AEW WrestleDream 2026 Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights

Welcome to Bleacher Report's coverage of AEW WrestleDream 2026.

Here's a look at the card AEW advertised for the show:

Mercedes Mone vs. Thekla (Women's World Championship)

The Young Bucks vs. Kyle Fletcher and Kevin Knight (AEW Tag Team Championships)

Jon Moxley vs. Mark Davis (Continental Championship)

Swerve Strickland and New Level vs. Adam Page and Brodido (Trios Championships)

Andrade El Idolo vs. Tommaso Ciampa (National Championship)

Persephone vs. Hyan vs. Dani Luna vs. Queen Aminata (TBS Championship)

Will Ospreay vs. Samoa Joe vs. Mike Bailey vs. Adam Copeland vs. Kazuchika Okada vs. Konosuke Takeshita vs. Darby Allin vs. Ricochet (World Heavyweight Championship)

Let's take a look at everything that happened at this year's WrestleDream.

The first match on the one-hour pre-show saw Julia Hart and Skye Blue take on Megan Bayne and Lena Kross. Despite the former tag champs having a big size and power advantage, Blue and Skye used their quickness and speed to keep the action competitive.

Heel vs. heel matches usually aren't ideal, but these four women all have enough fans that the crowd felt invested. Bayne and Kross felt like they had a slight edge, though.

This was a high-energy bout with some fun moments. The fact that it was more back-and-forth than most of Divine Dominion's matches definitely made The Sisters of Sin look strong. Despite a good effort, Kross and Bayne were still too much for them and ended up getting the win.

Result: Divine Dominion defeated Sisters of Sin

Jake Doyle, Josh Alexander and Wardlow vs. Three Jobbers

The Don Callis Family was given an easy match when Jake Doyle, Wardlow and Josh Alexander beat the life out of three local talents. There was nothing competitive about this. They may as well have been throwing three training dummies around because the jobbers did not get in a single shred of offense.

This was so one-sided that it can't even be graded properly. It was fun to watch the crowd get behind Wardlow hitting multiple powerbombs again, but that was about all this had to offer. At least the fans seemed to be having fun with it.

Result: Wardlow, Alexander and Doyle won

Does anyone else miss Julia Hart's old entrance? It was one of the best in AEW.

Kross had the "I've been misted" eye makeup.

Bayne and Kross have somehow been even more impressive since losing the titles.

It's going to be interesting to see how Wardlow is used and whether he and MJF ever reignite their feud.

The Dogs and Death Riders vs. Conglomeration and The Bang Bang Gang

Gabe Kidd, Claudio Castagnoli, Daniel Garcia and Wheeler Yuta teamed up with Clark Connors and David Finlay to take on Roderick Strong, Kyle O'Reilly, Orange Cassidy, Jay White, Austin and Colten Gunn.

Whenever you have this many people in one match, it's going to end up being pure mayhem at some point, especially with these 12 men involved. It took less than a minute before everyone started coming in to fight without tags.

Even without a lot of structure, matches like this always end up being entertaining in AEW because everyone involved contributes to the fun. The Dogs and Death Riders were able to get the victory.

Result: Dogs and Death Riders defeated Conglomeration and Bang Bang Gang

The first in the Best of 5 series between FTR and The Motor City Machine Guns closed out the Tailgate Brawl pre-show. As usual, Stokely Hathaway was with Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler.

Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley received a nice welcome from the crowd for their first tag match on an AEW PPV. This is a match a lot of people have been looking forward to for quite some time, and they did not waste time before picking up the pace.

This was a fantastic display of the skill of both teams, but they still left room to grow in future encounters. The match ran more than 15 minutes past the end of the pre-show and into the main PPV. They had a lot of time to work, but when it was all over, Shelley and Sabin got the win to go up 1-0 in the series.

Result: Motor City Machine Guns defeated FTR

It was nice to see Willow out there with The Conglomeration.

