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The XFL is an American professional football league that was originally created to offer football fans more of the sport during the NFL's offseason. The league was founded by the former head of WWE, Vince McMahon in 2018, as a reboot and successor to the original 2001 version of the XFL. Failing to find a proper audience with its first go-around, the original XFL, created in partnership between WWE and NBC, would run for a single season before closing. Years later, McMahon would reboot the XFL to create a league supposedly to feature "fewer off-field controversies" while being built around faster, simpler play compared to the NFL. It would also be feature no aspects of professional wrestling or sports entertainment as the original version did. Shuttering five weeks into its first season, the second iteration of the XFL would not succeed, though it was more due to COVID-19 than anything else. With a third version of the league on the horizon, will it succeed without Vince McMahon involved?
The XFL Was A Colossal Failure In 2001
The original XFL ran for only a single season in 2001, as a joint venture between WWE and NBC. This league attempted to be a competitor to the NFL, running during the late winter and early spring to take advantage of lingering desire for football from fans after the NFL would enter the offseason following the Super Bowl each year.
Attempting to be different from the NFL, McMahon's XFL featured various modifications to the rules of football in order to try and increase its intensity. The presentation of the sport would also change, as the XFL would introduce Skycams, placing microphones on players, and mid-game interviews with players, with some of these being hits and others being misses. As a whole, the league was criticized by fans and critics for relying too heavily on being sports entertainment, rather than an actual sport, something not helped with it being aligned with WWE. Viewership would nosedive after the first few games, with the XFL only lasting one season.
Vince McMahon Announced An XFL Reboot In 2018
Following an episode of ESPN's 30 For 30 dedicated to covering the original iteration of the XFL, rumors began circulating that Vince McMahon was looking to reboot the league, albeit with changes. With the ESPN documentary airing in 2017, it would not take long for those rumors to turn into facts, as the following year, Vince McMahon would announce that the XFL was gearing up for a return. Set to re-launch in 2020, McMahon assured fans that the league would be different this time around, while still trying to capitalize on football fans wanting more football following the Super Bowl.
On top of this, McMahon would also make an attempt to please a certain group of fans that had become dissatisfied with NFL players speaking out on political and real-world issues, promising that there would be a ban on any political protests or players playing with criminal records. The league would launch with teams in New York, Tampa Bay, Los Angeles, Arlington, Houston, Orlando, St. Louis, Seattle, and Washington DC. The first season would launch without issues to begin, though their viewership would fall from week to week. The nail in the coffin would come from the arrival of COVID-19, which would cause the first season to be suspended in March, with no return on the horizon.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson Bought The XFL, With It Set To Return In 2023
Following the mid-season suspension due to COVID-19, the XFL would file for bankruptcy, with most of the company's employees being terminated during the midst of the ongoing pandemic, something Vince McMahon would do to a number of workers within WWE as well. That summer however, things would change as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and a number of others, together, would purchase the XFL for $15 Million dollars.
Over the course of 2021 and 2022, Dwayne Johnson and his partners would make various announcements in regard to a return for the XFL, with a 2023 return date for the league set in place officially. Three teams would be replaced, with New York, Los Angeles, and Tampa being subbed out for teams in San Antonio, Orlando, and Las Vegas. The question remains, will the XFL thrive under new management or is it doomed to fail for eternity?