Interesting new duo to join the NXT Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic
The sixth annual Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is well underway, and the first-ever women's tournament kicked off on last night's episode of NXT.
During the show, fans saw the team of Kushida and Leon Ruff overcome Johnny Gargano and Austin Theory of The Way to progress to the next round.
Lucha House Party also defeated Imperium to move on to the quarterfinals with the Undisputed Era and Grizzled Young Veterans.
The show was headlined by Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher, who battled it out in NXT's Fight Pit. After an intense showing, Thatcher snatched the win by submission.
In an online exclusive post-show interview, Ciampa approached Thatcher and reminded him that there was an opening in the Dusty Classic tournament. The latter responded with a nod.
It now appears that Ciampa's offer has been fulfilled by NXT General Manager William Regal, who just sent out the following message on his Twitter account:
Tommaso Ciampa has previously competed in the NXT Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic
In 2019, Tommaso Ciampa and his then-tag team partner Johnny Gargano, known as #DIY, took part in the tournament.
The pair successfully defeated Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish of the Undisputed Era to progress to the semifinals. They were knocked out by the eventual tournament winners Aleister Black and Ricochet.
This year's Dusty Cup is bigger than ever, with 16 tag teams battling it out to try and win the coveted prize. This is double the competitors from the 2020 edition.
Eight teams faced off in the competition, with The Broserweights, Pete Dunne and Riddle, taking home the win and eventually the NXT Tag Team Championships.
As Tommaso Ciampa has previously competed in the tournament and is also an experienced tag team wrestler, this could give him and Thatcher an advantage as they compete in the prestigious matches.