The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is making its return in the new year.
It was announced during tonight’s NXT that the Dusty Classic will return in 2020. The teams for the tournament will be announced on the New Year’s Day episode of NXT.
Tonight’s episode was the final live edition of NXT for 2019. The New Year’s Day show will also feature the announcement of the winners of NXT’s year-end awards.
This will be the fifth Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic that WWE has produced. Samoa Joe & Finn Balor won the inaugural tournament in 2015, The Authors of Pain won it in 2016, The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly) won in 2018, and Aleister Black & Ricochet won last year.
WWE hasn’t announced when they’ll be crowning the winners of this year’s tournament.
The Undisputed Era’s O’Reilly & Bobby Fish are the current NXT Tag Team Champions.
After hyping a “special announcement” for this week’s episode of NXT, WWE revealed that the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is returning.
It will be an eight-team tournament, with the winners getting an NXT Tag Team title shot against the War Raiders at TakeOver: New York on the Friday of WrestleMania week. First round matches will begin airing on NXT television on Wednesday, March 6.
The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish), Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel, The Forgotten Sons (Wesley Blake & Steve Cutler), and The Street Profits were the first four teams to be publicly announced for the tournament. Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano, Ricochet & Aleister Black, Tyler Bate & Trent Seven, and Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch were revealed to be the other four teams at Wednesday’s NXT TV Tapings.
Bate & Seven vs. The Street Profits and Lorcan & Burch vs. The Forgotten Sons are the first round matches on the left side of the bracket. The matchups on the right side are O’Reilly & Fish vs. Ciampa & Gargano and Ricochet & Black vs. Aichner & Barthel.
WWE filmed the first round matches and semifinals of the Dusty Classic at Wednesday’s tapings. There’s one more set of tapings in March that will feature the final build to TakeOver: New York.
O’Reilly & Adam Cole were last year’s Dusty Classic winners, The Authors of Pain won it in 2016, and Finn Balor & Samoa Joe won the inaugural tournament in 2015.
The Big News: TM-61 and The Authors of Pain both advanced to the finals of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
The Medium News: Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura had their contract signing for their championship match at NXT TakeOver: Toronto.
The Little Beaver Sized News: It was also announced that The Revival would defend their NXT Tag Team Championship in a two-out-of-three falls match against DIY at TakeOver.
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The show started with Charly Caruso previewing the semifinals in the Dusty Classic. Both matches were held in Los Angeles and are airing tonight.
The Authors of Pain defeated DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) in a Dusty Classic semifinal match
I still find it funny that they make sure to put “previously recorded” on the screen while airing these house show matches. The Authors of Pain did perhaps the most unique move I have seen in a while; Gargano went for a suicide dive and got caught, so Ciampa went for one of his own and the AOP threw Gargano into a charging Ciampa.
Akam and Rezar got the heat on Gargano. While this was a fine match, I still think Tucker Knight and Otis Dozovic from a few weeks ago made for a better team and would be a better Authors of Pain. Ciampa got the hot tag and ran wild, including giving Rezar a German suplex that sent him ass over teakettle.
Rezar then managed to catch Ciampa on his shoulders while holding Gargano in his arms. He dropped Ciampa with a Samoan drop while throwing Gargano overhead with a fallaway slam.
Paul Ellering distracted the referee while The Revival appeared from out of nowhere and attacked Gargano outside the ring! AOP then pinned Ciampa with The Last Chapter.
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“The Return” is happening next week.
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Tye Dillinger cut a promo earlier today saying Bobby Roode has made a career of “backstabbing people in the back.” However, at NXT TakeOver: Toronto, he will kick Roode’s ass and Toronto will now be known as the Perfect 10 City. Somehow I doubt that.
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TM-61 defeated SAnitY in a Dusty Classic semifinal match
“Four individuals bound together with twisted malice” was how Tom Phillips, the new fourth announcer of SmackDown Live, described SAnitY. He also called them a “Quartet of Crazy.”
Before the bell even rang we got a four-on-two beat down on TM-61. The match eventually began with Shane Thorne having to go two-on-one since Nick Miller was beaten up too badly to stand in the corner, at least at the bell.
Thorne came close to making the tag as Miller fought his way back to the apron, but Alexander Wolfe knocked Miller down. Thorne did a very good job of basically working a handicap match with the two members of SAnitY.
