Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Begins Next Week, Numerous Teams Enter On WWE NXT

During the "WWE NXT" special "New Year's Evil," Ava Raine announced that the 2024 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament will begin next week on the January 9 episode of "NXT." Throughout the show, several teams declared their intent to enter the Dusty Classic, whether they were already established in the division or newly joining forces.

We know that at least one existing tag team, Idris Enofe and Malik Blade, will be in the tournament — they announced as much during a backstage confrontation with longtime frenemies Nathan Frazer and Axiom, who will also enter. Chase U will also have a presence in the Dusty Classic, though instead of former "NXT" tag champs Andre Chase and Duke Hudson, the university will be represented by Hudson and Men's Breakout Tournament runner-up Riley Osbourne. Finally, Baron Corbin managed to convince former "NXT" Champion Bron Breakker to be his partner, predicting that the pair will be unstoppable. It's a familiar spot for Corbin, who made it to the finals of the original Dusty Classic in 2015 alongside former ECW Champion Rhyno — whose Gore finisher happens to be essentially the same as Breakker's Spear.

The return of the Dusty Classic, which last took place in 2022, was announced by Dusty's son, Cody Rhodes, while he served as "NXT's" guest General Manager on October 10. The winners will receive a tag team championship match against reigning champs Tony D'Angelo and Stacks Lorenzo. Previous winners include then-"NXT" Champion Finn Balor and current AEW World Champion Samoa Joe (2015), the recently-returned Authors of Pain (2016), current AEW stars Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly (2018), Aleister Black (now AEW's Malaki Black) and Ricochet (2019), Pete Dunne (now known as Butch) and the recently-released Matt Riddle (2020), Wes Lee and former partner Nash Carter (2021), and the Creed Brothers, now stars on WWE's main roster (2022).