With the field of 14 teams confirmed for the WWE NXT Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic 2026 including several names from AAA, some fans wondered why TNA Wrestling was left out.
Featuring teams from across the WWE main roster, NXT and AAA, a glaring omission from the 2026 tournament are any teams from recent partnering promotion, TNA Wrestling.
‘It would be great to be represented’
In a new interview with Adrian Hernandez, TNA star Nic Nemeth shared his thoughts on the exclusion.
“We’ve had some moments where we got a lot of NXT people who were brand new, gave them a shot, gave them some TV time, got those reps in. It would be nice to see it replicated.
“But, of course, it’s not always the time and place for it.. So all of those moments can still happen, and they will when the time is right. It would be great to be represented out there.”
Nemeth would go on to add that he personally isn’t torn up about the Nemeth Brothers, TNA Tag Team Champions, being left out of the running for the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
‘Super busy right now and I’m not interested’
Noting that he’s plenty busy, the TNA World Champion and one half of the TNA Tag Team Champions said:
“But also, I’m super busy right now, and I’m not interested in doing NXT as the world champion and tag team champion. But… down the line, I would love to see more of an interaction if we continue that relationship because it was really fruitful for both sides.”
With several intriguing tag teams appearing in TNA Wrestling including WWE familiar faces The Hardys (Matt and Jeff Hardy), there could certainly be a moment for The Righteous or even The System to make their mark on behalf of TNA.
Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic
Confirming the field of 14 teams for the tournament, NXT has brought together some intriguing teams set to find out who is the best tag team at the Performance Center.
The teams are as follow:
NXT Tag Team Champions The Vanity Project (Brad Baylor & Ricky Smokes) and AAA Tag Team Champions The Wagner Brothers (El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. & Galeno) get first-round byes as current champions.
Additional teams are BirthRight (Uriah Connors & Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo), Mini Vikingo & Chazz “Starboy” Hall, Fraxiom (Nathan Frazer & Axiom), DarkState (Cutler James & Osiris Griffin), Noam Dar & Romeo Moreno, Los Americanos (Rayo Americano & Bravo Americano), The Creed Brothers (Julius Creed & Brutus Creed), The Tokyo Bad Boys (Kento & Takuma), Sean Legacy & Dorian Van Dux, Harley Riggins & Jax Presley, Shido Ash & Viktor Zanov, and Hank Walker & Tank Ledger.
Transcription via Fightful
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