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Professional wrestling tag team tournament in WWE From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is an annual professional wrestling tag team tournament held by the American promotion WWE, and is featured on its NXT brand, having first been established in 2015. In subsequent years, wrestlers from the NXT UK and 205 Live brands—both of which were subsidiary/sister brands under the NXT banner—have also been included. While originally just for men, a women's version of the tournament was introduced in 2021 and runs concurrently with the men's tournament.
Official logo of the tournament used as of 2022. | |
| Acronym | WWE (2015–present) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2015–present |
| Style | Tag team-Elimination Tournament |
| Headquarters | Stamford, Connecticut |
| Founder(s) | Vince McMahon |
| Parent | WWE |
| Website | wwe |
The tournament was established following the death of WWE Hall of Fame wrestler Dusty Rhodes, who was the creator of and featured star in the Crockett Cup tournaments in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) during the mid-late 1980s, which the Dusty Classic is modeled after and has been compared to.[1]
The original 16-team single elimination tournament was established in August 2015 as a tribute to Dusty Rhodes—who had been serving as a senior producer and trainer in NXT—and was formally announced during NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, which took place shortly after he had died. That year's Classic featured tournament matches taking place all through September both on NXT's weekly TV show and at NXT house shows, and culminated in October at NXT TakeOver: Respect, with the team of Finn Bálor and Samoa Joe winning, having defeated Baron Corbin and Rhyno in the final.[2]
The second Classic took place throughout the fall of 2016—again with a 16-team field—which eventually culminating in November at NXT TakeOver: Toronto, where it was won by The Authors of Pain, having defeated TM-61.[3][4]
There was no tournament held in 2017 after taking an extra half year to switch to a winter/early spring schedule, returning in 2018. Now featuring an eight-team field, the 2018 Classic culminated at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans,[5] the night before WrestleMania 34. It was won by Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly of The Undisputed Era, who successfully defended their NXT Tag Team Championship in a Winners Take All Triple Threat match against both tournament finalists, The Authors of Pain and Roderick Strong and Pete Dunne.
The fourth Classic was held in February and March 2019. Aleister Black and Ricochet won the eight-team tournament, ultimately defeating The Forgotten Sons (Wesley Blake and Steve Cutler) in the final on March 13 during the NXT tapings.
The fifth Classic was announced during the January 1, 2020 episode of NXT. Again featuring an eight-team field, for the first time the tournament included teams from sister brand NXT UK, with both brands having four teams each in the tournament.[6] All four first-round matches featured direct NXT vs. NXT UK matchups, and the semifinals and final also wound up featuring NXT teams vs. NXT UK teams. The BroserWeights (Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne) representing NXT won the tournament, defeating NXT UK's Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson and James Drake) on the live January 29, 2020 episode of NXT in the final.
The sixth Classic was announced during the December 30, 2020 episode of NXT, and began on January 13, 2021.[7][8] In 2021, the field increased back to its original format of 16 teams. In addition, teams from 205 Live—which like NXT UK is a subsidiary/sister brand under the NXT banner—would also participate in the tournament (with some matches taking place on 205 Live), as well as NXT alumni the Lucha House Party (now members of the Raw brand), who were invited as guest entrants.[9] Also in 2021, the first women's version of the tournament was announced on January 6, and began on January 20, with matches taking place on both NXT and 205 Live, which also marked the first women's matches to be held on 205 Live.[10]
The seventh Classic was announced during the January 4, 2022 on New Year's Evil.[11] The eight-team men's tournament began on January 18, while the women's tournament began on February 22.[12][13]
The eighth Classic was announced during the October 10, 2023 episode of NXT by Cody Rhodes who serves as special guest General Manager for the night.[14][15] The men's tournament began on the January 9, 2024 episode of NXT.[16]
The winners of the tournament have their names inscribed on the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Trophy (commonly referred to as the "Dusty Cup"), which is modeled in part after Rhodes' signature "cowboy" style wrestling boots.[17]
Since 2018, the winners of the men's tournament also receive a future NXT Tag Team Championship match. Similarly, the winners of the women's tournament — established in 2021 — also receive a future tag team championship match. The winner's of the inaugural women's tournament had received a match for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, but after a controversial finish during the title match, the tournament winners were awarded the inaugural NXT Women's Tag Team Championship, with future winners receiving a match for the titles. In 2022, Women's Dusty Cup winners Io Shirai and Kay Lee Ray had earned a match for the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship, but instead opted to add themselves to the NXT Women's Championship match between champion Mandy Rose and Cora Jade at Stand & Deliver to make it a fatal four-way match.
