Following the tournament officially being announced on television, WWE has revealed the bracket for the 2018 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
The left side of the bracket has The Street Profits vs. Heavy Machinery and TM61 vs. The Authors of Pain in the first round, while the right side has SAnitY vs. Tino Sabbatelli & Riddick Moss and Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch vs. Tyler Bate & Trent Seven.
The Street Profits vs. Heavy Machinery, TM61 vs. AOP, and SAnitY vs. Sabbatelli & Moss were filmed at NXT’s television tapings in Atlanta earlier this month. The tournament will begin airing on TV in two weeks, and it will continue at NXT’s tapings at Full Sail University on March 7th.
Lorcan will be returning in the tournament after having been out of action since November. Dave Meltzer reported that his absence was due to some injuries, but Meltzer wrote that they were said to not be too serious.
Though they didn’t end up being included, Wesley Blake & Steve Cutler, who are going by the name “The Forgotten Sons,” did a promo at the last tapings indicating that they would be one of the teams in the tournament.
The team that wins the Dusty Classic will challenge for Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly’s NXT Tag Team titles at TakeOver: New Orleans on April 7th.
After taking a year off in 2017, the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is set to return to NXT.
The tournament will begin at tonight’s television tapings in Atlanta. Mike Rome officially announced that at the end of last night’s tapings, which came after Wesley Blake & Steve Cutler (who have new gear and are going by the name “The Forgotten Sons”) announced earlier in the night that they would be entering the tournament.
Finn Balor & Samoa Joe won the inaugural Dusty Classic in 2015, with them defeating Baron Corbin & Rhyno in the finals at TakeOver: Respect. The Authors of Pain won the tournament in 2016 by beating TM61 in the finals at TakeOver: Toronto.
The Dusty Classic was created to honor Rhodes after his death and to celebrate his life and the work he did in NXT. Both the 2015 and 2016 tournaments were single-elimination and had a 16-team field.
Following tonight’s show at Center Stage, NXT will return to Full Sail University for tapings on March 7th. Those will be the final tapings before WrestleMania weekend, and TakeOver: New Orleans on April 7th would appear to be a possibility for when the Dusty Classic finals will take place.
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!
Despite his status for the tournament being put in doubt when Hideo Itami was forced out of action with an injury, Kota Ibushi continued on in the second annual Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
It was announced by William Regal in a video on Thursday that Ibushi would team with WWE Cruiserweight Champion TJ Perkins in the tournament. Ibushi and Perkins previously faced off in the semifinals of the Cruiserweight Classic, where Perkins picked up the win before going on to defeat Gran Metalik in the finals.
Ibushi and Perkins took on fellow CWC competitors Lince Dorado and Mustafa Ali in a first round tournament match at Thursday night’s NXT TV tapings.
Itami revealed in a video message on Thursday afternoon that he wouldn’t be able to compete in the Dusty Classic, but he vowed to return in time for NXT’s show in Osaka in December.
Dave Meltzer reported on Wednesday night that Itami suffered a serious neck injury earlier this month while teaming with Shinsuke Nakamura against Tino Sabbatelli and Riddick Moss at an NXT live event.
Due to a neck injury he suffered at an NXT live event earlier this month, Hideo Itami is officially out of the 2016 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
Itami announced the news in a video on Thursday afternoon. He was scheduled to team with Kota Ibushi in the tournament before being forced out of action. No indication was given as to whether Ibushi would be given a replacement partner for the tournament.
NXT is scheduled to tape more episodes of television tonight featuring Dusty Classic tournament matches.
Dave Meltzer reported on Wednesday night that Itami was almost surely out of the Dusty Classic after suffering a serious neck injury when teaming with Shinsuke Nakamura against Tino Sabbatelli and Riddick Moss on October 1st. Itami got spiked on a powerslam by Moss, but made the tag to Nakamura to finish the match.
Itami noted in the video announcement that he wasn’t sure if he would be able to return in time for NXT TakeOver: Toronto next month, but vowed to be back in time for NXT’s first show in his home country of Japan in December.
This is the second time that Itami has been forced out of the ring due to injury since joining WWE. He returned in June after being out for over a year after undergoing shoulder surgery.
The Big News: Shinsuke Nakamura returned from his injury angle and laid out the man who injured him, Samoa Joe.
The Medium News: SAnitY, led by Eric Young, debuted and won their first round Dusty Classic match.
