The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is returning for 2021.
During tonight’s episode of NXT, it was announced that the 2021 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic will begin on NXT in two weeks (Wednesday, January 13). The team that wins the tournament will receive the Dusty Cup and a shot at the NXT Tag Team titles.
The full list of teams and the bracket for this year’s tournament will be revealed on NXT New Year’s Evil next Wednesday. It was announced tonight that Adam Cole & Roderick Strong will be representing Undisputed Era in the Dusty Classic.
The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic first took place in 2015. With the exception of 2017, the tournament has been held annually since then.
Finn Balor & Samoa Joe, The Authors of Pain, Undisputed Era’s Cole & Kyle O’Reilly, Aleister Black & Ricochet, and Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne are the teams that have won the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
Riddle & Dunne defeated The Grizzled Young Veterans in last year’s tournament finals. The 2021 Dusty Classic was announced on commentary during a match where The Grizzled Young Veterans defeated Breezango tonight.
The winners of this year’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic were crowned on NXT last night.
Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne won the Dusty Classic by defeating The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) in last night’s main event. In addition to winning the Dusty Cup, Riddle & Dunne will challenge Undisputed Era’s Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish for the NXT Tag Team titles at TakeOver: Portland.
Adam Cole’s challenger for TakeOver was also confirmed last night. In Portland, Tommaso Ciampa will get a shot to reclaim the title he never lost.
Tegan Nox and Dakota Kai faced off in a grudge match last night, and Dominik Dijakovic took a step toward becoming the first challenger for Keith Lee’s North American title.
Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne are the winners of this year’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
The finals of the tournament headlined tonight’s NXT, with Riddle & Dunne defeating The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) to win the Dusty Cup. In addition to getting the trophy, Riddle & Dunne will challenge for Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish’s NXT Tag Team titles at TakeOver: Portland.
Riddle & Dunne were put together as a team for the Dusty Classic. They defeated Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster in the first round of the tournament, Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) in last week’s semifinals, and The Grizzled Young Veterans tonight.
This was the fifth Dusty Classic tournament that NXT has held. Samoa Joe & Finn Balor, The Authors of Pain, Undisputed Era (Adam Cole & O’Reilly), and Aleister Black & Ricochet were the winners in previous years.
The Moda Center in Portland, Oregon is hosting NXT TakeOver: Portland on Sunday, February 16. Here’s the updated card for the special:
NXT Champion Adam Cole defending against Tommaso Ciampa
NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley defending against Bianca Belair
NXT Tag Team Champions Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) defending against Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne
The winners of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic will be crowned on tonight’s episode of NXT.
Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne will take on The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) in the Dusty Classic finals. In addition to winning the Dusty Cup, the team that wins tonight’s finals will challenge Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish for the NXT Tag Team titles at TakeOver: Portland on February 16.
Riddle & Dunne defeated Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster and Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) in the first two rounds of the tournament, while The Grizzled Young Veterans defeated Alex Shelley & Kushida and O’Reilly & Fish.
A grudge match between Tegan Nox and Dakota Kai is also advertised for tonight, WWE is hyping that NXT Champion Adam Cole’s challenger for TakeOver: Portland will be revealed, and Robert Stone has said that Chelsea Green will be in action.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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The show opened with a video recap of Worlds Collide in Houston from this past weekend. Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix and Nigel McGuiness are the announcers for tonight’s show. Beth Phoenix spoke briefly about Edge’s return at the Royal Rumble on Sunday.
Finn Balor defeated Trent Seven
They showed a clip of an angle shot last night at Raw. As Seven was getting into his car, Balor snuck up on Seven and threatened him for “sticking his nose” in Balor’s business.
Before Seven could get to the ring, Balor took Seven out with a baseball slide dropkick before the bell. Once the match started, Balor continued pummeling Seven in and out of the ring for a bit.
Seven countered after a few minutes with an inside cradle for two, Balor put him back on the mat with a Slingblade. It was around here where NXT cut to a commerical while the match continued in the left inset screen.
