Rumors On Backup Plans For WWE NXT "Takeover: Tampa" And WWE Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony
Pat Laprade, a member of WWE's French announce team, took to Twitter tonight with new rumors on possible plans for the 2020 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony and the WWE NXT "Takeover: Tampa Bay" event.
As noted earlier tonight, WWE confirmed to us that Takeover and the Hall of Fame induction ceremony will not take place as originally scheduled from the Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL during WrestleMania 36 Weekend as the week was canceled altogether due to the coronavirus pandemic. WWE's statement on Takeover and the Hall of Fame came after their first announcement on WrestleMania 36 moving from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. WrestleMania will still air on pay-per-view and the WWE Network, but there will be no crowd.
While WWE should release another announcement on updated plans soon, it's been speculated that Takeover and the Hall of Fame induction ceremony will still take place at some point that week, likely from the WWE Performance Center. Laprade noted on Twitter that there are rumors on a special edition of NXT TV airing the Wednesday before WrestleMania, which would be April 1. Per the rumor, this "big NXT show, similar to Takeover" would be shown on TV, presumably the USA Network in the normal timeslot, and would air in place of the nixed "Takeover: Tampa Bay" event. Laprade did not say whether or not this NXT show would air longer than the usual two hours.
Regarding the 2020 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Laprade indicated that the Hall of Fame speeches would air during RAW and SmackDown that week. This was not stated, but the Hall of Fame speeches could air in place of regular content on RAW and SmackDown from the WWE Performance Center. WWE has not confirmed that RAW and SmackDown will air from the Performance Center that week, but it's expected as they were originally scheduled for Tampa at the Amalie Arena.
Last Friday's SmackDown from the PC and tonight's RAW from the Performance Center have aired replays of recent pay-per-view matches to help fill up the shows – SmackDown featured a replay of the Tag Team Elimination Chamber Match and tonight's RAW is airing a replay of the 2020 Men's Royal Rumble Match. WWE obviously needs content to fill up the two hours of SmackDown and the three hours of RAW while they're taking place at the Performance Center, and the group of Hall of Fame speeches would help fill the void with new, unique content that some fans would tune in for.
There's no word yet on if there's any truth to the rumors from Laprade, but stay tuned as we will keep you updated.
WWE | Pour ce qui est de NXT TakeOver et le HOF, les deux n'auront pas lieu sous leurs formes planifiées. La rumeur veut que le mercredi avant WrestleMania, un gros show de NXT, semblable au TakeOver, soit présenté à la télé. Pour le HOF, des discours pourraient meubler Raw et SD pic.twitter.com/tZopSpoelR
? Pat Laprade (@PatLaprade) March 17, 2020