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Just putting this here because there are rumors everywhere that Vince McMahon may be bringing the XFL back.

He Hate Me

Might be called UFL this time.

Universal Football League.

Apparently, he's buying up trademarks.

Vince selling WWE shares to fund new XFL...

It has been said he LOVES football, and I'm betting he's not enjoying the kneeling players, catches that aren't catches, and the lack of hitting.

Now there are rumors Vince may be trying to buy the Panthers...

Here's what I'm hearing:
-XFL 2.0 to launch in 2020.
-Announcement coming soon.
-FOX is interested in buying WWE. Vince is apparently willing to listen to offers.

This is pretty interesting.

Why would Vince walk away from his family's business to recreate a failed football league? Do his kids not have any say or do they not want anything to do with WWE? It's been reported his daughter and her husband want to run WWE. So why wouldn't he sell to them? (Might be an ego thing where he's not willing to watch something he made and love get run into the ground or get run better.) Losing WWE would be a big blow to the USA Network, and I would assume a boon to FOX Sports. Currently, their local sports stations only have regional teams. This would draw in a bigger, and more diverse, audience. Additionally, it has been reported that other non-traditional outlets are wanting to bid on WWE's product (not buy it, but air it), like Amazon, Facebook, etc.

The big thing to keep in mind is that FOX now equals Disney... There had already been rumors that Disney was eyeballing WWE.

This is all worth watching for all sports fans because WWE's TV deal is the precursor to what the other leagues can expect. I've posted here before that all the leagues are watching WWE to see how the bidding goes to air their product. Of particular interest is if the tech companies get involved. Interestingly, a FOX deal could fuck the leagues out of that valuable information.

Meanwhile, on the XFL side, what is the allure for Vince? Why does he think it'll work this time? He still won't have the best talent, so why would people watch? "Hey, remember all those guys who busted out of the NFL or were backup players for your college team? Come watch them play here!"

What is the appeal? Does he really think the 3-10% of the audience that tuned out due to anthem protests will jump onto his bandwagon? Is that enough of an audience to sustain a league? Remember, those numbers never took into account cable cutters, and the growing audience of people who don't want traditional TV or do, but not in traditional ways.

72 year old Vince McMahon could become the biggest sports story of 2018. Twice.

Yep, live press conference happening right now. The XFL returns in 2020.

Vince is answering questions about CTE and safety.

This is a guy who was under federal investigation for steroid distribution. Hilarious.

I'll bet you anything this is what Johnny Manziel has been tweeting about lately. He's been really active talking about a "comeback" and thanking everyone for all the support. Well, we know damn well he's not coming back to the NFL, and if the CFL thing was gonna happen that would've by now.

He's gonna be the star or big name for the XFL. Think about it, this is just the type of guy Vince would love in his league.

He was specifically asked about Manziel, and Vince said "Character will be more important than talent" in the XFL.

Leisher wrote: He was specifically asked about Manziel, and Vince said "Character will be more important than talent" in the XFL.

Yeah, but he doesn't mean moral character, he means 'characters' like roles/actors/etc

He claims no gimmicks. They tried to ask him WWE stuff, and he said it's completely unrelated and the two brands will not mix like last time.

This will be fun to watch. I mean, the process of the XFL being reborn. I don't know about their games yet.

I do know every person discussing this WILL tune in to week 1.

I will start wathching, but I'm not sure why or that I'll keep watching.

I'm going to make a call... "He Hate Me" is a commentator.

GORDON wrote: I'm going to make a call... "He Hate Me" is a commentator.

HE HATE ME IS LEGEND

HE HATE ME was brought up during the press conference and Vince knew him by his real name without prompting. Rod Smart.

Here's the XFL official promo video, which is, imho, way too close to a recent ad campaign...

Stranger wrote: I'll bet you anything this is what Johnny Manziel has been tweeting about lately.

Several media outlets reported Manziel was tweeting at Vince McMahon immediately following the press conference.

Cities named.

Looks like we don't have a team within hundreds of miles.

Interesting decision to go to big markets instead of mid-tier markets and just hope for enough fans.