| Event | Date | City | Venue | Winners | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NXT TakeOver: Respect | October 7, 2015 | Winter Park, Florida | Full Sail University | Finn Bálor and Samoa Joe | The original prize was just the trophy and the #1 contender status was not part of the prize yet. |
| NXT TakeOver: Toronto | November 19, 2016 | Toronto, Canada | Air Canada Centre | The Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar) |
Their manager Paul Ellering was suspended in a cage above the ring. |
| NXT TakeOver: New Orleans | April 7, 2018 | New Orleans, Louisiana | Smoothie King Center | The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly) |
This match was also for the NXT Tag Team Championship, held by The Undisputed Era. The Undisputed Era were not official participants in the tournament, but were placed in the final after interfering in the official final between the previous winners, The Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar), and the team of Pete Dunne and Roderick Strong causing a double disqualification. |
| NXT | March 13, 2019 | Winter Park, Florida | Full Sail University | Aleister Black and Ricochet | Earned a match against The War Raiders (Hanson and Rowe) for the NXT Tag Team Championship at NXT TakeOver: New York, where they were unsuccessful. |
| NXT | January 29, 2020 | Winter Park, Florida | Full Sail University | The BroserWeights (Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne) |
Earned a match against The Undisputed Era (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) for the NXT Tag Team Championship at NXT TakeOver: Portland, where they were successful. |
| NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day | February 14, 2021 | Orlando, Florida | WWE Performance Center | MSK (Nash Carter and Wes Lee) |
Originally earned a match against NXT Tag Team Champions Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch for the titles, but due a legitimate injury to Burch, MSK instead wrestled in a Triple Threat match against the Grizzled Young Veterans and Legado Del Fantasma for the vacant titles at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver Night 1, where they were successful. |
| Dakota Kai and Raquel González | Earned a match against Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship on the March 3, 2021 episode of NXT, where they were unsuccessful. However, the next week, NXT General Manager William Regal awarded the new NXT Women's Tag Team Championship to Kai and González after a controversial finish to their WWE Women's Tag Team Championship match. | ||||
| NXT Vengeance Day | February 15, 2022 | Orlando, Florida | WWE Performance Center | The Creed Brothers (Brutus Creed and Julius Creed) |
Earned an NXT Tag Team Championship match against Imperium (Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel) at NXT Roadblock. Weeks later, they suffered an injury, causing MSK (Nash Carter and Wes Lee) to replace them. The Creeds would eventually get their championship match at Stand & Deliver in a triple threat match with Imperium and MSK. |
| NXT | March 22, 2022 | Orlando, Florida | WWE Performance Center | Kay Lee Ray and Io Shirai | Earned an NXT Women's Tag Team Championship match, but instead opted to add themselves to the NXT Women's Championship match between champion Mandy Rose and Cora Jade at Stand & Deliver to make it a fatal four-way match. |
| NXT Vengeance Day | February 4, 2024 | Clarksville, Tennessee | F&M Bank Arena | Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker | Earned an NXT Tag Team Championship match against The Family (Tony D'Angelo and Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo) on the February 13, 2024 episode of NXT, where they were successful. |
| First Round NXT (October 5) | Quarterfinals NXT/Live event (November 2) | Semifinals Live event (November 7) | Final NXT TakeOver: Toronto (November 19) | ||||||||||||
