Adam Copeland’s place in AEW’s first Clockwork Carnage match reportedly came after injuries forced a change to the original plans for WrestleDream.

Will Ospreay will defend the AEW World Championship against seven challengers in Saturday’s main event. According to Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the belief is that Jay White was originally pencilled in for the spot now held by Copeland.

White suffered an injury at All Out, where Copeland’s tag team partner Christian Cage was also injured. With their tag team plans on hold, Copeland was added to the world title match.

Meltzer wrote:

“The eight-man Clockwork Carnage main event has AEW champion Will Ospreay, and seven challengers, Samoa Joe, Kazuchika Okada, Ricochet, Konosuke Takeshita, Adam Copeland, Mike Bailey and Darby Allin.”

“The belief is that Jay White was originally scheduled in Copeland’s spot, but White was injured in his match at All Out. With Christian Cage injured seriously at the same show, meaning the Copeland & Christian tag team is being put on hold, it made sense for Copeland to be put in this match.”

The opportunity comes as Copeland looks towards the final chapter of his wrestling career. Speaking on Dynamite this week, he announced that 2027 will be his last year as a professional wrestler and made it clear he wants to become AEW World Champion before retiring.

White is expected to miss between one and two months with an undisclosed injury. Christian is recovering from three broken ribs and a collapsed lung, with no return timetable announced.

WrestleDream takes place at Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Florida. The Clockwork Carnage main event will feature two stages, with competitors first battling to avoid elimination before chasing the falls needed to win.

• Two randomly selected wrestlers will begin the match, with another randomly selected entrant joining every three minutes.

• During the opening stage, wrestlers can be eliminated by pinfall or submission until all eight competitors have entered.

• Once the final entrant arrives, the remaining wrestlers will move into a timed scoring period, with each pinfall or submission counting as one fall.

• The wrestler with the most falls when time expires will win the match and the AEW World Championship.

Could Copeland take a major step towards his retirement goal at WrestleDream, or will Ospreay overcome the odds? Share your predictions in the comments.