Smark Out Moment

WWE NXT TakeOver: Tampa was originally scheduled for April 4, 2020 at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that day will now be Night 1 of WrestleMania 36. Instead, the matches scheduled for TakeOver: Tampa will air starting April 1st on NXT.

To keep it simpler, this post will hereby refer to everything as still just TakeOver: Tampa, just for organizational purposes.

Follow along here for spoilers and information on the event's card, lineup of matches and news regarding the pay-per-view.

The following are my predictions for the 2020 WWE NXT TakeOver: Tampa PPV. Check back for NXT TakeOver: Tampa results and review coverage here when the time comes.

WWE NXT TakeOver: Tampa 2020 Spoilers and Predictions

NXT Championship Match: Adam Cole (c) vs. Velveteen Dream

This hasn't been made official, but it might as well be. It's either going to happen on April 8th or April 15th, I'd assume.

PREDICTION: Adam Cole retains.


Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa

— This match will take place April 8th on NXT. 

Obviously, it was not at all part of the plan for this to be happening the way it is. Gargano vs. Ciampa was supposed to be in front of thousands of people and now, it will be in an empty building. Triple H specifically said multiple times that this has to be the end of the Gargano/Ciampa feud and it seems weird that it would end this way. If it doesn't, though, it kind of defeats the purpose.

Then again, we've had Gargano kicked out of NXT just to come back, so WWE has no problems going back on endgame promises.

Killer Kross being teased as potentially involved is interesting. I don't necessarily think he'll get involved, but he might.

I honestly don't know who has a better chance of winning this. Part of me even thinks it's going to have to end in a no-contest or a double pin just to make sure there's no definitive winner.

PREDICTION: Draw?

NXT Women's Championship No. 1 Contender's Ladder Match: Chelsea Green vs. Mia Yim vs. Tegan Nox vs. Io Shirai vs. Candice LeRae vs. TBD

— On April 1st, there will be a Second Chance Gauntlet Match to fill the final spot. It will feature Aliyah, Dakota Kai, Deonna Purrazzo, Kayden Carter, Shotzi Blackheart and Xia Li.

— This match will take place April 8th on NXT.

The winner of this ladder match will earn a title shot down the line against either Rhea Ripley or Charlotte Flair (depending on who wins at WrestleMania 36).

This makes sense. I had been saying for a while that Ripley shouldn't have a dedicated challenger, as nobody would believe she'd drop the title the night before Mania. They could've gone with a tag team match or something, but why bother if you can put the spotlight on two other women?

I'm banking on Io Shirai winning the title shot, eventually. She just strikes me as the biggest possible next contender. However, if Dakota Kai gets in there, she stands almost just as good of a chance, if not more.

PREDICTION: 60% Io Shirai wins. 40% Dakota Kai wins. If Kai is not involved, 100% Shirai wins.


NXT North American Championship Triple Threat Match: Keith Lee (c) vs. Dominik Dijakovic vs. Damian Priest

— This match will take place April 1st on NXT.

I like what I've seen of Priest so far and we know what Lee and Dijakovic can do. I'm all for this. I'm expecting the match to be quite good, albeit not as good as it could have been if there was a rowdy crowd watching it live in attendance, naturally.

As far as the winner goes, my gut tells me Lee is going to retain. My brain, however, tells me that there's a good chance he might actually lose. It wouldn't shock me if Lee dropped this title here by having Dijakovic pin Priest or something to protect Lee, then Velveteen Dream failed to win the NXT Championship and down the line, Lee was the one who beat Adam Cole for that belt.

Maybe I'm overthinking things...or maybe I'm onto something...

PREDICTION: Keith Lee retains.

NXT Tag Team Championship Match: The BroserWeights (c) vs. ???

Under different circumstances, I assume we would have gotten The BroserWeights against Grizzled Young Veterans. With travel and filming being on hiatus, it seems WWE has pivoted toward Rinku Singh and Saurav Gurjar. I don't think we're getting some rushed match between those two teams in the coming weeks, partially as I don't expect Pete Dunne to be available to film. However, it wouldn't shock me if down the line, we got a tag team match with them involved after this is all over.

For now, I'm going to say these belts are on hold.

PREDICTION: n/a

NXT UK Championship Match: WALTER (c) vs. Finn Balor

Well this seems to be a thing after Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel attacked Balor and said WALTER sends his regards.

Update: This won't be happening until later down the line. WALTER won't be able to travel to the United States during this pandemic.

PREDICTION: WALTER retains.