Cody Rhodes announced on last night’s NXT that while the NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament is currently going on, two more tournaments are right around the corner. He didn’t specify when these could start, but the Men’s Breakout Tournament and Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic will be coming back seemingly soon.
My brain naturally went straight to asking the question “Who is going to win?” But to determine that, we need to even know who is even competing. We don’t know that, though, without first taking a look at the roster to determine who even could compete.
So I’m going to do the legwork for you. Time to break down all the angles and toss out some predictions and fantasy booking scenarios.
2023 Men’s NXT Breakout Tournament
Based on history and this year’s women’s bracket, we can assume this will be an 8-man tournament. Obviously, it will also be comprised of newcomers, as that’s the whole point. But Arianna Grace was given leeway to join two of these tournaments, so there’s at least some wiggle-room as far as how new someone can be.
When I look at the roster and I ignore the Next in Line athletes, I see 25 potential names, although 5 of them may be stretching it too far.
Those five are Eddy Thorpe, Gable Steveson and Tank Ledger, as well as OTM’s Bronco Nima and Lucien Price. It wouldn’t shock me if any of them were in the tournament, but I could make a case for them being overlooked. After all, can you really be a “breakout” newcomer if you’ve fought for the tag titles on a pay-per-view like OTM? Or you’ve been signed to WWE for a few years and fought Baron Corbin on a premium live event in Steveson’s case? Thorpe’s been around for a few months, so that might disqualify him, and Ledger hasn’t gotten much started, but he has still been around for a while, too.
Even still, we have more than 8 names to pick from and WWE can easily ignore these guys and just go with the other names, which are, in alphabetical order:
- Andrzej Hughes-Murray
- Antione Frazier
- Beau Morris
- Coy Wanner
- Eka Brown
- Ezekiel Balogun
- Hayden Pittman
- Hunter Smallback
- Kale Dixon
- Kevin Robertson
- Lexis King
- Luca Crusifino
- Myles Borne
- Oba Femi
- Skylor Clinton
- Tavion Heights
- Trey Bearhill
- Tyriek Igwe
- Tyson Dupont
- Vlad Pavlenko
Most of them, you look at and think “Who?” That’s kind of the point, though.
These are largely WWE Performance Center recruits at the moment. A few of them have wrestled on NXT Level Up or had bit parts as members of Chase University and such. Crusifino did show up on an episode of NXT to get wrecked by Von Wagner, too.
It’s anyone’s guess who could be the 8 to pick, as we’re not privy to the information on who might be progressing fast enough for a spotlight. However, based on sheer match count, I would say the most likely 8 candidates would be: Eka Brown, Kale Dixon, Lexis King*, Luca Crusifino, Oba Femi, Myles Borne, Tavion Heights, and either Trey Bearhill, Tyriek Igwe or Tyson Dupont. Maybe Bearhill since Igwe and Dupont are a tag team and it’d be odd to pick just one.
Why the asterisk for Lexis King? Well, that’s Brian Pillman Jr. He’s not wrestled yet for WWE, but he’s had far more matches than any of the other people even combined, most likely.
And frankly, does the tournament even need to happen in order to crown him the most likely winner and best possible option? He’s the most experienced, the biggest name, should be a priority to actually push going forward AND it’s likely Ilja Dragunov will still be champion for the winner to challenge. Based on his most recent vignette, he seems to be a heel with this Lexis King namesake, so everything aligns perfectly.
Then, it’s just a matter of WWE picking who else wins the other matches to look stronger in their loss, as whoever makes it to the finals will likely have eyes on them, too. My guess is Oba Femi gets that distinction.
2023 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Tournament
The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is a bit less straightforward than the Men’s Breakout Tournament. That even goes for how many teams will compete.
So far, we’ve had 9 of these tournaments. All but 3 have been comprised of 8 teams, with those other 3 (2015, 2016 and 2021 men’s) having 16 teams on the bracket.
Using just teams that are already established in NXT, without branching into the main roster or forming any new pairings, there are 13 teams eligible for this at the moment who could contend with we can assume would be Tony D’Angelo and Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo:
- Chase University (Andre Chase and Duke Hudson)
- The Creed Brothers (Brutus Creed and Julius Creed)
- Gallus (Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey and Wolfgang)
- Los Lotharios (Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo)
- Meta-Four (Noam Dar and Oro Mensah)
- OTM (Bronco Nima and Lucien Price with Scrypts)
- Boa and Dante Chen
- Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs
- Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams
- Charlie Dempsey, Damon Kemp, Drew Gulak and Myles Borne
- Edris Enofe and Malik Blade
- Hank Walker and Tank Ledger
- Tyriek Igwe and Tyson Dupont
Technically, since they’re big on main roster talent making guest appearances, they could easily slot in a duo like Pretty Deadly, Brawling Brutes, etc here.
