The AEW World Championship will be on the line in the first-ever Clockwork Carnage match at AEW WrestleDream 2026 on October 17, and on the special three-hour broadcast of "AEW Dynamite" and "AEW Collision" on October 14, the rest of the field was determined in a series of qualifiers.In the first of the qualifiers without any championships on the line, Adam Copeland made his first appearance in the ring since AEW All Out 2026 by defeating Josh Alexander. "The Walking Weapon" spent the majority of the match targeting the leg of the "Rated-R Superstar," the same leg that Copeland broke back in 2024. However, the one variable that Alexander didn't take into account was one he brought into the match himself, the exposed turnbuckle. In the closing moments, Alexander went head-first into the turnbuckle to stun him, allowing Copeland to muster enough momentum to hit a Spear to book his spot in the match.Immediately after, Konosuke Takeshita also made his return to action in AEW back outlasting Brian Cage. "The Machine" dug deep into his bag of tricks, even hitting an Avalanche Hurricanrana and a Tope Con Hilo to throw "The Alpha" off his game. Takeshita tried to stick to his game plan but Cage kept firing back to keep the match even, resulting in Takeshita being forced to change strategy. This would ultimately prove fruitful for Takeshita as he managed to hit the Power Drive Knee and then locked in a Dragon Sleeper to get the submission victory.Rounding out the non-title qualifiers was Ricochet getting the win over Ace Austin of The Bang Bang Gang. Austin was stepping in to replace the injured "Switchblade" Jay White, and had kept himself in the fight by using his speed and his leg strength, kicking Ricochet at every opportunity. Ricochet would also use his speed to maintain the momentum and almost went to the well on time too often by missing a Shooting Star Press, but he caught Austin off guard with a Headbutt, and landed a Spirit Gun and a Vertigo to get the win.Copeland, Takeshita, and Ricochet join the current AEW World Champion Will Ospreay, Samoa Joe, "Speedball" Mike Bailey, and Kazuchika Okada in the Clockwork Carnage match, with the final spot belonging to either Darby Allin or Hechicero.
