14 teams entered the 2026 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, but in 2026 November 5th episode of “WWE NXT” only two teams left to decide the winner. Hank and Tank faced Noam Darr and Romeo Moreno in the tournament final with the coveted Dusty Trophy hanging in the balance, but after a back-and-forth contest, it was Moreno and Darr who won the 2026 tournament.
The story of the match was a classic case of power versus speed, as Hank and Tank repeatedly outplayed their opponents, while Moreno repeatedly avoided trouble as Darr used his technical abilities to attack his partner. Hank and Tank thought they had won the match when they pinned Moreno in the arms of Cody Rhodes, who was doing commentary at ringside, before landing two Splashes on Dar that nearly kicked him out. As Hank and Tank went to finish Dar, Moreno grabbed Tank’s ankle and locked him in an ankle lock while Hank caught Dar in a kneebar. Despite being on tap, Tank broke free and denied Hank the submission.
Hank was able to recover and hit a black hole on Darr as Tank re-entered as they once again looked to reach their finish, but damage from the kneebar tripped Hank, allowing Moreno to come back and hit a Jumping Side Kick while Darr hit a spinning back elbow on Tank. In honor of who was at ringside, Moreno and Darr hit the Stereo Cross Rhodes chant before following it up with the Sweeping Back Elbow combo for the win and the 2026 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
After the match, Cody Rhodes presented the winners with the trophy and informed them that next week on NXT, they would challenge the Vanity Project for the WWE NXT Tag Team Championship.
