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The 2021 edition of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament is currently underway on NXT and its sister brand, 205 Live. The first iteration of the contest took place in 2015, where Samoa Joe and Finn Balor were crowned as the winners. Since then, the tournament has become a staple on WWE TV. It has also proved to be a fertile ground for tag teams looking to make a name for themselves in WWE.
The latest edition of the tournament has 16 teams competing for the coveted trophy. The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Roderick Strong), MSK (Nash Carter, Wes Lee), and Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) have advanced to the quarterfinals, thus far. More qualifying matches are lined up for this week's WWE 205 Live and next week's NXT, after which things will become much clearer.
Several fans have already begun predicting the teams they would like to see in the advanced stages of the tournament. However, with quite a few terrific teams in contention, it has also become a little hard to determine who will come out on top once the event is over.
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Do share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below. On that note, let's take a look at the possible semi-finalists for this year's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament.
#4 Grizzled Young Veterans (WWE NXT)
The duo of James Drake and Zack Gibson, collectively known as Grizzled Young Veterans, were the finalists in the 2020 edition of the tournament, where they came up short against Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne in the finals. They had a terrific showing in the first match of the tournament this year, where they convincingly defeated Ever-Rise on the recently concluded episode of NXT.
The duo was all set to become a prominent part of NXT's tag division, but the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting travel restrictions halted their push, as they were forced to sit back at home for the most part of 2020. However, things are seemingly going in the right direction for them in 2021.
With enough momentum behind them, the duo will be gunning to defeat the team of either Kushida and Leon Ruff or Johnny Gargano and Austin Theory, as both of these teams are set to take on each other during the next week's episode of NXT. With Kushida and Gargano possibly colliding for the NXT North American Championship soon, none of their teams are expected to go over Grizzled Young Veterans at this point.
#3 MSK (WWE NXT)
The duo of Nash Carter and Wes Lee, collectively known as MSK, has taken the NXT universe by storm. Debuting on this week's NXT, they faced the duo of Isaiah Swerve Scott and Jake Atlas in the first round of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament. MSK came up victorious in the end. Their aerial in-ring style, coupled with their boundless charisma, has won them several fans already. These fans are clamoring to see more of them in the future.
For the unversed, MSK is better known for their work as The Rascalz in IMPACT Wrestling. Their two-year stint in the company made them one of the most sought after tag teams outside of WWE. They departed from the company in November 2020 and were quickly signed by WWE in the following month.
They would be facing either the teams of Killian Dain and Drake Maverik or August Grey and Curt Stallion in the quarterfinals. Regardless of which team gets to face MSK in the quarterfinals, MSK would be the favorites going into that match to book their place in the semi-finals.
NXT creative should be smart enough to capitalize upon the momentum that Lee and Carter have generated on their debut. It won't come as a surprise even if they are booked to win the whole event.
#2 Imperium (WWE NXT)
Former NXT Tag Team Champions Imperium, consisting of Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner, has seemingly fallen out of favor after they lost their titles to Breezango in August 2020. Since then, the duo has sporadically appeared on TV, without any clear direction. However, they are too good of a duo to be ignored for so long.
Their first match in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament will be against the Lucha House Party (Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado). Imperium may win over their opponents in the first round since Lucha House Party is currently in contention for the RAW Tag Team Championships. In the quarterfinals, Imperium would then face either The Bollywood Boyz or Legado del Fantasma, which should be an easy challenge for them.
Going by the tournament bracket and the predictions made by this writer, Imperium would collide with MSK in the semi-finals. That potential bout may certainly end up being a stunning contrast of wrestling styles. No matter who comes out on top in the end, it would surely be an incredible clash which could also be an early NXT match-of-the-year candidate.
#1 The Undisputed Era (WWE NXT)
NXT's Adam Cole and Roderick Strong of The Undisputed Era aren't just a safe bet to advance to the semi-finals, but also the favorites to win the entire tournament. The former three-time NXT Tag Team Champions have already won the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament in 2018, where Cole and Kyle O'Reilly represented the stable.
After defeating former NXT Tag Team Champions Breezango in the first-round match, Undisputed Era will be facing either the team of Ashante "Thee" Adonis and Desmond Troy or Ariya Daivari and Tony Nese, in the quarterfinals. It would be a relatively easy challenge for them to advance into the semi-finals, where Undisputed Era may face Grizzled Young Veterans if we go by the predictions mentioned in this article.
Cole and Strong are already embroiled in a dispute with the current NXT Tag Team Champions, as seen on NXT this week. Therefore, The Undisputed Era could be the ideal winners. However, if NXT's creative team is looking to elevate a younger team, then Cole and Strong can put over a duo like MSK or Grizzled Young Veterans in a big moment.
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