Balor looked to take most of the offense during the break, but Seven was back by the time we were back. He laid in some nasty chops that left Balor with a bright red chest, then landed the Acid Rainmaker for two. When Seven went to the top turnbuckle, Balor clipped his knee and knocked him to the mat. Balor used the Coup de Grace diving double-stomp and followed up with 1916 for the win. Good match that builds Balor’s angle for Takeover in Portland in a few weeks. Balor has been excellent in his heel role recently.
The Broserweights were interviewed by Cathy Kelley next. Dunne said he was going to break Gibson, and Riddle mentioned he’d show why Dunne is the “life of the party,” which got laughs.
Next was a quick preview video of Dakota Kai vs. Tegan Nox’s bout for later on in the evening.
Shotzi Blackheart defeated Deonna Purazzo
Short match. Blackheart came out in a small tank and a battle helmet type thing. When Purazzo came out, she waved off the tank, now parked atop the entrance.
Purazzo worked over Blackheart’s left arm early on. When Blackheart went for a flying armdrag, Purazzo blocked it and continued targeting Blackheart’s arm. There were a number of chants for Shotzi in this. She landed a Question Mark Kick (Arisa Hoshiki’s Brazilian Kick), then went to the top and landed a diving senton for the win. It was short but OK, and Blackheart sounds to be popular with the Full Sail crowd.
Next up was another video package of from NXT vs. NXT UK from Worlds Collide last Saturday.
Keith Lee walked to the ring for a promo next. The crowd sang and chanted for him as the announce team explained how he “stopped” Brock Lesnar at the Rumble this weekend. The crowd chanted “you deserve it” at Lee for winning the NXT North American title. Lee has a great voice and should be on the mic as much as possible.
Before Lee could announce his next challenger for the title, Punishment Martinez’s music hit. Inside the ring, he held the mic upside, for some reason, and talked about how he gets what he wants, which is the North American title. He said all he needed to know is how Lee was going to give the belt to him. On cue, Dominic Dijakovic’s music hit. Dijakovic got in the ring and implied that because of the past between he and Lee, referring to the PWG matches back in 2017, that he deserves the first shot at the title, not the ” bootleg Marilyn Manson,” referring to Martinez. As Lee left the ring, Martinez and Dijokovic got into it, and within moments a ref was in the ring and we had a match.
Dominic Dijakovic defeated Damian Priest
Dijakovic landed a springboard splash from the middle of the second rope moments after the bell, but Priest recovered and used a Razor’s Edge onto the apron to take Dijakovic out before the next commercial break.
After commercials, we saw Dijokovic use a release vertical suplex on Priest. He used a chokeslam into a Liger Bomb for two, then an Asai moonsault to the floor. Priest did a flip dive to the floor. They landed simultaneous high kicks and were out for a few. Priest used an avalanche reverse frankensteiner off the top rope. He’s 6’5″, Dijokovic is 6’7″, in case you’re wondering. Dijakovic kicked out of that and ultimately used his modified GTS to put Priest away.
The crowd really enjoyed this but what it was, at its core, were two huge, athletic guys doing crazy moves. Not much selling, plus the audience at home couldn’t see half the match. But again, the crowd sounded to enjoy it.
After cutting to a brief segment with the Grizzled Young Veterans ahead of the Dusty Rhodes Classic match later on.
Tomasso Ciampa told Cathey Kelly that “Goldie’s coming home,” referring to the NXT Championship. When NXT returned from commercials, we saw most members of the Undisputed Era laid out backstage with Ciampa standing over them. People chanted “Daddy’s home.” Ciampa brought a table with him and brought it into the ring and spraypainted a yellow X onto it.
Adam Cole found his unit laid out and then ran out to the ring to confront Ciampa. Cole asked Ciampa if he was supposed to feel sorry because he was injured. Ciampa said Cole’s belt belong’s to him, “Daddy.” Ciampa then said he was going to take back the title, and his life, in Portland at Takeover. He also said he was going to power bomb Cole through the X he made on the table in the ring.
