For years, the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic highlighted a few of the most effective teams in NXT with winners including AOP, MSK, and the Creed Brothers.
It has now been over two years since probably the most recent Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, which was won in February 2024 by Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker.
On WrestleVotes Live, the subject of why WWE scrapped the concept was brought up, with Joey Votes saying that a changing roster hampered plans. He said,
“It comes right down to the roster that NXT had. They’d it through 2024. I don’t know if it was well received that yr. No indictment on Shawn Michaels or the creative staff there, but to have a tag team tournament, you wish quite a lot of talent.
“Talent that you just’re not using elsewhere. You’ll be able to’t pluck from different storylines necessarily to be in these tournaments. So back within the day when NXT had stacked, stacked rosters, it made sense.”
From 2019 to 2024, winners of the Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournaments were awarded a shot on the WWE NXT Tag Team Titles.
The tournament was named after the late Dusty Rhodes, who played an important part in WWE NXT before his death in 2015.