It was revealed on Tuesday's edition of "WWE NXT," after a few weeks of building the men's tag team division back up, that general manager Robert Stone is bringing the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic back to the WWE Performance Center. The most recent tournament took place in 2024, but the classic first launched in 2015.The full bracket for the 14-team tournament is set to release on social media sometime this week and will feature teams from "NXT," "WWE EVOLVE," and AAA, as well as the main roster. Stone, however, took to "Busted Open Radio" to reveal a bit more about the 2026 "Dusty Cup.""We already know after last night that the Creed Brothers are in it," he said. "We're kind of breaking news right now. I'm going to give you two more teams that are going to be in this tournament. From AAA, Dr. Wagner Jr. and Galeno, and from 'NXT,' the Vanity Project. Again, I know, probably expected that both of those teams are going to be in the tournament, however, because they're both champions in their respective 'NXT' and AAA, those two teams will get a bye in the first round."Stone said there's always a fun, random team that breaks out together in the tournament, like the 2024 winner, "The Wolf Dogs," Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker. The Creed Brothers are also no strangers to the classic, having won in 2022.While the winners of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic usually get a shot at the NXT Tag Team Championships, it's unclear if that will be the case this year, as Vanity Project's Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes currently hold the gold.If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