William Regal came out and said that while Ciampa was taking out the Undisputed Era backstage, he was with Cole signing a contract for Takeover, and Cole didn’t care who his opponent was. Cole went into the ring after this to confront Ciampa, who tried taking Cole out ate a shot to the head with a microphone, which looked to have busted the top of Ciampa’s head open. Ciampa then power bombed Cole through the table, then noticed the blood on his head and smeared it down Cole’s NXT title contract. Great visual.
They plugged Bianca Blair’s Women’s Rumble appearance over the weekend, where she was the number two entry. She’ll have a segment with Rhea Ripley on next week’s TV.
New NXT Cruiserweight champion Jordan Devlin will also be in attendance next week, and they showed a few clips of his title win from Worlds Collide this past weekend in his fatal four-way against Angel Garza, Isaiah Scott and Travis Banks.
Tegan Nox defeated Dakota Kai
Kai had the video footage of her turning on Nox in November at Takeover. Nox went after Kai with her kneebrace right at the bell and the two began brawling around ringside early on, setting a nice grudge match feel from the top. Kai took Nox out with a huge Yakuza kick and then grabbed a chair but wasn’t able to use it, ultimately; before Kai went to smash Nox with said chair, Candace LeRae came out and took the chair from her. Kai, now flustered, got back into the ring and ate another kneebrace shot, followed by her finish, the Shiniest Wizard, for the win. This was great for what it was, but it was way too short. It felt like this was a teaser for a rematch over the next few weeks. All said, though, it was a good, quick brawl.
A mysterious vignette aired for something happening on 2/5/20.
Kayden Carter defeated Chelsea Green (w/ Robert Stone)
I’m positive Kayden Carter was announced as being from Florida not long ago. She’s from the Phillippines now. Ranallo mentioned on commentary that she was trained by Lance Storm and mentioned her working overseas before arriving in NXT.
This was basically Green working over Carter until she lost focus for a split second, which is when Carter scored the upset win over Green with an inside cradle. This was Carter’s first win in NXT, announcers claimed.
I like the idea of this angle, both for Green’s and Carter’s trajectories , but the one glaring takeway here was how inexperienced Carter was. None of what she did looked too practiced. Robert Stone played little to no role in this, either. Green could probably get over on her own.
Pete Dunne & Matt Riddle defeated Grizzled Young Veterans (Zach Gibson & James Drake) to win the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic finals
Respect to Nigel McGuiness for his usage of “ad hoc” on an American pro wrestling television broadcast. I think that was a first. You could hear one fan shouted “GRIZZLED YOUNG A**HOLES” before they got started. All four rotated in and out early in this. Dunne did a moonsault off the apron onto Gibson, but just a moment later Gibson had Dunne up in a tombstone piledriver when Drake came down with a pescado, assissting with the piledriver, spiking him. They whipped Dunne into the ringpost when the show cut to advertisements.
We saw Dunne using an X-plex on Drake the show came back. Dunne tagged out to Riddle who went through a series of impressive spots. The crowd often chanted “Riddle’s gonna smoke you” while he was in the ring. Dunne and Riddle used a power bomb w/ knee strike combo on Drake for a two-count. Riddle tried a double kneestrike on both Vets, though he definitely whiffed in trying to make contact with Drake.
Gibson and Riddle jawjacked and exchanged hard palm strikes. After Drake kicked out of Riddle Final Flash knee strike, all four were laid out. Gibson and Dunne later mixed it up with hard palm strikes. The action slowed a bit as NXT readied for another commercial.
During the break, it looked like GYV was again getting the better of Dunne. Gibson hoisted Dunne onto his shoulders, and when Drake went for a flying attack from the top, Dunne blocked it with an elbow, then used a victory roll for two. Drake dove to the floor and took Riddle out; Gibson landed a nasty-looking backcracker and then put him in his Shankly Gates submission until Riddle broke things up, launching Drake into Gibson.