White was only just cleared to compete again as of today.

Paul Wight putting over Claudio's strength is appropriate since Claudio slammed him over the top rope to win WWE's first Andre Memorial Battle Royal in 2014.

Mercedes Moné vs. Thekla (Women's World Championship)

The first official match on the main card saw Mercedes Moné put her women's world title on the line against Thekla.

The CEO actually came close to getting Thekla into her trademark submission early in the match, but The Toxic Spider used her flexibility to escape and taunt the champion at the same time.

The first half of this match was good, but they were definitely pacing themselves. They took more time to sell big moments, and they weren't rushing from spot to spot because they knew they had time.

This was much more about telling a story than trying to pack in as many moves as possible, and it worked to its benefit because anyone would have had a hard time following FTR and MCMG.

These two worked very well together and delivered a strong performance. This was just as good as the tag match that preceded it on the show, but for completely different reasons. The CEO prevailed in the end and hit the Moneymaker for the pin.

Mercedes always has great gear, but whoever made it for this show did especially great work. Thekla's jacket was awesome, too.

Thekla called the crowd "Dumb b-----s" and still got a pop. That's when you know you're over with the fans.

The way Mercedes kind of tossed Thekla to release the surfboard stretch was cool.

Updated 2026 AEW WrestleDream Card and Predictions for Match Order

Two different generations collided for the third time when Jericho took on Wayne. Both men had won against the other, so this was the rubber match in their feud to determine who would come out on top.

The crowd was heavily in Jericho's corner. It was singing his music for a few seconds after it had stopped playing, and he was getting Y2J chants before anything happened.

Nick slapped him and spat in his face, so Jericho spat back and then punched him to get the action started. Chris took a moment to have some fun with Paul Wight on commentary before slamming Wayne onto the steel steps.

The early minutes of this match felt like Jericho trying to teach his young opponent a lesson, but once Wayne had the upper hand, he stayed on the veteran while still taunting him at every turn.

This feud has been good for both men. It has given Nick a spotlight against a former world champion, and it's allowed Jericho to have some of the best matches he has had in AEW in quite some time.

The 21-year-old managed to kick out of the Codebreaker and escaped The Walls of Jericho. He took the low road and spat a liquid in Jericho's eyes, but it failed to get him the win. He tried a couple of low blows, but Jericho revealed he was wearing a cup to block them, which is something every wrestler should do at this point.

Y2J hit a low blow of his own, but then Wayne rolled him up for the pin out of nowhere. He grabbed a mic and bragged about winning as a little pyro went off on the stage.

The ring announcer read a prepared intro for Wayne that he obviously wrote himself. It did a good job getting him a little heat.

It looked like they spit gum at each other at the start, which was probably better because it was easier to see on camera than saliva.

Wayne's moonsault to the floor was great.

The Young Bucks vs. Kyle Fletcher and Kevin Knight (Tag Team Championships)

The tag titles were on the line when Nick and Matt Jackson defended the belts against Knight and Fletcher of The Don Callis Family. Callis sat with the commentary team to watch from ringside.

There is no denying the skill of everyone involved in this bout. The Bucks are one of the most celebrated tag teams of this generation, and both members of the opposing team have had a lot of success in AEW before either man has had his 30th birthday.

They could have put on a fun match without even putting in much effort, but the fact that they were all trying hard to make this entertaining led to a very enjoyable outing.

Love them or hate them, The Young Bucks know how to put on an exciting performance. When you give them two young guys as athletic as Knight and Fletcher, you have the recipe for a match that would steal the show on most cards.

This match continued the string of strong performances we have gotten on this PPV so far. They really packed a lot of different near-fall scenarios into this one, but it made the crowd get on its feet for the final few minutes.

The ending may have been predictable with the Bucks retaining, but that didn't make the journey to get there any less fun. The Bucks pinned Knight with the BTE Trigger to retain the titles.

