Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic

Official logo of the tournament

The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is an annual professional wrestling tag team tournament held by the U.S.-based promotion WWE, and is featured on its NXT brand.

The tournament is named in honor of WWE Hall of Fame wrestler Dusty Rhodes, who died in 2015. The tournament has been compared to and (at least partially) inspired by the Crockett Cup tournaments of the 1980s that were promoted by Jim Crockett Promotions (which would later become more widely known as World Championship Wrestling). Rhodes himself had been both the behind the scenes creator of and a featured performer in those tournaments.[1]

The 16-team single elimination tournament was established in August 2015 as a tribute to Rhodes - who had been serving as a senior producer and trainer in NXT - and was formally announced during NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, which took place shortly after he had died. That year's Classic featured tournament matches taking place all through September both on NXT's weekly TV show and at NXT house shows, and would culminate in October at NXT TakeOver: Respect, with the team of Finn Bálor and Samoa Joe winning, having defeated Baron Corbin and Rhyno in the finals.[2]

The second Classic took place throughout the fall of 2016, eventually culminating in November at NXT TakeOver: Toronto, where it was won by The Authors of Pain, having defeated TM-61.[3][4][5]

There was no tournament held in 2017 after taking an extra half year to switch to a spring schedule, returning in 2018 and culminating at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans,[6] the night before WrestleMania 34. It was won by Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly of The Undisputed Era, who successfully defended their NXT Tag Team Championship in a Winner Takes All Triple Threat match against both tournament finalists, The Authors of Pain and Roderick Strong and Pete Dunne.

The winners of the tournament receive a trophy that is modeled in part after Rhodes' signature "cowboy" style wrestling boots.[7]

Winners

Event Date City Venue Winners Notes
NXT TakeOver: Respect October 7, 2015 Winter Park, Florida Full Sail University Finn Bálor and Samoa Joe
NXT TakeOver: Toronto November 19, 2016 Toronto, Canada Air Canada Centre The Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar) Their manager Paul Ellering was suspended in a cage above the ring.
NXT TakeOver: New Orleans April 7, 2018 New Orleans, Louisiana Smoothie King Center The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly) This match was also for the NXT Tag Team Championship, held by The Undisputed Era.
The Undisputed Era were not official participants in the tournament, but were placed in the finals after interfering in the official finals between the previous winners, The Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar), and the team of Pete Dunne and Roderick Strong causing a double disqualification.

2015 tournament

First Round
NXT/Live events 		Quarterfinals
NXT/Live events 		Semifinals
NXT TakeOver: Respect 		Final
NXT TakeOver: Respect
        
Enzo Amore and Big Cass Pin
Angelo Dawkins and Sawyer Fulton [8]
Enzo Amore and Big Cass 09:13
Finn Bálor and Samoa Joe Pin
Finn Bálor and Samoa Joe Pin
The Lucha Dragons
(Kalisto and Sin Cara) 		[9]
Finn Bálor and Samoa Joe Pin
The Revival 09:05
Blake and Murphy [10]
The Vaudevillains
(Aiden English and Simon Gotch) 		Pin
The Vaudevillains 12:25
The Revival Pin
Elias Samson and Tucker Knight [11]
The Revival
(Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder) 		Pin
Finn Bálor and Samoa Joe 11:10
Baron Corbin and Rhyno Pin
The Hype Bros
(Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley) 		Pin
Alexander Wolfe and Noah Kekoa [12]
The Hype Bros 22:03
American Alpha Pin
American Alpha
(Jason Jordan and Chad Gable) 		Pin
Neville and Solomon Crowe [13]
American Alpha 10:28
Baron Corbin and Rhyno Pin
Baron Corbin and Rhyno Pin
The Ascension
(Konnor and Viktor) 		[13]
Baron Corbin and Rhyno Pin
DIY [14]
Tyler Breeze and Bull Dempsey [15]
DIY
(Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) 		Pin

2016 tournament

First Round
NXT (October 5) 		Quarterfinals
NXT/Live event (November 2) 		Semifinals
Live event (November 7) 		Final
NXT TakeOver: Toronto (November 19)
        
TM-61
(Nick Miller and Shane Thorne) 		Pin
Riddick Moss and Tino Sabbatelli [16]
TM-61 Pin2
Austin Aries and Roderick Strong [17][18]
Austin Aries and Roderick Strong Pin
Heavy Machinery
(Otis Dozovic and Tucker Knight) 		[19]
TM-61 Pin
SAnitY [20][21]
Kota Ibushi and T.J. Perkins1 Sub
Lince Dorado and Mustafa Ali [22]
Kota Ibushi and T.J. Perkins [18]
SAnitY Pin
Bobby Roode and Tye Dillinger [16]
SAnitY
(Alexander Wolfe and Sawyer Fulton) 		Pin
TM-61
The Authors of Pain Pin
The Authors of Pain
(Akam and Rezar) 		Pin
The Bollywood Boyz
(Gurv Sihra and Harv Sihra) 		[23]
The Authors of Pain Pin
No Way Jose and Rich Swann [17][18]
No Way Jose and Rich Swann Pin
Drew Gulak and Tony Nese [19]
The Authors of Pain Pin
DIY [20][21]
The Revival
(Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson) 		Pin
Andrade Almas and Cedric Alexander [23]
The Revival [18]
DIY Forfeit3
DIY
(Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) 		Pin
Ho Ho Lun and Tian Bing [22]

1 Ibushi's original partner, Hideo Itami, was injured before the tournament began, and was replaced by T.J. Perkins.
2 Aries could not compete due to injury. William Regal decided that the winners would be determined by a singles match pitting Thorne against Strong.
3 The Revival withdrew from the tournament, asserting that Dawson was injured.

