NXT posts updated brackets for 2026 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic after September 29 show

Following the September 29, 2026 episode of WWE NXT at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, updated brackets were released for the 2026 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. The announcement came after the tournament opened on the September 22 edition of NXT.

NXT General Manager Robert Stone announced the return of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic last week and WWE published the full list of entrants for the ninth edition. The field comprises 14 tag teams in a single-elimination bracket drawing competitors from WWE’s Raw, SmackDown, NXT and Evolve brands, plus participants from Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). Two teams — reigning NXT Tag Team Champions The Vanity Project and AAA World Tag Team Champions The Wagner Brothers (El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. & Galeno) — received first-round byes.

The Creed Brothers (Julius & Brutus Creed) advanced with a first-round victory last week. The team of Romeo Moreno and Noam Dar also won their opening-round match to move into the next phase of the tournament.

WWE announced additional first-round pairings to be contested on next week’s NXT: Sean Legacy and Dorian Van Dux will face Tokyo Bad Boys (Kento & Takuma), while Shido Ash and Viktor Zanov will meet Hank & Tank (Hank Walker & Tank Ledger). These matches were included among the advertised items for that episode.

The advertised card for the upcoming NXT show also lists a NXT Women’s Title #1 Contenders Battle Royal, Naraku vs Shiloh Hill, and Zilla Fatu vs Lexis King alongside the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic fixtures. The promotion shared the lineup in its event announcement for the September 29 broadcast.

First held in 2015 as a tribute to Dusty Rhodes, the tournament returns in 2026 after a one-year gap since 2024, when Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin emerged victorious. The Creed Brothers won the seventh edition in 2022, and the 2024 men’s tournament winners, Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin (The Wolf Dogs), defeated Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams in the final.

The first round of the 2026 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic will resume on next week’s NXT with the announced first-round matches.