Dusty Classic Kicks Off As NXT Sets Up Waller-Rook Title Clash

The 2026 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic officially got underway on NXT this week, with the September 22 show from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando also advancing several key rivalries heading into next week’s NXT Championship showdown between Grayson Waller and Mason Rook.

The tournament opened with Noam Dar and Romeo Moreno defeating Los Americanos in a hard-hitting bout, finishing the masked duo off with a top-rope Death Valley Driver into a tandem takedown. Later, The Creed Brothers made their long-awaited return to NXT action, needing just three minutes to get past Harley Riggins and Jax Presley, though technical issues limited what fans were able to see of the match itself.

Elsewhere on the card, Skylar Raye picked up a controversial win over Kali Armstrong after Reina Volcan interfered following an accidental collision with the referee, with the recovering official counting Raye’s arm across Armstrong for the pin. In a champion-vs.-champion tag matchup, NXT Women’s Champion Kelani Jordan and Women’s North American Champion Zaria fell to La Catalina and Thea Hail, with Hail sealing it via a surprise roll-up on Zaria after a long babyface shine sequence for Catalina and Hail.

The NXT Championship picture heated up considerably when Cruz Montana tried to address his place in the title conversation, only for DarkState’s Dion Lennox to interrupt. The exchange turned ugly fast, with Montana questioning how Lennox got into wrestling and Lennox firing back with personal remarks about Montana’s family, triggering a brawl that spilled out of the ring and into the back.

Zilla Fatu, Sean Legacy and EK Prosper lost a six-man tag to BirthRight despite Fatu looking dominant throughout, including a triple dive spot with his partners. A distraction from Arianna Grace allowed Uriah Connors to steal the pin on Legacy. Lexis King rubbed salt in the wound afterward by slapping Fatu, only to eat a Samoan Spike for his trouble.

An interview segment with Zaria went sideways when old footage of her in a school play was aired, embarrassing the champion, and Izzi Dame showed up afterward to needle her and lay claim to the title of NXT’s resident mean girl.

The show closed on a lengthy face-off between NXT Champion Grayson Waller and Mason Rook ahead of their title match next week. Waller worked his usual mind games, praising Rook’s physical tools while casting doubt on his mentality, but Rook wouldn’t engage on Waller’s terms. Instead, Rook stressed that he’s earned everything in WWE and put Waller on notice that talking won’t save him once the bell rings — promising there will be no mic, no camera and no way out for the champion.

With the Dusty Classic bracket now filling out and the Montana-Lennox feud boiling over, NXT has plenty of threads to pull heading into a stacked title week. But all eyes will be on Waller and Rook, a matchup that’s been simmering and now finally gets its moment — a real measuring stick for a challenger looking to prove his physical gifts translate into championship gold.