There were tons of insane spots over the last ten minutes of this, and it really culminated when they did a Doomsday Device on the floor, with Drake diving through the ropes to take Riddle out. Drake hit a 450 for two. The Broserweights did a double dive, with Dunne to the floor and Riddle into the ring with his Floating Bro twisting senton. They finished Drake off with a super GTS to put GYV out, finally. Your 2020 Dusty Cup winners are Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne: The Broserweights.
Final thoughts
There’s no doubt that the main event was the match of the night, hands down. One of the best matches of the month so far, I’d argue. They went quite long, about 20–25 minutes, at least, but the commercial breaks often disrupted the flow of the match. That’s TV, though. Gibson and Drake were outstanding in this, as were Dunne and Riddle.
The rest of show was good. The balance between action and promo time felt right. It’s notable there was no overrun tonight and the show ended right at 10 P.M. ET, likely to do with latest episode of Miz & Mrs that aired on USA next.
The Dusty Cup won’t be the only thing on the line in Wednesday’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic finals.
During Worlds Collide, it was announced that the team that wins this year’s Dusty Classic will also get an NXT Tag Team title shot at TakeOver: Portland. The Undisputed Era’s Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish are the current NXT Tag Team Champions.
Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne are facing The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) in the Dusty Classic finals on this coming Wednesday’s episode of NXT.
Riddle & Dunne defeated Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster in the first round of the tournament and Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) in the semifinals.
The Grizzled Young Veterans advanced to the finals by defeating Alex Shelley & Kushida in the first round and O’Reilly & Fish in the semifinals. Their win against O’Reilly & Fish came after a distraction by Imperium.
Samoa Joe & Finn Balor, The Authors of Pain, Undisputed Era (Adam Cole & O’Reilly), and Aleister Black & Ricochet are the teams that have won the Dusty Classic in previous years.
Finn Balor vs. Johnny Gargano is also set for TakeOver: Portland, and Bianca Belair will challenge for the NXT Women’s Championship. The show is taking place at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon on Sunday, February 16.
With the teams for it set, WWE has revealed the date for this year’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic finals.
It will be The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) vs. Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne in the Dusty Classic finals on next Wednesday’s episode of NXT. Both teams advanced by winning their semifinal matches on tonight’s show.
With the help of Imperium, The Grizzled Young Veterans defeated Undisputed Era’s Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish in the semifinals. Riddle & Dunne then defeated Imperium’s Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner later in the show.
Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, O’Reilly, Fish & Roderick Strong) will face Imperium (WALTER, Barthel, Aichner & Alexander Wolfe) at WWE’s Worlds Collide special this Saturday night.
The Grizzled Young Veterans confronted Riddle & Dunne on the stage after their win. Gibson cut a promo and addressed Dunne, saying Dunne has been the roadblock every time they’ve tried to take the next step in their careers. Dunne vowed that he and Riddle would win the Dusty Cup next week.
The Grizzled Young Veterans had defeated Alex Shelley & Kushida to advance to tonight’s semifinals, while Riddle & Dunne defeated Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster.
The team that’s victorious next week will become the fifth winners of the Dusty Cup. Samoa Joe & Finn Balor, The Authors of Pain, Undisputed Era (Cole & O’Reilly), and Aleister Black & Ricochet are the teams that have won the tournament in previous years.
WWE has also announced Tegan Nox vs. Dakota Kai for next week’s NXT.
This year’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is down to its final four teams.
Both semifinal matches will take place on NXT next Wednesday. It will be The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) vs. The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) and Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne vs. Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner).
The tournament began with O’Reilly & Fish defeating Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) and Barthel & Aichner defeating The Forgotten Sons (Wesley Blake & Steve Cutler) in first round matches last week. Gibson & Drake defeated Alex Shelley & Kushida and Riddle & Dunne defeated Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster tonight.
There are two NXT teams and two NXT UK teams left in the tournament.
WWE hasn’t announced when the finals will be taking place.
Samoa Joe & Finn Balor, The Authors of Pain, Undisputed Era (Adam Cole & O’Reilly), and Aleister Black & Ricochet are the teams that have won the Dusty Classic in previous years.
