After the first semi-final match of the 2020 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament on the Jan. 22 NXT, you could pretty much tell where we were headed. And we got to the expected place, but not exactly the way it might have seemed after an Imperium distraction cost Undisputed ERA a chance at becoming the first two-time Dusty Cup winners.
da, da, da, da, daaaaa, da daa, daaa, daaa, daaa #IMPERIUM has made their presence felt! #WWENXT@WalterAUT @FabianAichner @Marcel_B_WWE @TheWWEWolfe pic.twitter.com/5K97Iw313y
— NXT UK (@NXTUK) January 23, 2020
Former NXT UK Tag champs Grizzled Young Veterans were the beneficiaries of that, as Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly’s divided attention allowed Zack Gibson & James Drake to pull of another upset.
Sorry internet.
— Mr. Mayhem (@JamesDrake_GYT) January 23, 2020
2 down....1 to go.
SOON TO BE.... First Ever British Dusty Classic winners.
https://t.co/ptX27HIXIo
But, if you were like me and thought Adam Cole & company would return the favor when Imperium faced off with The Broserweights in the other semi, NXT swerved us. Additional build for Worlds Collide’s main event would wait.
Pete Dunne & Matt Riddle didn’t need any assistance to put away Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel. Even a staredown between old foes Dunne & WALTER didn’t hurt the tourney’s makeshift team...
Déjà vu.
— NXT UK (@NXTUK) January 23, 2020
But, like, really good déjà vu.#WWENXT #DustyClassic @PeteDunneYxB @WalterAUT pic.twitter.com/Ux4uvMvHAm
... a duo who’ve instantly become fan favorites.
The perfect #BroserWeight tag team maneuver doesn't exi-#WWENXT #DustyClassic @PeteDunneYxB @SuperKingofBros pic.twitter.com/trT9HiHYDQ
— WWE (@WWE) January 23, 2020
We’ll see how good the match is next Wednesday (Jan. 29). But if The Broserweights vs. Grizzled Young Veterans is as good as this promo segment, where The Original Bro was set-up by Gibson offering the alternative name “Joint Manipulation” for Riddle & Dunne’s team (sorry, I couldn’t find a clip of Liverpool #1’s bit, but he was great as usual)...
Matt Riddle is fucking hilarious.#WWENXT pic.twitter.com/jXzlT8bP3C
— devin ✩ {fan account} (@ramblinsrabbit) January 23, 2020
Two Teams. One FINAL match. NEXT WEEK! #TheBroserWeights vs. #GrizzledYoungVeterans
— WWE (@WWE) January 23, 2020
Who will win?!
#WWENXT #DustyClassic @SuperKingofBros @PeteDunneYxB @ZackGibson01 @JamesDrake_GYT pic.twitter.com/tOE9fGnNXB
We should be just fine.
Get all the results from tonight’s NXT here.