NXT is live tonight from the Performance Center in Orlando once again, with a little over a month until Halloween Havoc. Tuesday nights like this one are for tag teams, with a big tag team match in the women’s division, a 6-man tag in the men’s division, and the beginning of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Be sure to tune in to the action on the CW starting at 8 PM ET, and follow along with all the action right here on Cageside!
Tag Team Wrestling in its Comeback Era
Not long ago, NXT GM Robert Stone made a point of telling us he was
going to revitalize the tag team division on Tuesday nights. After reports earlier this year that WWE would place renewed emphasis on its tag divisions, tonight’sNXT is set to feature multiple tag team matches. The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic will return, but as it has all year, the NXT women’s division could steal the show tonight with its own tag team match.
That’s because NXT Women’s Champion Kelani Jordan will team up with Women’s North American Champion Zaria to take on Thea Hail and the brand-new Reina de Reinas Champion, La Catalina. The latter, who came up short in a Money in the Bank qualifier on Raw last night, made a surprise appearance last Tuesday as part of one of those signature NXT contender parades. Things quickly devolved into a brawl, with Thea and La Catalina standing tall together, and now the duo will take on NXT’s top two women’s champions in tag team action.
With three champions competing, some of their contenders will likely be lurking.
La Catalina will defend her newly won Reina de Reinas Championship this Saturday against Roxanne! Perez at Worlds Collide. Will Roxy be too busy celebrating her win in a Money in the Bank Qualifier last night to pay any attention to her next opponent tonight? Plus, Izzi Dame seems to be standing in between Thea Hail and a shot at the North American Championship. After playing some mind games with Zaria last week, will one of the last remaining members of The Culling get involved in this tag team match somehow? And if so, will she target Zaria or Thea?
Then there’s NXT Women’s Champion Kelani Jordan.
After winning the title from Kendal Grey at Heatwave, Jordan recently took a savage beatdown from Kendal’s bestie, Wren Sinclair. Wren was suspended for her actions, which gave her plenty of time to accompany Kendal to her doctor’s appointment last week. We’d find out in that segment that Kendal is not currently cleared, as she is dealing with issues with her vestibular system. Will we get another update on the status of either WrenQCC member this week? In the meantime, will any other women step up and set their sights on ‘Lani?
2026 Dusty Classic kicks off
GM Stone announced on last week’s show that the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic was returning for the 11th time in NXT history. Throughout the rest of the week, the field for this year’s tournament was slowly revealed, starting with the announcement that both the NXT and AAA Tag Team Champions would be among the 14 teams competing for the Dusty Cup. In addition, due to currently holding tag team gold, both the Swipe Right boys from Vanity Project and the Brothers Wagner would receive first round byes.
Finally, over the weekend, the remaining 14 teams were revealed, featuring superstars from all 5 of WWE’s brands. After returning to Tuesday nights recently and making a huge impact on the tag team division, the Creed Brothers, who won the Dusty Cup four years ago, could be primed to become the first-ever two-time winners. Could former tag team champions Fraxiom or Hank & Tank add a huge accomplishment to their resume by running the table? Or will one of the other teams navigate through the tournament and elevate themselves to the top of the NXT tag team division?
We’ll start to get some of those answers tonight! Although the teams participating in the first-round matches tonight weren’t announced as of press time, we know for sure that the action will be kicking off and it’s sure to be electric!
*In case you missed it, you can check out this Dusty Classic primer that I put together over the weekend!
Zilla Fatu gets to say no to Birth Right again
For the last few weeks, the nepo-baby faction known as Birth Right has been doing their damnedest to get Zilla Fatu to join their ranks. On paper, Umaga’s son checks a lot of the boxes someone might check if they were going to join that group. Unfortunately for the sons of Fit Finlay, William Regal, and Brian Pillman, and the daughter of Santino Marella, Zilla has repeatedly expressed that he has absolutely no interest in joining their ranks.
On last week’s show, after DarkState knocked off Sean Legacy and Dorian Van Dux in a tag team match, Birth Right hit the scene looking to make a statement. The damned numbers game allowed them to get the upper hand until Zilla came to Legacy and DVD’s aid. Once the dust settled from that brawl, a 6-man tag team match was signed for this week.
Will Birth Right continue their quest to get a nympho baby to join their ranks, or have they decided that beating the crap out of him is the better option now? Plus, with their Dusty Classic first-round matches looming in the coming weeks, will it be Connors and Stacks or Legacy and DVD that picks up a win tonight and builds some momentum heading into the tournament?
Quick Hits
- After hitting a brutal Kali Connection to beat Lizzy Rain last week, Kali Armstrong was attacked by LFG Skylar Raye. Will the LFG Season 2 winner cross paths with the former Evolve Women’s Champion again this week?
- The soap opera that is the former NQCC continued last week when Myles Borne passively-aggressively and slyly embarrassed his former partner, Tavion Heights, just seconds after seeming to reconcile with him. Do both dudes still have their sights set on Jackson Drake and the North American Championship? Or are we headed for some sort of brutal gimmick match between the former tag team champions at Halloween Havoc?
- Speaking of the North American Champion, he got involved in Swipe Right’s tag team match last week, getting a cheap shot in on Cruz Montana before being ejected from ringside. With Borne and Heights primed for a feud of their own, could it be the former TNA Champion or his partner last week, EK Prosper, who is next to step up to Jackson Drake?
- Mason Rook outlasted Tony D’Angelo and Saquon Shugars in a triple-threat match last week, making him the first to challenge Grayson Waller for the NXT Championship. Will the guy who’s big and bad and’ll bodyslam your dad get to decide when he gets his shot at the gold? Or will the Aussie Icon have some say in when he defends the NXT Title for the first time?
All this and more on the CW tonight as the road to Halloween Havoc continues! Let us know what you’re most excited for on tonight’s show in the comments below, and be sure to follow along with the live coverage here on Cageside tonight, starting at 8 PM Eastern!