Next week’s NXT will also feature Keith Lee challenging for Roderick Strong’s North American Championship.
The first round of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic concludes on tonight’s episode of NXT.
Alex Shelley will make his NXT television debut as he reunites with Kushida to take on The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) in a tournament match. Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne vs. Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster is also set.
Undisputed Era’s Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish will face either Shelley & Kushida or The Grizzled Young Veterans in the semifinals, while Imperium’s Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner will face either Riddle & Dunne or Andrews & Webster.
Two matches with title shot implications have been announced for tonight. There will be a battle royal to determine who will challenge Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women’s Championship at TakeOver: Portland. Bianca Belair, Candice LeRae, Chelsea Green, Dakota Kai, Vanessa Borne, Kayden Carter, Mia Yim, Santana Garrett, Io Shirai, Shotzi Blackheart, Xia Li, and Mercedes Martinez are advertised for the battle royal.
Angel Garza will defend his NXT Cruiserweight Championship in a fatal four-way match at Worlds Collide. Two of his challengers will be from NXT UK, while the other one will be decided by a triple threat match between Lio Rush, Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, and Tyler Breeze on tonight’s show.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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The show from Full Sail opened with Keith Lee coming to the ring for a promo. Lee next week challenges Roderick Strong for the NXT North American Championship. A vocal majority of the live crowd chanted for Lee as he talked about his upcomimg title shot, and he addressed Undisputed Era. They might hold all the titles, but they have peaked — whereas Lee said he was “limitless”. This was really good promo.
When Lee vowed to win the title next week, Undisputed Era interrupted the promo. Adam Cole snarled at Lee on the microphone while flanked by Strong, Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish. The heel faction jumped Lee. He fought back and cleaned house at first, but he was greatly outnumbered as the heels closed in like wolves on their prey.
Strong hit him with a chair and Pillmanized Lee’s ankle in the chair. Tommaso Ciampa ran down to make a save. He fought off Unidsputed Era, and they soon fled the scene like frightened coyotes.
Finn Balor vs. Johnny Gargano was announced as official for NXT TakeOver: Portland.
Tegan Nox was being interviewed outside the building when Candice LeRae ran up to her for a hug. Meanwhile, Io Shirai and Mia Yim were psyching themselves up ahead of the women’s battle royal later on.
Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne defeated Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews to advance in the Dusty Classic
Riddle pinned Andrews in the conclusion of an exciting match.
The match was just beginning when the show cut to commercial. Dunne & Riddle worked over Webster during much of the break. Webster was taking a beating when the show returned from commercial. Webster still managed to escape their clutches, and he tagged out.
Andrews ran wild off a hot tag. Dunne & Riddle bumped and fed. Webster & Andrews did stereo flip dives over the ropes to the floor. More tandem offense got them a near fall.
Webster went for a springboard, and Dunne decked him in mid-air with a punch. Dunne witha flurry on Andrews before tagging Riddle.
Setting uo tandem moves of their own, Dunne with a release suplex on Andrews. Riddle then caught Andrews in the air for a powerbomb. Riddle then hit a knee strike while Dunne also hit Andrew with a kick at the same time. Webster jumped in to break up a pinning attempt.
Riddle & Dunne maintained their aggression until Andrews executed a Northern Lights out of nowhere. He followed with a double stomp on Dunne as the show cut to commercial. No in-set this time.
The show returned from break with a hot tag to Webster. He leapt into a moonsault, hit a shotgum dropkick, springboarded into another dropkick, and then he jumped off the top turnbuckle with a somersault senton to the floor.
Riddle cut off Andrews and had him in an electric chair when Webster hit Riddle with a kick — and Andrews executed a poison rana. After a near fall on Riddle, the fans clapped along to a “tag team wrestling” chant.
Andrews delivered a tornado DDT to Dunne on the floor. Webster went for a splash, but ate a spear from Riddle instead. Andrews ate another spear, but he was able to small package Riddle for a two count.
