By: Kyle James | 12-17-2017 | News
Photo credit: Eric Broder Van Dyke | Dreamstime

Will The WWE Revive XFL And Replace The NFL?

It seems with the controversy inspired by NFL players kneeling during the national anthem, WWE has sensed an opportunity to revive their own football league nearly two decades after it was shuttered.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">EXCLUSIVE: Vince McMahon is looking to bring back the XFL and may announce it on January 25th, 2018.</p>&mdash; Brad Shepard 🤘🏻 (@TheBradShepard) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheBradShepard/status/941829900838645761?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 16, 2017</a></blockquote>

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There have been rumors circulating about the XFL making a return for quite some time now, but Brad Shepard tweeted Friday that WWE chairman Vince McMahon is so close to bringing it back that there's even a potential announcement date; January 25, 2018.

Normally, this tweet alone would not be enough to get excited over, but it seems there is more evidence to support the claim. WWE said in a statement shared with David Bixenspan of Deadspin that it is not going back into the football business, but McMahon may well be bringing the XFL back on his own.

"Vince McMahon has established and is personally funding a separate entity from WWE, Alpha Entertainment, to explore investment opportunities across the sports and entertainment landscapes, including professional football. Mr. McMahon has nothing further to announce at this time."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A WWE spokesperson issued the attached statement to me &amp; <a href="https://twitter.com/Deadspin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Deadspin</a> in response to my inquiry about tonight&#39;s rumors of a soon to be announced XFL revival. They declined further comment. Whatever Vince McMahon&#39;s &quot;Alpha Entertainment&quot; is, it&#39;s self-funded &amp; separate from WWE. <a href="https://t.co/oT0Oxyi2fV">pic.twitter.com/oT0Oxyi2fV</a></p>&mdash; David Bixenspan (@davidbix) <a href="https://twitter.com/davidbix/status/941891430108233728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 16, 2017</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Worth noting that the Alpha Entertainment statement came in response to me asking WWE to &quot;confirm or deny&quot; the XFL relaunch rumor.</p>&mdash; David Bixenspan (@davidbix) <a href="https://twitter.com/davidbix/status/941894691313856512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 16, 2017</a></blockquote>

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The fact that WWE frontman McMahon created a company called "Alpha Entertainment" is classic Vince. Back when the original version of the XFL was a joint venture between WWE (which was WWF at the time) and NBC with McMahon and former NBC executive Dick Ebersol in charge of the venture.

Eventually, NBC got uncomfortable with the deal and pulled its support from the project leaving McMahon's baby dead in the water. Despite being criticized widely by fans, the XFL had some rating successes, the football improved drastically as the season continued, and some of the game's innovations such as the sky cam are still used to this day by production networks and were adopted by the NFL.

The XFLs failure is largely attributed to a confluence of misfortunes that included technical difficulties, miscast announcers, changing the rules during the season, and McMahon's decision to go to the extreme by bringing sexualized cheerleaders into the game with racy outfits.

If the XFL does make a return it will be a tough pill for networks to swallow with its old-school, no-holds-barred approach to football. Nowadays, concerns like CTE may be an issue for their particular style of the jarring sport. The XFL even replaced the traditional opening coin toss with an "opening scramble" that saw players running and diving for a football at midfield.

Also worth noting is the fact that Vince McMahon's wife is an adviser to President Trump. Whether his connection to the administration will benefit his potential quest to bring back the XFL, his wife's position certainly can't hurt after she was picked by Trump himself to lead his Small Business Administration.

With the clues starting to add up, it seems McMahon is set to bring back some form of the XFL and in the very least has plans to bring some type of project with his new company "Alpha Entertainment." In the meantime, we will have to continue waiting for an official announcement.

<i>On Twitter:</i>

<a href="https://twitter.com/ErvinProduction">@ErvinProduction</a>

Tips? Info? Send me a message!

Source: https://www.cbssports.com/wwe/news/will-the-xfl-actually-be-making-a-return-wwe-is-not-exactly-denying-the-rumors/

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Thoughts on the above story? Comment below!
3 Comment/s
Anonymous No. 14130 2017-12-17 : 09:10

Now is the perfect time

AmericaFirst No. 14153 2017-12-17 : 17:37

Make Football Great Again!

Anonymous No. 14168 2017-12-17 : 21:55

it'd be funny at least

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