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What’s the story?
PWInsider is reporting that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon's defunct football league, the XFL, will be making its comeback in 2020, under a new name, the 'UFL' or 'United Football League', and also under Vince's new company, Alpha Entertainment.
In case you didn’t know…
The XFL was founded in 1999 and was 50% owned by Vince McMahon and 50% owned by the NBC network.
The XFL's opening game took place on February 3, 2001, one year to the day after the league was announced, and although committing to broadcast two seasons, NBC pulled out of its broadcast contract for the XFL after the inaugural season, citing the poor viewership.
Although Vince McMahon would announce that the XFL would continue without NBC, the league ceased operations entirely in May 2001 after demands from one of its main broadcasters UPN, as well as both WWE and NBC, having lost $35 million on their $100 million investment in the league's inaugural season.
The heart of the matter
After losing so much money on the initial XFL, it is certainly a risk that Vince would want to revive it, but I guess times can change and hopefully he learned from his mistakes with the original incarnation.
The XFL was panned by critics, received a lack of promotion in the sports media where t had been portrayed as ''WWF Like special events'', as it featured commentary by Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler, interviews provided by Jesse Ventura and Johnathan Coachman. The XFL was ranked number #3 on TV Guide's list of 'The Worst TV Shows of All Time' in July 2002, number #21 on their list of ' The 25 Biggest TV Blunders', and number #2 on ESPN's list of 'Biggest Flops in Sports.' The XFL cheerleaders were also branded as ''sluts and strippers'', while many players were deemed ridiculous for having goofy nicknames on their jerseys.
Vince McMahon sold 3.34 million worth of shares of WWE to fund his Alpha Entertainment, LLC and has made just under $100 million and this along with having recently trademarked "UFL" and "United Football League'' only further how far he is willing to go.
What’s next?
An official announcement may come from Vince McMahon on the relaunch later this year, in order to develop up to two years worth of hype before it returns to television.
Author’s take
I really hope Vince has learned his lesson from the mistake from the XFL. The only thing I ever enjoyed about the XFL was the 2017 ESPN 30 for 30 documentaries, 'This Was The XFL'.
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