| TM-61 (Nick Miller and Shane Thorne) | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Riddick Moss and Tino Sabbatelli | 9:00[26] | ||||||||||||||
| TM-61 | Pin2 | ||||||||||||||
| Austin Aries and Roderick Strong | 8:07[27] | ||||||||||||||
| Austin Aries and Roderick Strong | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Heavy Machinery (Otis Dozovic and Tucker Knight) | 5:15[28] | ||||||||||||||
| TM-61 | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| SAnitY | 5:42[29] | ||||||||||||||
| Kota Ibushi and T. J. Perkins1 | Sub | ||||||||||||||
| Lince Dorado and Mustafa Ali | 9:03[30] | ||||||||||||||
| Kota Ibushi and T. J. Perkins | 9:45[27] | ||||||||||||||
| SAnitY | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Bobby Roode and Tye Dillinger | 2:00[26] | ||||||||||||||
| SAnitY (Alexander Wolfe and Sawyer Fulton) | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| TM-61 | 8:20[31] | ||||||||||||||
| The Authors of Pain | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| The Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar) | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| The Bollywood Boyz (Gurv Sihra and Harv Sihra) | 2:00[32] | ||||||||||||||
| The Authors of Pain | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| No Way Jose and Rich Swann | 7:15[27] | ||||||||||||||
| No Way Jose and Rich Swann | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Drew Gulak and Tony Nese | 7:12[28] | ||||||||||||||
| The Authors of Pain | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| DIY | 10:27[29] | ||||||||||||||
| The Revival (Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson) | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Andrade Almas and Cedric Alexander | 9:00[32] | ||||||||||||||
| The Revival | [27] | ||||||||||||||
| DIY | Forfeit3 | ||||||||||||||
| DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Ho Ho Lun and Tian Bing | 4:11[30] | ||||||||||||||
1 ^ Ibushi's original partner, Hideo Itami, was injured before the tournament began, and was replaced by T. J. Perkins.
2 ^ Aries could not compete due to injury. William Regal decided that the winners would be determined by a singles match pitting Thorne against Strong.
3 ^ The Revival withdrew from the tournament, asserting that Dawson was injured.
| First Round NXT (March 7, March 14, March 21) | Semifinals NXT (March 28) | Final NXT TakeOver: New Orleans (April 7) | ||||||||||||
| Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Heavy Machinery (Otis Dozovic and Tucker Knight) | 3:39[33] | |||||||||||||
| The Street Profits | 2:31[34] | |||||||||||||
| The Authors of Pain | Pin | |||||||||||||
| TM-61 (Nick Miller and Shane Thorne) | 8:03[35] | |||||||||||||
| The Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar) | Pin | |||||||||||||
| The Authors of Pain The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly)ii | Piniii | |||||||||||||
| Pete Dunne and Roderick Strongiv | 11:38[36] | |||||||||||||
| Riddick Moss and Tino Sabbatelli | 3:45[33] | |||||||||||||
| SAnitY (Alexander Wolfe and Eric Young) | Pin | |||||||||||||
| SAnitY | 10:23[34] | |||||||||||||
| Pete Dunne and Roderick Strong | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan | 8:29[37] | |||||||||||||
| Pete Dunne and Roderick Strongi | Pin | |||||||||||||
i ^ Dunne and Strong replaced the previously announced Tyler Bate and Trent Seven after Bate suffered a knee injury.
ii ^ Undisputed Era was not originally part of this tournament, however they interfered in the original final on the April 4 episode of NXT, causing a double disqualification.
iii ^ This was a Winner Takes All triple threat tag team match that was also for the NXT Tag Team Championship, held by The Undisputed Era.
iv ^ Strong turned on Dunne during the match, joining The Undisputed Era and helping them win the match.
