Introduced in 2019, the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic has been a mainstay of WWE NXT programming, with its latest round recently over.
The 2026 tournament saw Noam Dar and Romeo Moreno win the tournament, with the final victory coming over Hank Walker and Tank Ledger.
With the sixth men’s tournament now concluded, let’s take a look at where the past winners are:
Aleister Black and Ricochet, 2019
While both stars would go on to a degree of main roster success, with Ricochet being a former Intercontinental and United States Champion, both stars would subsequently exit WWE.
For Black, his first tenure would end in June 2021 with his release seeing him sign with AEW before returning in April 2025, only to be released in the same month a year later, with the star returning to the independent scene.
Ricochet would sign with AEW under a multi-year deal and has since become World Trios Champion.
The Broserweights, 2020
September 2023 would see Matt Riddle released from his WWE contract, with the star returning to the independent wrestling scene, leading to him signing with Major League Wrestling.
As for Pete Dunne, the star went on to become Butch, before reverting to his more familiar in-ring name, and is now seen frequently as Rayo Americano of Los Americanos. A backstage producer, Dunne’s contribution to WWE in that capacity, including AAA, has reaped rewards for all involved.
MSK, 2021
Nash Carter and Wes Lee were both members of The Rascalz before signing with WWE and have returned to that faction name under AEW, making their first appearance there in January of this year.
Now back to being Zachary Wentz and Dezmond Xavier, respectively, Carter was released by WWE in 2022, with Lee seeing his exit in October of last year.
The Creed Brothers, 2022
Brutus and Julius Creed made their main roster debut in November 2023 and have remained signed to WWE since, transferring their talents to AAA as Los Americanos Hermanos members Bruto Credo & Julio Credo, siding with ‘Original’ El Grande Americano, their former American Made stablemate, Chad Gable.
Once again back to being The Creed Brothers, September saw the pair make a return to NXT as active competitors.
Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker, 2024
Never officially ‘The Wolf Dogs’, Bron Breakker was arguably a revelation as a character during his humorous partnership with Baron Corbin, despite it being a relatively short run.
After twelve years with WWE, Corbin would part ways with the company in November 2024 following his contract expiring and opting to not renew, heading to the independent scene, returning in July of this year and becoming United States Champion at SummerSlam.
Breakker made his much-anticipated move to the main roster, becoming Intercontinental Champion, a major stepping stone to the world championship picture, and is currently one-half of the World Tag Team Champoins with Austin Theory as members of The Vision.
What’s next for Noam Dar & Romeo Moreno?
The winners of this year’s tournament, Noam Dar and Romeo Moreno have a guaranteed NXT Tag Team Championship match, with an opportunity defeat The Vanity Project’s Brad Baylor & Ricky Smokes, who have held the title since Heatwave on August 30.
Dar is a former main roster star, moving to NXT UK in 2018 and then NXT itself in early 2023. The alliance with Moreno kicked off in May this year, after Dar returned, confronting Vanity Project, with the upcoming match being a full-circle moment of sorts.
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