The Little Beaver Sized News: Glorious 10 didn’t last long. Not long at all.
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SAnitY defeated Bobby Roode & Tye Dillinger in a first round Dusty Classic tournament match
It was time for the debut of Glorious 10 and the debut of SAnitY! But before we were graced by SAnitY’s presence, we had Bobby Roode and Tye Dillinger both playing to the crowd over whose catchphrase was more over. The lights went out, smoke filled the arena and we were joined by four individuals in leather coats and bandannas on their faces. The two men who wrestled were Alexander Wolfe and Sawyer Fulton. I remembered Fulton’s cross tattoo on his chest from a few years ago when he was doing TV jobs.
SAnitY attacked Dillinger at the bell and beat him down badly. Roode took one look at them and decided to fight another day, walking away and leaving Dillinger to fight by himself. SAnitY won quickly with a move that looked a lot like the Magic Killer, but it ended with a powerslam.
After the match, the smallest of the four SAnitY members attacked Dillinger and was identified as Nikki Cross. The fourth member did Eric Young’s wheelbarrow neckbreaker and….shockingly turned out to be Eric Young!
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Billie Kay and Peyton Royce were backstage making fun of Liv Morgan for losing to Asuka in less than a minute. They said Kay will enjoy making fun of Morgan, and Peyton will have fun watching it.
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Roode was wandering backstage and said Dillinger was a loser who begged Roode to be his partner. Roode said he never wanted to be in the Dusty Classic and was not a tag team wrestler. Of course what really happened was Roode asked Dillinger to be his partner and Dillinger only did it because the crowd cheered him on.
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Billie Kay w/ Peyton Royce defeated Liv Morgan
Liv Morgan’s last appearance on NXT was a loss to Asuka in under a minute. The good news is her match went longer this week! Kay is still making a living off that one time she wrestled on SmackDown back in July.
Kay was being quite cocky while on the offensive, so Morgan came out of nowhere with an STO. Morgan came off the ropes, but Royce grabbed her ankle for a distraction and Kay knocked her head off with a boot for the win.
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We were taken back to last week where Andrade “Cien” Almas turned heel on Cedric Alexander after their tag team match. Almas stormed out of the arena and told the camera that he is the best and doesn’t need Alexander.
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TM61 defeated Tino Sabbatelli & Riddick Moss in a first round Dusty Classic match
Sabbatelli and Moss are always in competition with each other, so they decided to be teammates here. This was not introduced as a Dusty Classic match, but they did show the tournament graphic after both teams entered.
Tom Phillips made vague references to TM61’s history, saying they won tag team championships in Japan and were named Tag Team of the Year during a time when Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson were over there. Shane Thorne and Nick Miller ran wild early on Moss, which led to the crowd’s dueling chants of “We want Tino/No we don’t.” They got him when he pulled down the top rope, causing Thorne to fly over the top rope and crash into the guardrail.
TM61 carried this to a good match and Thorne made Moss and Sabbatelli look really good. Miller got the hot tag and ran wild. Sabbatelli tried to cut him off, but he fell short, getting pinned after Thunder Valley.
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Next week: Rich Swann & No Way Jose vs Tony Nese & Drew Gulak in a tournament match.
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Blake and Murphy attempted to have a match with each other, but Samoa Joe didn’t care.
Sometimes a tag team breaks up and they become the main event of WrestleMania V. Sometimes a tag team breaks up and it’s the main event of an episode of NXT.
The fans were chanting for Samoa Joe before the match even began, and I think we were all surprised when the bell rang, because I definitely assumed Joe was going to kill them to death before the match began. Two minutes in and they were already doing the “two exhausted men punch each other” spot, which was weird since they kept wrestling after.
Blake did a giant tope over the top rope…and that was the ballgame. Samoa Joe came out to destroy the former NXT Tag Team Champions. To make it better, Phillips called them the wrong names as Joe gave both a uranage outside the ring after flinging Blake over the ring steps.
Joe raged into the microphone for Mr. Regal to bring him either Nakamura or the championship.
Instead, we went to commercial.
Back from the very important commercial break came the NXT Champion, returning to Full Sail for the first time in a month. Nakamura was out in a neck brace, but he took it off and the fight was on. Security ran in to break them up, and unlike last time, Nakamura was actually trying to get at Joe. They got through each other once, but security broke them up.
Joe decided to fight another day and was backing away when Nakamura broke through and kicked him in the groin. Security finally got Nakamura backstage, but that wasn’t enough as Nakamura beat up security and came back to the arena to attack Joe some more.