| First Round NXT (Taped February 20, aired March 6)[38] | Semifinals NXT (Taped February 20, aired March 13)[38] | Final NXT (Taped March 13, aired March 27)[39] | ||||||||||||
| Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven and Tyler Bate) | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) | 7:22[40] | |||||||||||||
| Moustache Mountain | 9:38[41] | |||||||||||||
| The Forgotten Sons | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch | 8:23[40] | |||||||||||||
| The Forgotten Sons (Steve Cutler and Wesley Blake) | Pin | |||||||||||||
| The Forgotten Sons | 14:24[42] | |||||||||||||
| Aleister Black and Ricochet | Pin | |||||||||||||
| DIY (Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano) | Pin | |||||||||||||
| The Undisputed Era (Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish) | 14:01[40] | |||||||||||||
| DIY | 13:27[41] | |||||||||||||
| Aleister Black and Ricochet | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Aleister Black and Ricochet | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel | 8:17[40] | |||||||||||||
| First Round NXT (January 8, January 15) | Semifinals NXT (January 22) | Final NXT (January 29) | ||||||||||||
| Imperium (NXT UK) (Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel) | Pin | |||||||||||||
| The Forgotten Sons (NXT) (Steve Cutler and Wesley Blake) | 5:08[43] | |||||||||||||
| Imperium (NXT UK) | 11:23[44] | |||||||||||||
| The BroserWeights (NXT) | Pin | |||||||||||||
| The BroserWeights (NXT) (Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne) | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster (NXT UK) | 18:20[45] | |||||||||||||
| The BroserWeights (NXT) | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Grizzled Young Veterans (NXT UK) | 17:39[46] | |||||||||||||
| Grizzled Young Veterans (NXT UK) (James Drake and Zack Gibson) | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Time Splitters (NXT) (Kushida and Alex Shelley) | 12:00[45] | |||||||||||||
| Grizzled Young Veterans (NXT UK) | Pin | |||||||||||||
| The Undisputed Era (NXT) | 13:00[44] | |||||||||||||
| Gallus (NXT UK) (Mark Coffey and Wolfgang) | 8:51[43] | |||||||||||||
| The Undisputed Era (NXT) (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) | Pin | |||||||||||||
| First Round NXT and 205 Live (January 13–January 22) | Quarterfinals NXT (January 27–February 3) | Semifinals NXT (February 10) | Final NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day (February 14) | ||||||||||||
| The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole and Roderick Strong) | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Breezango (Tyler Breeze and Fandango) | 11:57[47] | ||||||||||||||
| The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole and Roderick Strong) | 17:05[48] | ||||||||||||||
| Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatchera | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Ariya Daivari and Tony Nese | 8:16[10] | ||||||||||||||
| Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher | 11:37[49] | ||||||||||||||
| Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Kushida and Leon Ruff | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| The Way (Johnny Gargano and Austin Theory) | 14:46[50] | ||||||||||||||
| Kushida and Leon Ruff | 9:51[51] | ||||||||||||||
| Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Ever-Rise (Chase Parker and Matt Martel) | 7:58[47] | ||||||||||||||
| Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) | 18:26[52] | ||||||||||||||
| MSK (Nash Carter and Wes Lee) | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| MSK (Nash Carter and Wes Lee) | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Jake Atlas and Isaiah "Swerve" Scott | 8:36[47] | ||||||||||||||
| MSK (Nash Carter and Wes Lee) | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Drake Maverick and Killian Dain | 11:04[51] | ||||||||||||||
| August Grey and Curt Stallion | 10:01[53] | ||||||||||||||
| Drake Maverick and Killian Dain | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| MSK (Nash Carter and Wes Lee) | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Legado Del Fantasma (Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza) | 9:34[49] | ||||||||||||||
| Lucha House Partyb (Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado) | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Imperium (Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel) | 9:54[50] | ||||||||||||||
| Lucha House Party (Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado) | 6:23[48] | ||||||||||||||
| Legado Del Fantasma (Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza) | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| The Bollywood Boyz (Samir Singh and Sunil Singh) | 9:45[53] | ||||||||||||||
| Legado Del Fantasma (Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza) | Pin | ||||||||||||||
a ^ Ciampa and Thatcher replaced Ashante "Thee" Adonis and Desmond Troy after they were both (kayfabe) injured by Karrion Kross.
