Updated brackets revealed as 2026 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic kicks off on NXT

NXT General Manager Robert Stone announced the return of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic and WWE published updated brackets as the tournament began on the September 22 edition of NXT at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. First-round action started on that show with multiple matches advancing teams into the next round.

WWE confirmed this will be the ninth edition of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, a tournament first established in 2015 as a tribute to Dusty Rhodes. The 2026 field comprises 14 tag teams competing in a single-elimination bracket drawn from WWE’s Raw, SmackDown, NXT and Evolve brands, plus entrants from Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). The tournament returns in 2026 after a one-year gap since 2024, when Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin won the event.

On the opening night of first-round competition, the pairing of Romeo Moreno and Noam Dar defeated Los Americanos (Rayo & Barvo Americano). The Creed Brothers, Julius and Brutus Creed, beat Harley Riggins and Jax Presley to advance to the next round.

Two teams received first-round byes into the bracket: The Vanity Project, identified as the reigning NXT Tag Team Champions, and The Wagner Brothers, El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. and Galeno, listed as the AAA World Tag Team Champions. Those byes place both championship teams directly into later rounds of the single-elimination draw.

WWE announced additional matches scheduled for next week’s NXT, including Zaria (c) vs Thea Hail for the NXT Women’s North American Title and Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic first-round bouts Fraxiom vs DarkState and Birthright vs Mini Vikingo & Chazz Hall, along with the return of Myles Borne. Those matchups were listed among the advertised items for the program.

Past winners cited in the updated coverage include The Creed Brothers as champions of the seventh edition in 2022 and the 2024 men’s tournament winners Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin, known as The Wolf Dogs, who defeated Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams in the 2024 final.

The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic will continue on next week’s NXT with more first-round matches as the 14-team single-elimination bracket progresses.