Result: The Young Bucks defeated Fletcher and Knight

It was kind of interesting to see Knight and Fletcher have separate entrances instead of coming out as a unit. At least they coordinated their gear.

The crowd was chanting "F--k Don Callis."

It's kind of funny how the announcers tried to position Fletcher as a singles star who happens to be in a tag match when he spent a lot of his career in a team with Davis as Aussie Open.

Callis interfered while on commentary by raking Matt's eyes.

The TBS title was on the line in the next match when Persephone had to face three different challengers in Hyan, Luna and Aminata.

The three challengers decided to work together to take out Persephone early on, but it didn't take long for those alliances to crumble.

This felt like a very fresh match for AEW. A year ago, these four women were either much lower on the card or not signed yet, so seeing them all in this position on a PPV shows how much the women's division has grown in 2026.

This bout gave all four wrestlers a chance to shine at different times, but it felt like Aminata was the only challenger who might have had a chance to win the belt from Persephone.

This was a very physical encounter that is likely to leave all four women with a few bruises. Persephone retained her title by pinning Hyan with a moonsault.

The rise of Queen Aminata has been a lot of fun to watch.

Persephone trying to complain to the ref about everyone teaming up on her was funny.

Maya World and Britt Baker came out with Hyan and Persephone's entrances, but neither remained at ringside.

The powerbomb Luna took on the floor did not look fun.

The way Aminata hit a dropkick to Hyan while she was in a chair looked brutal.

Persephone's moonsault came nowhere near hitting Hyan and Luna. It was an unfortunate moment in an otherwise great bout.

We went right into the next title bout with Andrade defending the National Championship against Ciampa.

They started by testing each other with some chest chops, but they were throwing punches within a few seconds. Ciampa prevented Andrade from taking off his pants, much to the chagrin of some fans in the crowd.

This show had already delivered some incredible wrestling, so Ciampa and El Idolo were under some pressure to continue that trend, but these are two guys who have always been capable of great things.

While the match was good, it did not feel like we got the best either man can give. It might have had something to do with how it was paced, but whatever it was, it felt like they were holding back until the second half.

Andrade only had his pants halfway off when he hit his signature double moonsault. It felt like once he got them off, that is when the pace picked up. Ciampa pretending to pin Andrade's pants, only for them to kick out, was the funniest part of the match.

There was a moment when it looked like Ciampa may win with help from the belt, but Andrade beat him to the punch and used it against him to get the win.

AEW accidentally used the international title graphic at the beginning of the match.

Andrade got his old entrance music back.

Ciampa posing for a pic with his daughter was a nice moment.

Ciampa taking off his trunks to reveal different trunks was hilarious.

Swerve Strickland and New Level vs. Hangman and Brodido (Trios Championships)

The Trios Championships were defended in a two-out-of-three falls match with Swerve, Kofi and Austin Creed taking on Hangman, Bandido and Brody King.

Creed and Bandido started the match with a pretty simple exchange. It almost felt like they were trying to pace themselves because they knew this was a marathon, not a sprint.

They went for quite some time before Kofi scored the first fall by pinning Bandido. They gave him no time to recover, but Hangman prevented Swerve from getting a second fall right away.

Bandido ended up evening the score by pinning Creed, so it was 1-1 heading into the final portion of the match. As much fun as this was, it felt a little disorganized at times, but not in the chaotic way we're used to with these trios bouts.

The story between Hangman and Swerve dominated most of the story being told, and they did a good job keeping the tension high. In a bit of a shocking outcome, Bandido ended up pinning Swerve to regain the trios titles.

Swerve did not want him and New Level to hand over the belts, but they did eventually. New Level handed them to Brodido first, and then Swerve dropped his in front of Hangman.

Result: Hangman and Brodido won the Trios Championships

The crowd popped bit as soon as Hangman and Swerve for their hands on each other.

King is one of those guys who looks like he should be a heel, but he works so well as a babyface.