b ^ Lucha House Party were guest participants.
| First Round NXT and 205 Live (January 20–January 29) | Semifinals NXT (February 3–February 10) | Final NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day (February 14) | ||||||||||||
| Cora Jade and Gigi Dolin | 5:56[10] | |||||||||||||
| The Way (Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell) | Pinc | |||||||||||||
| The Way (Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell) | 14:19[49] | |||||||||||||
| Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart | Sub | |||||||||||||
| Marina Shafir and Zoey Stark | 7:52[54] | |||||||||||||
| Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart | 17:40[52] | |||||||||||||
| Dakota Kai and Raquel González | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Mercedes Martinez and Toni Storm | 9:27[50] | |||||||||||||
| Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter | 13:01[48] | |||||||||||||
| Dakota Kai and Raquel González | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Aliyah and Jessi Kamea | 5:56[51] | |||||||||||||
| Dakota Kai and Raquel González | Pin | |||||||||||||
c ^ This was the very first women's match to be held on 205 Live.
| First round NXT (January 18-January 25) | Semifinals NXT (February 8) | Final NXT Vengeance Day (February 15) | ||||||||||||
| MSK (Wes Lee and Nash Carter) | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Jacket Time (Ikemen Jiro and Kushida) | 11:42[55] | |||||||||||||
| MSK | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Edris Enofé and Malik Blade | 9:29[56] | |||||||||||||
| Edris Enofé and Malik Blade | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Legado Del Fantasma (Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza) | 3:17[57] | |||||||||||||
| MSK | 9:36[58] | |||||||||||||
| The Creed Brothers | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs | 5:33[57] | |||||||||||||
| The Creed Brothers (Brutus Creed and Julius Creed) | Pin | |||||||||||||
| The Creed Brothers | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Grizzled Young Veterans | 12:01[56] | |||||||||||||
| Chase University (Andre Chase and Bodhi Hayward) | 5:11[55] | |||||||||||||
| Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) | Pin | |||||||||||||
| First round NXT (February 22-March 1) | Semifinals NXT Roadblock (March 8) | Final NXT (March 22) | ||||||||||||
| Io Shirai and Kay Lee Ray | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Amari Miller and Lash Legend | 2:44[59] | |||||||||||||
| Io Shirai and Kay Lee Ray | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter | 7:59[60] | |||||||||||||
| Diamond Mine (Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley) | 3:26[59] | |||||||||||||
| Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Io Shirai and Kay Lee Ray | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Wendy Choo and Dakota Kai | 10:22[61] | |||||||||||||
| Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta | 5:21[62] | |||||||||||||
| Wendy Choo and Dakota Kai | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Wendy Choo and Dakota Kai | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Cora Jade and Raquel González | 10:42[60] | |||||||||||||
| Cora Jade and Raquel González | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Valentina Feroz and Yulisa León | 4:47[62] | |||||||||||||
| First round NXT (January 9–January 16) | Semifinals NXT (January 23–January 30) | Final NXT Vengeance Day (February 4) | ||||||||||||
| Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Gallus (Mark Coffey and Wolfgang) | 10:54[16] | |||||||||||||
| Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Axiom and Nathan Frazer | 12:04[63] | |||||||||||||
| Axiom and Nathan Frazer | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Hank Walker and Tank Ledger | 4:45[16] | |||||||||||||
| Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams | 14:27[64] | |||||||||||||
| Chase University (Duke Hudson and Riley Osborne) | 9:43[65] | |||||||||||||
| Latino World Order (Cruz Del Toro and Joaquin Wilde) | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Latino World Order (Cruz Del Toro and Joaquin Wilde) | 12:33[66] | |||||||||||||
| Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Edris Enofé and Malik Blade | 12:08[65] | |||||||||||||
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