Miller got the hot tag and we got an awkwardly placed crowd shot after a few seconds. When we came back, Miller was covering one of SAnitY and they were both talking to the referee. The finish saw the heels go for their finish, but Thorne dropkicked one of them and Miller pinned the other with a jackknife cradle.
So, in a match that I can’t believe anyone saw coming, it will be TM-61 vs. The Authors of Pain in the finals of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic at NXT TakeOver: Toronto
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NXT General Manager William Regal announced that The Revival will defend the NXT Tag Team Championship against DIY in a two-out-of-three falls match at NXT TakeOver: Toronto.
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Bobby Roode said that at TakeOver, Tye Dillinger will prove that he is the perfect loser and the perfect failure, while Roode will make it glorious.
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Ember Moon defeated Rachael Evers
We were magically whisked away from Los Angeles and back to Full Sail University for this bout. Rachael, the daughter of Paul Ellering, borrowed the last name of her trainer, Lance Storm, for this match.
Evers looked good, but no one thought she had a chance of winning this match. Moon made her comeback and looked like she was taking Evers’ head clean off. Moon hit her back handspring corner clothesline before hitting her top rope stunner for the pin.
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Next week: Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. Cedric Alexander
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Finally, we got the contract signing for the NXT Championship Match at TakeOver. If it feels like NXT does a lot of contract signings, it’s because they do at least one before every TakeOver. The ring was filled with security people to keep champion and challenger apart. All I could see was one guy, with his back to the camera, with divots in his head.
After Nakamura’s entrance, Joe came out…and then turned around and left. He returned with his own table and chair that he set up on the ramp. Joe said this was for his own safety, but if Nakamura ran his mouth he would put down Mr. Regal’s rabid animal.
Joe bragged about beating down Nakamura and said that he could do it anytime. He called himself the benevolent future champion and said he will not give Nakamura his opportunity for revenge in front of the mouth breathers in Orlando, but will do it in Toronto.
Joe told Mr. Regal to do something useful and bring him the contract. When Regal tried to speak up, Joe shouted him down and told him to hurry up.
Regal brought him the contract, which Joe signed and then dropped out of Regal’s reach when the GM reached for it. Regal maintained his composure and brought the contract back to Nakamura to sign, which the NXT Champion dropped on the mat before beating up all of the security.
After destroying six security guards, Nakamura finally signed the contract. Three referees came out to keep champion and challenger apart, which is hilarious since Nakamura beat up six large men by himself, it took three skinny referees to keep them apart.
Anyway, next week it is already the go-home show for Toronto! What will happen? Only one way to find out. Until then, make sure to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
The second annual NXT Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic kicked off last Wednesday. Where last year’s tournament featured more individual talent paired up for tournament purposes, this year the focus is more clearly on the team aspect, with over half the field being established tag teams.
The first two matches are in the books, but there is plenty to look forward to as the tournament kicks into high gear, and some potential storylines moving forward. The biggest storyline of which is that I can now no longer type the word SAnitY in any other way.
Block A
Hopefully this becomes a showcase for TM61 to show what they can do. The former TMDK haven’t really found their stride in NXT, and I wonder how much of that is due to the current strength of the division, or if the two Aussies just haven’t worked themselves into the rhythm of WWE.
They have all the tools to succeed, they can work, they look the part, and Shane Thorne has an odd, weirdly captivating type of charisma. I think they just need some time and a little room to breathe; hopefully the tournament is their launching pad. From a logical perspective it should be based on the bracket. Let’s look at the teams in Block A:
TM61
Tino Sabbatelli and Riddick Moss
Austin Aries and maybe Roderick Strong? Probably Roderick Strong?
Niko Bogojevic and Tucker Knight
Hideo Itami and Kota Ibushi
Lince Dorado and Mustafa Ali
Bobby Roode and Tye Dillinger
SAnitY
Who has the most to gain from winning this, both for the exposure and storyline reasons? It has to be TM61; everyone else either doesn’t matter yet, or is moving on to other things.
The tag team division is, inarguably, NXT’s strongest division right now so it makes you wonder why they put all the established teams in one bracket, and most of the teams that were thrown together in this one, I mean, even throw The Bollywood Boyz in this bracket just to balance it out.
