AEW confirms WrestleDream 2026 matches; Mercedes Moné to defend against Thekla on Oct. 17 in Orlando

AEW has confirmed matches for WrestleDream 2026, with AEW Women’s World Champion Mercedes Moné scheduled to defend her title against Thekla. The pay-per-view will take place on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at the Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Florida.

Fresh off AEW All Out 2026 in Chicago, the promotion is preparing WrestleDream, its annual October pay-per-view honouring the late Antonio Inoki. The 2026 edition is WrestleDream’s first visit to Florida and the Addition Financial Arena will host its third AEW pay-per-view after Revolution in March 2022 and Worlds End in December 2024. Moné was unable to defend the AEW Women’s World Championship at All Out while recovering from the broken nose she suffered in her title-winning match at All In: London, prompting a contender match to determine her next challenger.

Former champions Willow Nightingale and Thekla faced off at All Out to decide the number one contender. The Triangle of Madness’ Skye Blue and Julia Hart inserted themselves into the finish, with Hart’s interference backfiring onto her own stablemate. Thekla capitalised on the chaos, hitting Nightingale with a Curb Stomp to pick up the win and punch her ticket to Orlando.

With Thekla’s victory confirmed, Excalibur announced on commentary that Moné will defend the AEW Women’s World Championship against Thekla at WrestleDream on October 17. That booking sets up a rematch of their confrontation from the September 9 "Rebel Heart" Dynamite special. The main card is set to begin at 7 PM ET in the United States, which is 12 AM BST in the UK and 4:30 AM IST in India (both early Sunday).

Promoters indicated more matches will be added across AEW Dynamite and Collision go-home shows, and one expected addition is a likely first defence for new AEW World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks. Number-one contenders Kyle Fletcher and Kevin Knight of The Don Callis Family earned their title opportunity by defeating Darby Allin and Steven Borden at All Out.

More matches are expected to be announced on the AEW Dynamite and Collision go-home shows leading into the October 17 pay-per-view.