Dunne tagged in to help deliver a double-team strike on Webster for a close near fall. Webster also caught Riddle in a cradle, but Dunne was able to bump Andrews into the referee to break the count.
Andrews countered an X-plex into stunner. Things were looking good for his team until Riddle caught Webster on a tope. Riddle then delivered a Gotch Driver on the floor. Andrews went for a shooting star press in the ring, but Dunne clocked him with a right hand.
Dunne with a pump handle suplex that set up a knee strike by Riddle. After that combo, Riddle covered Andrews for the pinfall.
Highlights from TakeOver: Blackpool II showed Undisputed Era attacking WALTER. Cole and his faction meet Imperium in a eight-man tag match at Worlds Collide.
Tommaso Ciampa sauntered to the ring for a promo. Ciampa said it was clear that Undisputed Era has a hit list. So does Ciampa, and Cole is at the top of that list. Ciampa wants Goldie back. He wants his life back!
Undisputed Era hit the ring for a gang attack on Ciampa. They were beating him down when Johnny Gargano ran down to make a save. Gargano cleared the ring and cleaned house. Ciampa also struck with a Widows Bell to help clean up. The crowd chanted “DIY” as the former tag team partners seemingly had reunited — at least for a fleeting moment.
Up next is another reunion as THE TIME SPLITTERS ARE BACK!
Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) defeated Kushida & Alex Shelley to advance in the Dusty Classic
Drake pinned Shelley after the Ticket to Mayhem. Great win for the Grizzled Young Veterans. The announcers never referrred to Kushida & Shelley as “Time Splitters”, but they did talk about their history as a team.
Shelley got to shine at the outset of the match, and then him and Kushida did stereo dives to the outside. The Grizzled Young Veterans fired up on their opponents with a RVD/Saby spot as the show cut to commercial.
The show returned with heat on Shelley, and then Kushida launched into the ring after a hot tag. He connected with a handspring back elbow and a windup punch. He briefly caught Drake in an armbar. Double team tactics cut off Kushida. He kicked out for a two count, and then he fought off Grizzled Young Veterans. Shelley tagged in to begin a display of Time Splitter greatness.
Kushida & Shelley with combos, inlcuding a few signature ones. Kushida was perched on the top turnbuckle when Gibson shoved him to the floor. Shelley was then outnumbered as he fell victim to Gibson & Drake. Shelley went for sliced bread #2, but was countered. He took the Ticket to Mayhem, and Drake covered him for the pinfall.
Kushida & Shelley offered handshakes after the match, but Gibson & Drake heeled on them. Gibson then cut a promo saying they are the future, and he vowed they will win the Dusty Classic.
In a pre-tape skit, Robert Stone said he pulled Chelsea Green from the battle royal tonight. She is the hottest star, and apparently too big of a star for the battle royal. Stone and Green got in a car and drove away.
Isaiah “Swerve” Scott defeated Tyler Breeze and Lio Rush in a triple threat match
Swerve pinned Breeze to earn a spot in the fatal four way match for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship at Worlds Collide. The Cruiserweight Champion — Angel Garza — was doing guest commentary.
This was as wild and hectic as you would expect with a triple threat these days with these guys. The match was good, but it was hard to keep track of with the parade of highspots.
In the closing moments, Rush fired up on Swerve and Breeze. Rush with the Final Hour (frogsplash) on Breeze, and then the Come Up (springboard cutter) on Swerve.
Breeze tried to steal a pin, but Swerve cut him off to deliver a package dirver for the pinfall.
Cathy Kelley was oustide the building interviewing Gargano when Ciampa approached him. They talked about teaming for “old time sake”. Undisputed Era entered the scene to confront DIY as sceurity held back the faction.
Keith Lee ran in out of nowhere to spear a security guard through some bushes. Lee then hurled another security guard onto the hood of a car. He was screaming about Strong as security tried to restrain him. He threw another guy over a table. Lee screamed threats at Strong ahead of their title match next week.