Block B
If this were soccer, this would be called the group of death. With The Authors of Pain, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa, and The Revival, it’s loaded with teams that have legitimate, storyline interactions with each other. In all likelihood the second round will have Gargano and Ciampa going up against The Revival, which is a match that can, and should, headline a TakeOver in the very near future.
I suppose that is why this year feels different than last. It was somewhat of a fait accompli that Finn Balor and Samoa Joe would win last year’s tournament, but this year not so much. There are multiple ways it could end, and that makes it so, so great. It’s easy to envision The Authors of Pain steamrolling their way through the bracket and winning it, establishing them as the new dominant team in NXT. It’s just as easy to see Gargano and Ciampa overcoming The Revival, winning the tournament, and continuing their run towards the titles.
Heck, it’s even easier to picture The Revival winning the whole thing because they really are the top guys they rightfully claim to be.
We were built to fall apart
It’s not hard to make a compelling case that at least four of the teams in the tournament won’t exist after it concludes. The easiest call, aside from the already televised Cedric Alexander and Andrade “Cien” Almas break up is the sad, sad destruction of Bobby Roode and Tye Dillinger.
Of course they’ll lose in the first round to SAnitY and then feud with each other leading up to TakeOver. The NXT crowd loves the Perfect 10, and they seem to have finally found his perfect, no pun intended, foil in Roode. Maybe this can be what pushes Dillinger over as a babyface and gets him out of his role as the guy who jobs to people making their debut.
That said, how greatwould it be if they kept the two of them together as a team, and let them make a run in the tournament? The most over entrance combined with a guy the crowd is dying to see succeed? That would be fantastic. The turn is so telegraphed, so expected, that keeping them together would be a fresh deviation from the standard WWE trope.
The breakup that could happen, and I would argue could get the company the most mileage, would be a breakup of Gargano and Ciampa. It has clearly been building. There are already seeds of dissension planted with Johnny Wrestling tapping out at TakeOver: Brooklyn, and they’ve proven to have incredible in-ring chemistry against each other, as proven in their stellar match during the CWC.
With NXT being somewhat light on compelling singles feuds, this would arguably be the top feud in the entire company, even more so than Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura. That isn’t so much a feud as it is Joe being obsessed with the idea of beating Nakamura and getting the title back. But a Gargano vs. Ciampa program, with all their history, with how much they’ve promoted their friendship, would be incredible.
It would complete the story of their coming to NXT, as they came in together at the last Dusty Classic. How fitting would it be for them to fall apart a year later?
Tranquilo, baby
NXT will sometimes display a penchant to debut someone with not much of a story other than that the audience already knows they’re good. For the most part that works (Nakamura, Finn Balor, Bobby Roode, etc.), but there are times where it just doesn’t. The debut and packaging of Almas was bizarre from the start. The hype videos were decent, and well produced as always, but when he debuted everything just kind of fizzled.
It fizzled, and then felt completely flat compared to the more bombastic and successful debuts that were happening around the same time. The decision to book him against Bobby Roode at TakeOver: Brooklyn was, objectively, terrible if you’re trying to get him over as a babyface. He was doomed from the start.
But having him turn heel with a post-match beat down of Alexander was a wonderful decision. The Alexander beating was pitch perfect — he is crazy over at Full Sail so the turn on him felt that much more meaningful.
Kota Ibushi
There really isn’t anyone like Kota Ibushi in the world of wrestling. Someone this prodigiously talented, someone this popular, someone this creative, someone this…different?
It’s very rare for someone to come along and stay so true to what they stand for in the face of a potentially massive financial gain. I believe it when Ibushi says he doesn’t wrestle for the money. I believe him when he talks about wanting to be able to wrestle for different companies at the same time. I also believe that someone this gifted will, at some point, find themselves on the biggest stage.
Performers gravitate towards a spotlight, and no one can offer a spotlight quite as big as WWE. Ibushi can continue working as a freelancer, as Tiger Mask W, or in any form he prefers, but it’s worth wondering if the lure of this particular spotlight will be strong enough to ever bring him over permanently.
The booking of the Ibushi and Itami team will be telling as to Ibushi’s future. If they make a deep run, could the tea leaves paint a positive future for Ibushi inside a WWE ring? Keep an eye on Japan, and see if the Tiger Mask W thing goes anywhere, it’s hard to believe either company would push someone that’s not under contract. Who knows, maybe Ibushi loses the mask, confronts Kenny Omega, and the collective wrestling world just straight up passes out.
