On today's The Bump, WWE revealed the NXT Men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic brackets. This annual tournament has been a cornerstone of the Black and Gold brand, with past winners moving on to securing Championship victories.
With the 2021 tournament set to begin on this week's episode of WWE NXT, all 16 teams and eight first-round match-ups have been announced.
The participants in the 2021 NXT Men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic:
- August Grey and Curt Stallion
- Ashante "Thee" Adonis and Desmond Troy
- The Bollywood Boyz
- Breezango
- Drake Maverick and Killian Dain
- Ever-Rise
- The Grizzled Young Veterans
- Imperium
- Jake Atlas and Isaiah "Swerve" Scott
- Kushida and Leon Ruff
- Legado del Fantasma (Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza)
- Lucha House Party
- The Undisputed ERA (Adam Cole and Roderick Strong)
- The Way (Johnny Gargano and Austin Theory)
- Tony Nese and Ariya Daivari
- MSK
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This year's tournament will mark the largest field of competitors with 16 teams. There has been a wide variety of successful teams that have achieved glory in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
Past winners of the competition have included The BroserWeights, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe, and The Undisputed Era. Fans will be excited to see who the next team to join that illustrious list is.
NXT Men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic first-round matches
The first-round matches in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic will kick off on this week's WWE NXT. It will feature three former championship teams, past winners and finalists of the tournament, in what will be a thrilling start to the tournament's 2021 edition.
The 2021 NXT Men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic first-round matches will be:
- The Undisputed ERA (Adam Cole and Roderick Strong) vs. Breezango
- Ever-Rise vs. The Grizzled Young Veterans
- Tony Nese and Ariya Daivari vs. Ashante "Thee" Adonis and Desmond Troy
- KUSHIDA and Leon Ruff vs. The Way (Johnny Gargano and Austin Theory)
- MSK vs. Isaiah "Swerve" Scott and Jake Atlas
- Drake Maverick and Killian Dain vs. August Grey and Curt Stallion
- Imperium vs. Lucha House Party
- Legada del Fantasma (Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza) vs. The Bollywood Boyz
It will be fascinating to watch the first-round unfold. This year's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic might mark the fiercest field of tag teams that NXT has to offer and should result in compelling matches.