As you have probably seen by now, Tommaso Ciampa is getting neck surgery this week. A safe assumption is that he will be forced to vacate the NXT Championship.
That throws a massive wrench into the WWE’s plans for NXT Takeover: New York on Wrestlemania weekend. WWE is going to have to make some major changes heading into the event.
I wanted to pass along my own speculation on what I think will happen with the NXT Championship after Ciampa vacates it.
My guess is that WWE is going to do a ‘gold rush’ tournament over the next few weeks. In this scenario, the finals of the tournament would take place in the main event of Takeover. A tournament is an easy booking solution for them as their long-term storyline involving Johnny Gargano and Ciampa has been thrown out the window.
If it was up to me, I would have the finals of the tournament being Johnny Gargano vs Adam Cole. This could be a really good main event for the card.
Velveteen Dream is the current NXT North American Champion, so that rules him out. It also seems too early to toss Matt Riddle right into the NXT Title picture (in my opinion at least). As a result, I think Gargano vs Cole would be the best option.
Cole or Gargano would be great fits as NXT Champion. It doesn’t matter to me who they go with.
How would you feel if WWE went that route? What would you do if you were WWE? Let me know in the comment section below.
On a related note, check out our way-too-early predictions for the Wrestlemania 36 card here.