On top of that, we’ve seen nearly every year the addition of a team that isn’t already formed, just to get some singles stars in the mix. There’s nothing stopping WWE from pairing Axiom/Nathan Frazer/Tyler Bate, or Baron Corbin with someone like Javier Bernal if they have a plan in mind. Maybe this all revolves around Wes Lee paired with Guru Raaj for all we know. I doubt it, for the record.
Unless this is going to be another 16-team tournament, we can rule some of those out very easily. It’s highly unlikely Boa and Dante Chen get a spot here, for instance.
In fact, we should get a glimpse of who the likely competing teams are next week with the Bada Bing Bada Boom Battle Royal.
But as far as I’m concerned, most of these teams, even if they’re good, would be bland winners. Is it really all that interesting if The Creed Brothers win and have something like their 7th match against Tony D and Stacks? Not in my mind, even though I like them.
The only real standout team that seems worthwhile to get the most mileage out of this—particularly within the WWE landscape and their narrative tendencies—is to give the win to Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams.
Tension between the two has been getting worse and worse. Eventually, something is going to break them. Considering the whole team aspect of their dynamic, if they aren’t going to win the tag gold, winning this tournament and losing their opportunity could be the final nail in the coffin for them to come to blows. Maybe after they both fail to regain their championships and they fail to win these belts, that’s when they collapse.
So those are my advanced projections and overall predictions: Brian Pillman Jr aka Lexis King wins the Men’s Breakout Tournament and maybe even dethrones Ilja Dragunov, while Melo and Trick win the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic and fail to capture the tag titles.
What do you think will happen with these tournaments? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!
You can keep up with all your wrestling news right here on eWrestlingNews.com. Or, you can follow us over on our Twitter and Facebook pages.
The NXT Men’s Breakout Tournament and Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic are two highly anticipated events in the world of professional wrestling. These tournaments provide a platform for new talent to showcase their skills and potentially make a name for themselves in the industry. In this article, we will take a closer look at these tournaments and discuss some potential winners and scenarios.
The Men’s Breakout Tournament is an 8-man tournament that features newcomers to the NXT roster. It is an opportunity for these wrestlers to prove themselves and make a breakthrough in their careers. While the official list of participants has not been announced, we can speculate based on the current roster.
There are 25 potential names that could be considered for the tournament, although some may be more likely than others. Eddy Thorpe, Gable Steveson, Tank Ledger, Bronco Nima, and Lucien Price are among the candidates. However, their previous experience or time spent in WWE may disqualify them as “breakout” newcomers.
The remaining names on the roster include Andrzej Hughes-Murray, Antione Frazier, Beau Morris, Coy Wanner, Eka Brown, Ezekiel Balogun, Hayden Pittman, Hunter Smallback, Kale Dixon, Kevin Robertson, Lexis King (Brian Pillman Jr.), Luca Crusifino, Myles Borne, Oba Femi, Skylor Clinton, Tavion Heights, Trey Bearhill, Tyriek Igwe, Tyson Dupont, and Vlad Pavlenko.
Out of these names, Lexis King (Brian Pillman Jr.) stands out as a potential winner. He has more experience than the other participants and has yet to wrestle for WWE. His recent vignette suggests a heel persona, which aligns well with the current NXT champion Ilja Dragunov. Other potential winners could include Oba Femi or any of the other participants who make it to the finals.
Moving on to the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, this tournament is a bit more complex. The number of teams and participants can vary from year to year. In the past, there have been 8-team and 16-team brackets. For this year’s tournament, there are 13 established teams in NXT that could potentially compete.
These teams include Chase University (Andre Chase and Duke Hudson), The Creed Brothers (Brutus Creed and Julius Creed), Gallus (Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey, and Wolfgang), Los Lotharios (Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo), Meta-Four (Noam Dar and Oro Mensah), OTM (Bronco Nima and Lucien Price with Scrypts), Boa and Dante Chen, Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs, Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams, Charlie Dempsey, Damon Kemp, Drew Gulak, and Myles Borne, Edris Enofe and Malik Blade, Hank Walker and Tank Ledger, and Tyriek Igwe and Tyson Dupont.
It is worth noting that WWE often includes main roster talent or forms new pairings for this tournament. So, there may be additional teams that are not currently established in NXT. However, based on the existing teams, Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams stand out as potential winners. The tension between them has been building, and winning the tournament only to fail in capturing the tag titles could be the catalyst for their eventual split.
In conclusion, the Men’s Breakout Tournament and Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic are exciting events in the world of professional wrestling. While the official participants and winners have yet to be announced, there are several potential contenders who could make a significant impact. Whether it’s Lexis King (Brian Pillman Jr.) winning the Men’s Breakout Tournament or Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams winning the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, these tournaments are sure to provide thrilling moments and opportunities for new talent to shine.