First Three Teams Announced For Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic 2026

As noted before, Tuesday’s WWE NXT show featured the announcement of the return of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament for this year. This upcoming tournament was stated to feature 14 teams from AAA, NXT, WWE EVOLVE, RAW, and SmackDown and will start at next week’s NXT show on September 22.

A recent episode of the Busted Open Radio podcast featured NXT General Manager Robert Stone as the guest. Stone confirmed that The Creed Brothers (Julius & Brutus Creed) are one of the teams for this year’s tournament.

Stone also announced that NXT Tag Team Champions The Vanity Project (Ricky Smokes & Brad Baylor) and AAA World Tag Team Champions The Wagner Brothers (Galeno & El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr.) will also be competing in the upcoming tournament.

Stone also stated that The Vanity Project and The Wagner Brothers will receive a First Round bye in the tournament.

Anything can happen like @WrenSinclairWWE interrupting today! And anything can be announced on #NXTRoundup every Wednesday morning.

I’ve set two more tag teams in stone for the Dusty Classic, which kicks off next Tuesday! pic.twitter.com/6SnBwy3iHe

— Robert Stone (@MrStoneWWE) September 16, 2026

The remaining tag teams and full bracket is currently scheduled to be released later this week.

Current tag team field for WWE Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic 2026:

• NXT Tag Team Champions The Vanity Project (Ricky Smokes & Brad Baylor)
• AAA World Tag Team Champions The Wagner Brothers (Galeno & El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr.)
• The Creed Brothers (Julius & Brutus Creed)