Bianca Belair won a number one contender’s battle royal
Notable returns in the this match included Kacy Catanzaro and Tegan Nox both back in action. Mercedes Martinez also returned to NXT in this match — but this time she is officially part of the NXT roster after signing with WWE. Martinez more than deserves the opportunity.
The former NXT Women’s champion — Shayna Baszler –was the final surprise entrant as she returned to Full Sail for the first time since dropping the title.
Other entrants included Bianca Belair, Mia Yim, Io Shirai, Santana Garrett, Xia Li, Vanessa Borne, Kayden Carter, Shotzi Blackheart, Catalina, Jessi Kamae and MJ Jenkins.
The match itself was like almost every battle royal you have seen before. They did some good highspots before the show cut to commercial. After the break the field had dwindled down somewhat. The eliminations started to come more quickly from this point forward.
Martinez did some spots with Baszler in the final minutes. Baszler eliminated Martinez from the match. Hopefully that leads to a match bewteen the two soon. Fingers crossed that happens.
The final four were Baszler, Belair, Nox and Shirai…or at least that was what we were supposed to think.
Nox fired up in the closing moments as she ran wild. Nox was climbing the turnbuckles when her nemesis Dakota Kai ran in to trip her up. Nox fell the floor and was eliminated.
Shirai found herself trapped on the apron in a Kirifuda Clutch applied by Baszler. Blackheart suddenly rolled back into the ring to throw out Baszler. Blackheart had apparently never been eliminated. She was gloating and was then eliminated by Belair.
Shirai and Belair were left as the final two. Shirau struck with a Tiger Feint Kick, but Belair countered a moment later with a fallaway slam.
They were fighting on the top turnbuckle while they teased falling out of the ring. They also fought on the apron, and fought back in the ring.
After several exchanges, Belair had Shirai in a torture rack when she threw Shirai over the top rope to win the match. Shirai took a helluva bump on the floor, and Belair was declared the winner.
Belair is now the number one contender in the NXT women’s division. She challenges for the title at Worlds Collide.
A battle royal will decide Rhea Ripley’s challenger for NXT TakeOver: Portland.
WWE has announced that a number one contender’s battle royal will take place on NXT next Wednesday, with the winner going on to challenge Ripley for the NXT Women’s Championship at TakeOver: Portland. The Moda Center in Portland, Oregon is hosting the TakeOver special on Sunday, February 16.
Bianca Belair, Candice LeRae, Chelsea Green, Dakota Kai, Vanessa Borne, Kayden Carter, Mia Yim, Santana Garrett, Io Shirai, Shotzi Blackheart, and Xia Li have been confirmed for the battle royal.
After Yim defeated Carter on tonight’s NXT, Green appeared and knocked both down. Robert Stone (formerly known as Robbie E in Impact Wrestling) then announced Green as part of the Robert Stone Brand.
Ripley became the NXT Women’s Champion by defeating Shayna Baszler for the title three weeks ago.
Ripley kicked off tonight’s NXT and was interrupted by Toni Storm, who challenged Ripley for Worlds Collide on January 25. The segment led to NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray, Shirai, Belair, and LeRae all coming down to the ring. Ripley, Storm & LeRae then defeated Belair, Shirai & KLR after dissension between Belair and Shirai.
The first round of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic will also conclude on next week’s NXT. Kushida & Alex Shelley will face The Grizzled Young Veterans, and Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne will take on Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster.
NXT Tag Team Champions The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) defeated NXT UK Tag Team Champions Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) and Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) defeated The Forgotten Sons (Wesley Blake & Steve Cutler) in Dusty Classic first round matches tonight.
O’Reilly & Fish will face either Kushida & Shelley or Gibson & Drake in the semifinals. Barthel & Aichner will face either Riddle & Dunne or Andrews & Webster.
The Time Splitters are reuniting in NXT’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
It was announced during tonight’s NXT that Kushida will be teaming with Alex Shelley in the tournament. When the list of teams was originally announced, Kushida was listed with a mystery partner.