The Big News: Andrade “Cien” Almas turned heel on Cedric Alexander after the duo lost their tag team main event.
The Medium News: The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic kicked off with The Revival and The Authors of Pain picking up victories.
The Little Beaver Sized News: Samoa Joe destroyed the debuting Dan Matha and gave William Regal one week to give him Shinsuke Nakamura.
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The Authors of Pain defeated The Bollywood Boyz in a first round Dusty Classic match
Straight out of the CWC, Harv and Gurv Sihra are here to go two-on-two with the undefeated Authors of Pain. This was not the night for the duo from India, but they did get a little bit of offense in along the way.
Akam and Rezar made short work of the former GFW Tag Team Champions, finishing them off with the combo side Russian leg sweep/lariat, which is called The Last Chapter.
In the next round, they will face the winner of No Way Jose & Rich Swann vs Tony Nese & Drew Gulak.
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Rich Swann defeated Patrick Clark
Clark held up his side of the match and didn’t look totally out of place, but between the two of them it’s obvious the right person is on Raw right now. Swann hit a superkick and won after a handstand into a standing moonsault.
I love Rich Swann’s theme.
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We saw video of Cedric Alexander vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas from a few weeks ago and how it now leads to them as teammates in the Dusty Classic against The Revival tonight.
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Last week, Liv Morgan was getting checked on in the trainers room when Billie Kay and Peyton Royce walked up and made fun of her.
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Peyton Royce w/Billie Kay defeated Danielle Kamela
NXT has put the two Australian women together here, as Royce and Kay are friends. Kamela was both a dancer and a cheerleader before trying out at the Performance Center. Kamela has a lower center of gravity, which made her fall hard when Royce kicked her in the face.
This was a very basic match. The fans got behind Kamela when she was being held in a chinlock, but this was not her night. Royce won with a knee to the side of the head and a fisherman suplex. Tom Phillips called it a northern lights suplex, and Corey Graves said Mauro Ranallo wouldn’t have screwed that up.
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Bobby Roode & Tye Dillinger cut a promo backstage, with Roode not allowing Dillinger to talk at first and then doing his Glorious pose when Dillinger tried talking.
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The debut of Dan Matha didn’t happen
Dan Matha actually doesn’t look nearly as ripped when walking to the ring as he did in video packages.
We were spared from seeing his debut by Samoa Joe running out and beating the crap out of Matha, much to the fans delight. At first all we saw were fans laughing and looking off to the side, then Joe came out and destroyed him.
Not that I was looking majorly forward to this debut, but it seems weird that they built it up for weeks just for him to be a guy taken out by Joe in 30 seconds.
Anyway, Joe cut the promo he has every week where he orders William Regal to give him Nakamura or the title, finally giving him one week to make a decision.
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No Way Jose & Rich Swann cut a promo saying they became a team because the NXT Universe wanted them to be partners. They ended their promo by singing “Can you handle this? No way Jose.”
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Sanity is coming next week. That’s good. Sometimes we all need help. Wait…wrong kind of Sanity.
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NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival defeated Cedric Alexander & Andrade “Cien” Almas in a first round Dusty Classic match
Alexander and Almas worked well together, but The Revival are a really good team. It was last year in the Dusty Classic that they got the start of their push, making it to the semifinals before losing to Samoa Joe & Finn Balor.
Revival got the heat on Almas, specifically targeting his left shoulder. Dash and Dawson really have perfected that “80’s tag team” gimmick, but are not doing it in a gimmicky way, if that makes sense. They are a modern tag team that uses 80’s psychology in their matches.
Alexander got the hot tag and took out both men, and he probably would have fared better in a handicap match, as Almas was more of a hindrance than a help. At the end of the day, the champs picked up the win, pinning Alexander with a Shatter Machine.
The Revival will now face the winners of Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa vs. HoHo Lun & Bin Wang in the next round. I don’t know if that match has been taped, but I think it’s safe to assume Gargano & Ciampa will be advancing.
Almas snapped after the match, turning heel by attacking Alexander! I guess he read what I wrote and decided to take it out on Alexander. Almas dropped Alexander face first on the ring steps before walking out to a chorus of boos.
That does it for this week. Next week Sanity debuts, Joe gets his answer from Mr. Regal, and the Dusty Classic continues. Until then remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
