The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is an annual professional wrestling tag team tournament held by the American professional wrestling 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. The tournament was established following the death of WWE Hall of Fame wrestler Dusty Rhodes, who was the creator of and 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.

History 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 NXTs 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.

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. 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, 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. 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. 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. 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.

The seventh Classic was announced during the January 4, 2022 on New Year's Evil. The eight-team men's tournament began on January 18, while the women's tournament began on February 22.

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. The men's tournament began on the January 9, 2024 episode of NXT.

The ninth Classic was announced during the September 15, 2026 episode of NXT, and will begin on September 22, 2026. It will feature 14 teams from WWE's Raw, SmackDown, NXT, and Evolve brands, as well as their sister promotion Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA).

Prize 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. 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.

List of winners +Tournament summaryNo.WinnersFinalsEvent Date Venue City1NXT TakeOver: Respect Full Sail University Winter Park, FL2NXT TakeOver: Toronto Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario, Canada3NXT TakeOver: New Orleans Smoothie King Center New Orleans, LA4NXT Full Sail University Winter Park, FL56NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day WWE Performance Center Orlando, FL 78Vengeance Day 9NXT 10Vengeance Day F&M Bank Arena Clarksville, TN11TBA TBA TBA

Championship opportunity Men's Starting with the 2019 edition, every tournament winner has earned a future NXT Tag Team Championship match. – Victory – Loss +No.WinnersEvent DateResult1NXT TakeOver: New York 2NXT TakeOver: Portland 3NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver 4Stand & Deliver 5NXT

Women's Every tournament winner has earned a future title match either for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship or NXT Women's Tag Team Championship. – Victory – Loss +No. WinnersChampionship matchChampionship Event DateResult1WWE Women's Tag Team Championship NXT 2NXT Women's Championship Stand & Deliver

Editions 2015 tournament

The inaugural edition of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic began on the August 13, 2025 taping of NXT and culminated at NXT TakeOver: Respect on October 7, 2015. This single-elimination tournament consisted of 16 tag teams. In the tournament final, Finn Bálor and Samoa Joe defeated Baron Corbin and Rhyno to become the inaugural winners.

2016 tournament

The second edition of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic began on the October 5, 2016, episode of NXT and culminated at NXT TakeOver: Toronto on November 19, 2016. This single-elimination tournament consisted of 16 tag teams. In the tournament final, The Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar) defeated TM-61 (Nick Miller and Shane Thorne).

2018 tournament

The third edition of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic began on the March 7, 2018, episode of NXT and culminated at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans on April 7, 2018. This single-elimination tournament consisted of eight tag teams. In the tournament final, The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly) retained the NXT Tag Team Championship in a Winner Takes All triple threat tag team match against The Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar) and the team of Pete Dunne and Roderick Strong.

2019 tournament The fourth edition of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic began on the March 6, 2019, episode of NXT and culminated on the March 27 episode. This single-elimination tournament consisted of eight tag teams. In the tournament final, Aleister Black and Ricochet defeated The Forgotten Sons (Steve Cutler and Wesley Blake).

2020 tournament The fifth edition of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic began on the January 8, 2020, episode of NXT and culminated on the January 29 episode. This single-elimination tournament consisted of eight tag teams, equally split between NXT and NXT UK. In the first round, each match featured a tag team from NXT facing against a tag team from NXT UK. In the tournament final, NXT's The BroserWeights (Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne) defeated NXT UK's Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson).

2021 tournaments Men's

The sixth edition of the Men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic began on the January 13, 2021, episode of NXT and culminated at NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day on February 14, 2021. This single-elimination tournament consisted of 16 tag teams. In the tournament final, MSK (Nash Carter and Wes Lee) defeated Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson).

Women's

The inaugural Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic began on the January 20, 2021, episode of NXT and culminated at NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day on February 14, 2021. This single-elimination tournament consisted of eight tag teams. In the tournament final, Dakota Kai and Raquel González defeated Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart.

2022 tournaments Men's

The seventh edition of the Men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic began on the January 18, 2022, episode of NXT and culminated at Vengeance Day on February 15, 2022. This single-elimination tournament consisted of 8 tag teams. In the tournament final, The Creed Brothers (Brutus Creed and Julius Creed) defeated MSK (Wes Lee and Nash Carter).

Women's The second edition of the Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic began on the February 22, 2022, episode of NXT and culminated on the March 22 episode. This single-elimination tournament consisted of eight tag teams. In the tournament final, Io Shirai and Kay Lee Ray defeated Wendy Choo and Dakota Kai.

2024 tournament

The 2024 edition of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic began on the January 9, 2024, episode of NXT and culminated at Vengeance Day on February 4, 2024. This single-elimination tournament consisted of 8 tag teams. In the tournament final, Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker defeated Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams.

2026 tournament The ninth edition of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic began on the September 22, 2026, episode of NXT. This single-elimination tournament features 14 tag teams from WWE's Raw, SmackDown, NXT, and Evolve brands, as well as their sister promotion Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). NXT Tag Team Champions The Vanity Project (Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes) and AAA World Tag Team Champions The Wagner Brothers (El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. and Galeno) received byes in the first round due to their championship status; they automatically advanced to the quarterfinals.

See also List of WWE pay-per-view and WWE Network events

References