Kushida & Shelley will face The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) in the first round of the Dusty Classic next week. Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne vs. Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster will also take place next Wednesday, with those matches completing the opening round.
The tournament began with The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) defeating Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) and Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) defeating The Forgotten Sons (Wesley Blake & Steve Cutler) on NXT tonight.
O’Reilly & Fish will face either Kushida & Shelley or The Grizzled Young Veterans in the semifinals. Imperium will face either Riddle & Dunne or Andrews & Webster.
Next week will be the first time Shelley has wrestled for NXT. He did a stint guest coaching at the Performance Center in October 2019.
Kushida & Shelley held the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles twice in NJPW.
The NXT Tag Team Champions are set to face off with the champions from NXT UK this Wednesday.
WWE has announced that the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic first round match between The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) and Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) will take place on this week’s episode of NXT.
The Dusty Classic is kicking off on Wednesday’s show, with The Forgotten Sons (Wesley Blake & Steve Cutler) also facing Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) in a first round match.
The Forgotten Sons vs. Imperium and Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne vs. Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster are the opening round matches on the left side of the tournament bracket. The right side has Undisputed Era vs. Gallus and The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) vs. Kushida and a partner who has yet to be revealed.
Keith Lee vs. Dominik Dijakovic vs. Damian Priest vs. Cameron Grimes has also been announced for Wednesday’s NXT. The winner will become the number one contender to Roderick Strong’s NXT North American Championship.
The 2020 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic will kick off on Wednesday’s episode of NXT.
WWE has announced that a first-round match between Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) and The Forgotten Sons (Wesley Blake & Steve Cutler) will take place on Wednesday’s NXT. The match is part of the left side of the bracket for the tournament.
Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne vs. Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster is the other match on the left side of the bracket. The right side has The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) vs. Kushida’s team (partner yet to be revealed) and The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) vs. Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang).
There are four teams from NXT and four teams from NXT UK in the Dusty Classic.
Keith Lee vs. Dominik Dijakovic vs. Damian Priest vs. Cameron Grimes is also set for Wednesday’s NXT. The winner will become the number one contender to Roderick Strong’s NXT North American Championship.
With the eight teams for the tournament announced, the bracket for this year’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic has now been revealed.
Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) vs. The Forgotten Sons (Wesley Blake & Steve Cutler) and Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne vs. Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster are the matches on the left side of the bracket.
The right side of the bracket has The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) vs. Kushida and his partner (yet to be revealed) and The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) vs. Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang).
O’Reilly & Fish are the NXT Tag Team Champions, while Coffey & Wolfgang currently hold the NXT UK Tag Team titles.
The Dusty Classic features four teams from NXT (Undisputed Era, The Forgotten Sons, Riddle & Dunne, and Kushida’s team) and four teams from NXT UK (The Grizzled Young Veterans, Gallus, Imperium, and Andrews & Webster). The schedule for the tournament hasn’t been announced.
The 2020 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic will feature four teams from NXT and four teams from NXT UK.
NXT Tag Team Champions The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish), The Forgotten Sons (Wesley Blake & Steve Cutler), Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne, and Kushida and a partner to be revealed are the NXT teams.
The NXT UK teams are The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake), NXT UK Tag Team Champions Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang), Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner), and Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster.
Those four NXT UK teams will also face off in a ladder match for the NXT UK Tag Team titles at UK TakeOver: Blackpool II on Sunday, January 12.
This is the fifth time that WWE has held a Dusty Classic tournament. Samoa Joe & Finn Balor, The Authors of Pain, Undisputed Era (Adam Cole & O’Reilly), and Aleister Black & Ricochet were the previous winners.
WWE hasn’t announced the schedule for this year’s tournament.
NXT vs. NXT UK is the theme of the Worlds Collide special that’s taking place at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on the Saturday of Royal Rumble weekend. Undisputed Era (Cole, O’Reilly, Fish & Roderick Strong) vs. Imperium (WALTER, Barthel, Aichner & Alexander Wolfe) has been announced for the show.
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.
