuff AEW has in store for Cope over the coming year. Let’s enjoy the ride. And, best of health to Christian in his recovery.
Go-home donnybrook
The Clockwork Carnage field is set with world champion Will Ospreay, Samoa Joe, “Speedball” Mike Bailey, Adam Copeland, Konosuke Takeshita, Kazuchika Okada, Ricochet, and Darby Allin for WrestleDream. After the final match of the night, AEW delivered glorious chaos to hype the PPV.
The highlight reel starts with Cope executing an Impaler DDT on Okada.
I loved Takeshita’s reaction when Joe’s music hit. The Alpha dropped the title belt, because he knew a fight was coming. That’s also a testament to how well Joe’s theme song fits him. Allin had the last hit for a Coffin Drop onto the pile outside.
AEW has recently embraced these melees with wrestlers entering one at a time. I thought it was a miss when it happens with teams. Like, why are they waiting to help their brothers? In this scenario, the staggered entrances works perfectly, because it is every man for himself. This vibe of chaos felt like a taste of what’s to come at Clockwork Carnage.
Ilja Dragunov teaser?
In a blink and miss it moment, a teaser vignette aired. Talk about another surprise. This one has many pointing to Ilja Dragunov as the music man. I’m a sucker for introductory vignettes, so this has me pleased. AEW needs more of these in general.
Time to blitz through the matches, since this show was too long. The advertised three-hour broadcast ran an extra 30 minutes. Boo!!! Catch up on all the details with excellent play-by-play from Claire Elizabeth.
Mark Davis, Jake Doyle, & Wardlow defeated Jon Moxley, Daniel Garcia, & Gabe Kidd. Hard-hitting action. Davis spiked Moxley on a piledriver to pin the continental champion.
Good job restoring Wardlow’s strongman aura. It’s been so long that I forgot why he was a breakout character. This effort reminded the viewers. It was funny how he pancaked Kidd, who then immediately tagged out.
I also liked the detail when Kidd had to double axe-handle Wardlow’s arm to break the goozle grip on Garcia. Those are great ways to sell Wardlow’s power.
The closing sequence had a surprise factor to see Moxley get pinned. He looked vulnerable at the hands of Davis. AEW doubled down on the idea of vulnerability. Moxley lost his swagger backstage and snapped with frustration. Marina Shafir gave the pep talk that the only way out is through. I think this scene was more about the grief of losing PAC than losing the match, but I’m not sure.
Clockwork Carnage qualifier: Adam Copeland defeated Josh Alexander. The rest of the qualifiers had obvious winners. If there was going to be an upset, I had my eye on Alexander as the man for the job. There was a moment that had me wondering if AEW would go through with the upset special. Alexander sidestepped a spear, and Copeland collided into the exposed turnbuckle steel. Alexander flattened Copeland with a spear. The legend kicked out.
The steel came into play on the finish Cope swooped under for an electric chair to drop Alexander colliding into the exposed turnbuckle. A spear sealed the deal.
Copeland is one of AEW’s biggest stars, so it makes sense to have him in Clockwork Carnage. He has the cachet to actually upset Ospreay without making fans angry about a short reign. Add in the retirement angle, and his victory here is even more of a correct call. We’ll see what type of shape Cope is in come the PPV. Alexander did serious damage to the left leg.
After Cope’s match and promo, Don Callis tried to put him out to pasture early. Takeshita and the Conglomeration made the save. This makes me wonder if Cope is being set up to partake in Blood & Guts.
Clockwork Carnage qualifier: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Brian Cage. The seesaw battle concluded with a hammerlock dragon sleeper.
Cage was a machine of strongman offense. Takeshita showed power of his own to execute the Raging Fire finisher. The flow of the match was smart to portray Takeshita as in too much pain from the beating to make the pin as Cage rolled away. Takeshita turned up the heat on the finish with a huge jumping knee. When the dragon sleeper wasn’t getting the job done, Takeshita worked the hammerlock to crank the sleeper even more. I like the strategy shown by Takeshita, and I also like how Cage made him work for that hammerlock. It shows some heart inside the Machine not to just give in.
Clockwork Carnage qualifier for AEW International Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated Myron Reed to retain the title. Clash in styles with Okada slowing the pace, which made Reed’s speedy bursts pop even better. Okada is a master at facial reactions. A big grin thinking he would execute a DDT on the floor turned into great worry as Reed countered into a back body drop. This clip also has cool moves from Reed, such as a fireman’s carry transition to a hanging DDT off the barricade.
After a wicked poison rana, Reed missed on a 450 splash. Rainmaker for the win! I like how Okada struck with that Rainmaker, because it shows just how quickly he can score in Clockwork Carnage.