Creed slapping King right before King destroyed him was a fun moment.

Swerve's double stomp to Hangman hit him in the head more than the chest.

Ilja Dragunov was introduced as the newest member of All Elite Wrestling to a big ovation from the crowd. He interacted with the crowd a bit, but he did not speak, so his first promo will likely happen on Dynamite this week.

The penultimate match of the night saw Moxley put the continental title on the line against Davis of the DCF. Davis pinned Mox in a match earlier this week, so he was hoping to carry that momentum into this bout.

Mox made the mistake of trying a shoulder tackle against Dunkzilla, so when it was brushed off, he had to rethink his strategy. For the first few minutes, it seemed like Davis had an answer for everything the champion tried.

Moxley was busted wide open near his eye and blood began pouring out as Davis stayed on him and tried to open the wound even more.

This match didn't try to match the level of excitement of previous bouts by going for a bunch of high-risk spots. They wanted this to be the most violent encounter of the night, and they succeeded.

The ref warned Moxley that he might call the match if he did not make it back to the ring. Moxley looked like he was thinking of giving up until Marina Shafir and Daniel Garcia showed up in the crowd to give him a pep talk.

It felt like Mox was using his real grief over the loss of Pac as part of the story in this match, and it made things that much more intense. Once he got a boost from his friend, the champ started to take over.

This was a tremendous combination of hard-hitting action and storytelling in the ring. After a brutal fight that left both men a bloody mess, Mox choked Davis out to retain his title.

The Death Riders continuing to pay tribute to Pac is great.

For a big, surly guy, Davis looks like he takes good care of his beard.

Moxley's wound was quite the gusher. Even Davis was covered in his blood after a few minutes.

The piledriver on the apron was a cool spot.

The main event of WrestleDream was the first AEW Clockwork Carnage match. This bout combined elements of a gauntlet, a scramble match and a Battle Royal.

The first two competitors to enter the ring were the defending champion, Ospreay, and Takeshita. Another person joined the match every three minutes. Anyone pinned before everyone was in the ring was eliminated. Whoever was left once everyone was in the ring had 15 minutes to get as many falls as possible.

Bailey was the third man to join the match, Ricochet was the fourth, Allin was fifth, Okada was out sixth, Copeland was the seventh to arrive, and the final competitor was Joe.

With Bailey and Takeshita eliminated, there were only six men in the final phase. Joe scored the first point, and Ricochet scored the second shortly after. Okada wasn't far behind with the third fall.

The falls started to come quickly, with Allin and Ospreay jumping out to a lead with two each by the time five minutes had passed.

This was a unique concept for a match. While it's tough to say if the format is something people will get invested in, the eight men involved all did a good job of making the first one enjoyable.

Ospreay, Copeland, Joe and Allin each had two falls by the time we got to a minute left on the clock. Ospreay scored his third fall on Copeland with two seconds left on the clock to win and retain his title.

Copeland shook his hand, but he made it clear he was still coming for the title.

Bailey's United Empire gear looked cool.

Takeshita did not hold back when he slapped Ricochet's bald head.

You don't often see someone superplex two people at once, but Takeshita made it look easy.

Bailey was eliminated before Copeland arrived. Okada eliminated Takeshita before Joe arrived.

Joe doing the walkaway spot during Ricochet's suicide dive was great.

It was nice to have the graphic at the bottom of the screen so keep track of the results.

Whenever the build to an AEW PPV is a little underwhelming, the talent end up making it one of the best shows of the year, and this was no exception.

Every single match on the card delivered in one way or another. We saw just about everything on this show, from high-flying stunts to bloody brawling.

The three women's matches stood out as being especially strong, but Thekla and Mercedes had one of the best performances on the entire show.

The tag and trios title bouts were probably the biggest highlights of the night, but you would be hard-pressed to name a single weak match.

The first Clockwork Carnage was enjoyable, but time will tell if the format catches on in AEW.