Joe tried to get away as Nakamura gave a security dude the Kinshasa. Nakamura was standing on the ramp when Joe tried a sneak attack. They fought down to the ring and Nakamura knocked him out with the Kinshasa! Nakamura is back and has laid out Samoa Joe.
That does it for this week. What will happen next week? Until then, remember 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.
After WWE revealed the final teams for the second annual Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic on Tuesday, they released a bracket detailing the field on Wednesday afternoon.
Notably, Johnny Gargano & Tommasso Ciampa are possibly on a collision course to another match with NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival. The teams will face each other in the second round if they are victorious in their first round matchups.
The Revival will face the team of Cedric Alexander & Andrade “Cien” Almas in the first round, while Gargano & Ciampa will take on HoHo Lun and Bin Wang.
WWE generated headlines when they announced that Kota Ibushi would be returning for the tournament and teaming with Hideo Itami, and that team will battle Cruiserweight Classic competitors Lince Dorado & Mustafa Ali in the first round. If Ibushi & Itami advance, they will face either Bobby Roode & Tye Dillinger or SAnitY.
Austin Aries will team with a mystery partner, speculated to be the debuting Roderick Strong in Monday’s daily update, against Niko Bogojevic & Tucker Knight in the first round. If Aries and his partner advance, they will face the winner of TM61 vs. Tino Sabbatelli & Riddick Moss in the quarterfinals.
The tournament will take place over the next several weeks of NXT TV and will conclude at NXT TakeOver: Toronto on November 19th during Survivor Series weekend. The full bracket is available below:
Editor’s note: Additional details were added by Dave Meltzer
The Cruiserweight Classic finale won’t be the last we’ve seen of Kota Ibushi in WWE.
WWE announced on Thursday afternoon that Hideo Itami would be teaming with Ibushi in the second annual Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
Ibushi has always been up for working dates in WWE but at least up to this point had not wanted to sign a full-time deal as he had things he still wanted to do in Japan. NXT has shown in the past they are willing to use people for attention even if they aren’t signed full-time, so this is not necessarily an indication Ibushi has been signed, although WWE has been wanting him for some time.
In addition to Itami and Ibushi, NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa, Andrade “Cien” Almas and Cedric Alexander, Bobby Roode and Tye Dillinger, and Tino Sabbatelli and Riddick Moss were officially announced for the tournament. The full field will consist of 16 teams, and WWE.com will reveal participants each day until it begins on NXT TV.
It was announced at NXT’s latest TV tapings earlier this month that the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic would return for a second consecutive year. The announcement aired on television last night, with William Regal introducing the tournament.
The tournament will conclude at NXT TakeOver: Toronto on November 19th.
Finn Balor and Samoa Joe defeated Rhyno and Baron Corbin in the finals of last year’s inaugural Dusty Classic before beginning their lengthy rivalry over the NXT Championship.
The Big News: The second annual Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic was announced and the show saw several teams state their intentions on becoming the tournament champion.
The Medium News: Samoa Joe finally lived up to his threat from last week, but what he did was attack two people you’ve never heard of before their first TV match.
The Little Beaver Sized News: Hideo Itami beat Lince Dorado in a very good main event.
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The show started with William Regal standing in an empty arena and announcing the second annual Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, with the finals being held at NXT TakeOver: Toronto. He also stated that the brackets will be released on Twitter and the first round matches will begin next week.
It is a 16-team tournament, won last year by Finn Balor and Samoa Joe, which was actually the start of their 10-month storyline.
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Tye Dillinger defeated Angelo Dawkins
We kick things off with the Perfect 10 facing Angelo Dawkins. Dawkins has lost the vast majority of his televised matches over the last few years, while Dillinger has gotten closer and closer to an actual winning streak lately.
Remember how I have been saying that I didn’t think people cared so much about Dillinger as much as they liked chanting 10? Well I may not be able to say that much longer, as the fans are starting to like him more and more. Dillinger picked up his second straight win with the Tye Breaker in a short bout.
Glorious! As Dillinger started walking away, out came the most glorious superstar in NXT history, Bobby Roode. He congratulated Dillinger, but said he’s not a 10 yet, however with the proper guidance he could be. He said the number one reason he came to NXT was to win the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. That seems like an odd reason.