Triangle of Madness defeated Mercedes Moné & Divine Dominion. Julia Hart spit black mist in the face of Lena Kross. A double suplex from the Sisters of Sin set up a curb stomp from Thekla to win. Black mist is always a great spot, and it’s a fitting way to neutralize a powerhouse opponent. Thekla has momentum on her side heading into the world title showdown against Mercedes. Divine Dominion have a chance for payback against the Sisters on the pre-show. The black mist spot pumped me up more for the pre-show match than the PPV bout. That’s not a knock. This was fresh, while Mercedes and Thekla already said everything that needs to be said.
Samoa Joe & Tommaso Ciampa defeated Will Ospreay & Andrade. El Idolo’s pants did not come off. That’s probably why his team lost. That and the fact that Ciampa hit a sneaky DDT onto the title belt. Joe finished the job with the Coquina Clutch, but Andrade was already out cold.
Even though AEW didn’t give the people what they want with Andrade pantsless, they made up for it with Joe doing the walkaway strut from Ospreay’s springboard cutter.
Ospreay and Joe engaged in rousing scuffles to hype Clockwork Carnage, but the real purpose was to confirm Andrade defending the AEW International Championship against Ciampa on PPV. Ciampa is confident that he will make Andrade unconscious at WrestleDream. Joe is eager to choke all his opponents.
Clockwork Carnage qualifier: Ricochet defeated Ace Austin. So many flips in cool ways as offense and defense. In the end, Ace saw an opening for The Fold. The window slammed shut in an instant when Ricochet headbutt Ace. The Spirit Gun and the Vertigo driver put Ace down for three. Ricochet’s killer instinct has him peaking for Clockwork Carnage.
Dani Luna & Hyan defeated Dr. Britt Baker DMD & Persephone. I think this superplex is Baker’s biggest bump since returning to the ring in AEW.
Luna outsmarted the cheaters. She shoved Baker colliding into Persephone on the apron, then she scored a roll-up on Baker to win. The heels attacked, so Queen Aminata made the save. AEW booked Persephone to defend the TBS Championship in a four-way against Luna, Hyan, and Aminata at the PPV.
I’m surprised that Baker ate the pin. In hindsight, that was the way to finish the match to get the four-way. It also gives a clue how Baker is presented in the pecking order right now. She was protected a little with reason to claim it was a fluke loss.
Clockwork Carnage qualifier for TNT Championship: Darby Allin (c) defeated Hechicero to retain the title. Hechicero woke me up on the long overrun with violent offense. Allin’s face was slammed into the apron in a painful way.
Hechicero also had a monkey flip into the barricade and countered the Coffin Drop into a rolling submission.
The Alchemist’s downfall was allowing Allin to get into feral mode for a barrage of Coffin Drops to win. I appreciate Allin’s touch of strategy to bait wrestlers under the ropes back into the ring, so they are defenseless on the Coffin Drop. Allin advances to Clockwork Carnage as damaged goods. Hechicero did a number on Allin’s tender leg. That injury could pose an issue in an endurance match.
Notes: FTR called out the Young Bucks. They’ve beaten the Bucks 3 out of 5 times, so they should be #1 contenders. Motor City Machine Guns answered the call to propose a best-of- 5 series. Big Stoke is game for FTR to start the series at WrestleDream. That’s an interesting surprise story development.
Hangman Page raged about Swerve Strickland. Brody King warned Hangman to get his head in the game, or else it will cost them in the trios title match.
Swerve Strickland was absent, so Mojo Brookzz filled in for the promo with New Level. I’ve heard of Mojo Jojo, but I’ve never Mojo Brookzz. He was amped up on the cheesy tip eager to fight Brody King. I still prefer the comedic stylings of Mojo Jojo. New Level’s message was that the 2-out-of-3 falls challenge will determine which trio is best.
Don Callis, Kyle Fletcher, and Kevin Knight yucked it up thinking they had the answers to beat the Young Bucks. Boom! The Bucks blindsided them with superkicks.
Chris Jericho interrupted Nick Wayne’s celebration, and that led to the rubber match for the PPV. This scene was amusing with Wayne overhyping his victory while ignoring that he cheated. Jericho had the last laugh on this evening by kicking Wayne in the cojones.
MJF was #1 in the PWI rankings. This felt like a ‘sponsored by MJF’ video package.
The United Empire lads and lasses had a laugh at Andrade’s saying his line. How you know?
The Clockwork Carnage video package mentioned no outside interference in the rules.. I don’t know if this is new, but it’s the first time I noticed.
Stud of the Show: Hechicero
Unique moves with impact when I needed the jot to stay awake.
Match of the Night: Mark Davis, Jake Doyle, & Wardlow vs. Jon Moxley, Daniel Garcia, & Gabe Kidd
A beefy meal of a fight. I’d like a sound compilation of all the chops and clotheslines pounding meat. The finish was interesting as well.
Grade: B-
The broadcast was too long. Frankly, this lineup was not compelling enough to run for three and a half hours. Credit to the wrestlers for their hard work in the ring.
Share your thoughts about AEW Dynamite. How do you rate it? What were your favorite moments from the show? Who impressed you the most?
