The final of the 2026 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is now confirmed after the semi-finals took place on tonight’s WWE NXT.
The opening match tonight saw NXT Tag Team Champions Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes of Vanity Project take on Romeo Moreno and Noam Dar in semi-final number one.
Dar had suffered a head injury at an untelevised NXT live event a few days ago that required 10 staples, but still worked tonight as planned.
It was Scotsman Dar and Spaniard Moreno who ended up scoring the win, securing their spot in the final next week, which, as a side note, will take place on Wednesday instead of Tuesday due to the election coverage.
Joining Dar and Moreno in the final will be Hank Walker and Tank Ledger, who defeated AAA Tag Team Champions El Hijo De Dr Wagner Jr and Galeno in the other semi-final tonight.
The favorites heading into next week
Since the start of the tournament, the two favorite teams seemed to be Dar and Moreno alongside the team of Sean Legacy and Dorian Van Dux.
Unfortunately, due to an injury to Van Dux, he and Legacy ended up being pulled from the tournament so they were removed from the equation.
The two teams’ stories were pretty similar – somewhat thrown together duos that actually turned out to have great chemistry and some long-term potential together.
That’s also been a theme throughout the years with the Dusty Cup, with previous winners including Finn Balor and Samoa Joe, Aleister Black and Ricochet, Pete Dunne and Matt Riddle, and most recent winners Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker.
With Van Dux and Legacy out, that immediately made Dar and Moreno the favorites to go all the way.
However, there’s definitely a case to be made for Hank & Tank, who have been one of the most impressive tag teams in NXT for the past couple of years.
They defeated Fraxiom to win the NXT Tag Team Title but cooled off in recent months, and this could be the perfect way to rejuvenate them.
Also, with Dar’s injury, it may be that he needs to take time out of action to recover, which could sway creative to go with Hank & Tank – though it would be a big shame if that was the deciding factor, and if it was the case, Dar and Moreno probably wouldn’t have won their semi tonight.
Let us know in the comments who you think will win this year’s Dusty Classic.
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