The fans exploded, chanting “Glorious 10,” as they saw where this was going. Roode said he hasn’t made very many friends, but he needs the perfect partner for the tournament. Roode asked him to think about it since Dillinger was so close to Dusty Rhodes. Roode said it would be Perfectly Glorious, stuck his hand out, and Dillinger accepted!
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Hideo Itami was asked about his match later in the night against Lince Dorado. Itami said Dorado is a great fighter and has great heart, unlike Austin Aries. He called Aries a baby and a coward, saying he may need to put him to sleep again.
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The match between NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival and The Ealy Brothers never got started, as Samoa Joe stormed past The Revival and destroyed the twins by himself.
Joe took the mic and said the beatings will continue until William Regal’s decisiveness improves. In case you forgot, he is demanding either an immediate rematch with the injured NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura or for Mr. Regal to strip Nakamura of the championship and award it to Joe.
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Dan Matha is coming next week. Picture a bald Curt Hawkins’ head on Mason Ryan’s body. Even then I think Matha is more ripped.
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Ember Moon defeated Mandy Rose
Rose is from Tough Enough and is Corey Graves’ newest crush. The biggest positive of Eva Marie being called up was that Graves would stop acting like a 30-year-old Jerry Lawler, then we got Mandy Rose.
Rose punched Moon in the face, so Moon replied with some very hard kicks and a springboard crossbody. Rose did shake it off and hit a really nice bicycle knee to the face. Moon picked up the win with the top rope stunner.
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Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa felt good about sending The Revival running away at the CWC live finale, but they have a checklist that needs to be finalized. They want to win the Dusty Rhodes Classic, since that is how they got into NXT last year. Also on the list is beating The Revival and winning the NXT Tag Team Championship.
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Sanity is coming. That’s good news.
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The Authors of Pain defeated Jesus Yurnett & Jonathan Cruise
It’s time for Akam and Rezar! Jesus Yurnett needed Jesus as The AoP just destroyed him and his partner. Rezar heaved Cruise out of the ring and pinned Yurnett with the side Russian legsweep/clothesline combo.
Paul Ellering finally got to speak! He said the first chapter began with the arrival, the next chapter will unleash a plethora of pain, and for now, that’s all we need to know. A small number of people randomly yelled “What?” and “You suck.”
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Regal had no update to give everyone regarding Nakamura’s health. He was about to talk about the teams in the Dusty Rhodes Classic (despite saying earlier he was going to later this week) when Blake and Murphy came in and began arguing with each other over whether or not they were a team again.
Regal sent them on their way and that was that.
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NXT Women’s Champion Asuka defeated Liv Morgan
Liv Morgan has been running her mouth the last few weeks and now Asuka is here to shut her up. After a dropkick from Morgan, Asuka took her down right away and made her tap out in the shortest match of the night.
After the match, Asuka declared that nobody is ready for her.
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Next week: Cedric Alexander & Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. The Revival in a Dusty Rhodes Classic match.
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Hideo Itami defeated Lince Dorado
This was a very good match, and Itami continues his streak of solid matches since he came back from injury. Dorado looked really good here as well. This match was a perfect blend of the two men’s respective styles.
At one point, Itami hit a top rope clothesline from more than halfway across the ring. Later, Itami teased the Go To Sleep and then held his fingers an inch apart.
Dorado missed a picture perfect shooting star press, and Itami hit the Yakuza kick and corner dropkick before hitting the GTS for the win!
Itami was celebrating his win when Aries ran in and attacked him. It took six weeks, but Aries is finally on the attack after Brooklyn! Itami reversed an Irish whip, and Aries grabbed the ropes and ran away again.
That does it for this week. Will Aries ever step up and face Itami? Will we find out next week? Only one way to know for sure, and until then remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
It looks like the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic may become an annual tradition.
William Regal announced at Thursday night’s NXT TV tapings in Winter Park, FL, that the tournament would return for its second annual edition. It will begin at tonight’s tapings, with the winning team being crowned at NXT TakeOver: Toronto on Saturday, November 19th.
The tournament debuted last year to honor the life of Dusty Rhodes and what he meant to NXT. Before beginning their feud over the NXT Championship, Samoa Joe and Finn Balor won the inaugural edition of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic at NXT TakeOver: Respect after defeating Baron Corbin and Rhyno in the finals.
Last year’s edition also saw the debut of Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa as a team in NXT, and they figure to be heavily involved in this year’s tournament as well given their ongoing feud with NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival.