2018 tournament

First Round
NXT (March 7, March 14, March 21) 		Semifinals
NXT (March 28) 		Final
NXT TakeOver: New Orleans (April 7)
         
The Street Profits
(Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) 		Pin
Heavy Machinery
(Otis Dozovic and Tucker Knight) 		3:39[24]
Street Profits 2:31[25]
Authors of Pain Pin
TM-61
(Nick Miller and Shane Thorne) 		8:03[26]
The Authors of Pain
(Akam and Rezar) 		Pin
Authors of Pain2
The Undisputed Era
(Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly)2 		Pin
Pete Dunne and Roderick Strong2 11:38
Riddick Moss and Tino Sabbatelli 3:45[24]
SAnitY
(Alexander Wolfe and Eric Young) 		Pin
SAnitY 10:23[25]
Pete Dunne and Roderick Strong Pin
Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan 8:29[27]
Pete Dunne and Roderick Strong1 Pin

1 ^ Dunne and Strong replaced the previously announced Tyler Bate and Trent Seven after Bate suffered a knee injury.
2 ^ This was a Winner Takes All triple threat tag team match that was also for the NXT Tag Team Championship, held by The Undisputed Era.
3 ^ Strong Turned on Dunne during the match, joining The Undisputed Era and helping them win the match.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 9/3/15 NXT recap - Hidden Remote.com
  2. ↑ Best and worst of NXT TakeOver:Respect - Uproxx.com
  3. ↑ 2016 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic - WWE.com
  4. ↑ 2016 Dusty Rhodes tag Team Classic teams revealed - Uproxx.com
  5. ↑ Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic - Yahoo.com
  6. ↑
  7. ↑ Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic trophy
  8. ↑ Martin, Adam (August 29, 2015). "SPOILER: 8/28 DUSTY RHODES TAG TEAM CLASSIC TAPING". WrestleView. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
  9. ↑ Martin, Adam (August 25, 2015). "SPOILERS: 8/25 WWE MAIN EVENT TAPINGS IN PROVIDENCE". WrestleView. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
  10. ↑ Martin, Adam (September 5, 2015). "SPOILER: 9/4 DUSTY RHODES TAG TEAM CLASSIC TAPING". WrestleView. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
  11. ↑ Namako, Jason (August 31, 2015). "SPOILER: 8/29 DUSTY RHODES TAG TEAM CLASSIC TAPING". WrestleView. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
  12. ↑ Namako, Jason (September 4, 2015). "SPOILER: 9/3 DUSTY RHODES TAG TEAM CLASSIC TAPING". WrestleView. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
  13. 1 2 Witner, Emerson (September 2, 2015). "WWE NXT 9/2 Live Recap and Results: Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic begins, Ascension returns". Figure 4 Wrestling Observer Online. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  14. ↑ Middleton, Marc. "** SPOILERS ** WWE NXT Tapings Airing In September". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  15. ↑ Porter, Lovell. "WWE NXT Results (9/9)- Johnny Gargano And Tommaso Ciampa Debut, Samoa Joe And Finn Bálor Take On The Lucha Dragons!". Wrestlezone. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  16. 1 2 Namako, Jason. "WWE NXT Results – 10/12/16 (SAnitY debuts with a returning Eric Young, Nakamura gets revenge on Samoa Joe)". WrestleView. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
  17. 1 2 Moore, John (October 29, 2016). "10/28 NXT in San Jose results: Moore's in-person report on two Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic matches, Asuka vs. Daria Berenato for the NXT Women's Championship, Shinsuke Nakamura and Tye Dillinger vs. Bobby Roode and Samoa Joe". Pro Wreslting Dot Net. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  18. 1 2 3 4 Namako, Jason. "WWE NXT Results – 11/2/16 (Complete second round action of Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic)". WrestleView. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  19. 1 2 Namako, Jason. "WWE NXT Results – 10/19/16 (Roderick Strong debuts as Austin Aries' tag partner in the Dusty Classic)". WrestleView. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  20. 1 2 Brouillette, Mike. "10/30 NXT in Los Angeles, Calif.: Eric Young headlines with Joe and Nakamura, Kota Ibushi vs. Roode, TM61 vs. Sanity". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  21. 1 2 Namako, Jason. "WWE NXT Results – 11/9/16 (Nakamura-Joe contract signing, Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semi-Finals)". WrestleView. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  22. 1 2 Namako, Jason. "WWE NXT Results – 10/26/16 (The Dusty Tag Classic continues, Mickie James sends a message to Asuka)". WrestleView. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  23. 1 2 Namako, Jason. "WWE NXT Results – 10/5/16 (Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic begins, Samoa Joe continues his attacks)". WrestleView. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  24. 1 2 James, Justin (March 14, 2018). "3/14 NXT TV Report: Tomasso Ciampa returns, Adam Cole vs. Pete Dunne, Almas-Black contract signing, Sanity vs. Moss & Sabbatelli". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  25. 1 2 James, Justin (March 28, 2018). "3/28 NXT TV Report: Regal's big announcement, debut of EC3 in NXT, AOP vs Profits, Dunne & Strong vs. Sanity, Lars Sullivan returns". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  26. ↑ James, Justin (March 7, 2018). "3/7 NXT TV Report: Aleister Black vs. Killian Dane, TM61 vs. Authors of Pain in Dusty Classic tourney match, Belair vs. Renee". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  27. ↑ James, Justin (March 21, 2018). "3/21 NXT TV Report: Adam Cole vs. Kassius Ohno, Aliyah vs. Ember Moon, Dusty Rhodes Classic Tag Team Tournament". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
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