On Thursday afternoon, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon held a live streaming press conference to announce the return of the XFL. The former football league will make a comeback after its one-season of existence years ago. At this time, not a lot of details are known with regard to potential cities that will host teams, but McMahon made a few things clear about the league, including what his role will be and if it will diminish his role in the WWE. He also addressed rules, politics, and the potential for wrestlers to play in XFL or for XFL players to move to WWE.
Vince McMahon made his “major sports announcement” via a live-stream conference on the Alpha Entertainment Twitter page. That announcement is, of course, that the XFL will return in several years in January 2020. This time around, it seems as if Vince is serious about making the league work better than it did in the past. He mentioned bringing in qualified individuals who will be visible at the forefront of running things rather than having himself visible like in the previous attempt.
When asked if he’ll change in terms of his day-to-day role with WWE, Vince made it clear he won’t be changing his position at WWE. He also made it clear that talent wouldn’t cross over from WWE to XFL, or vice versa, and that pro wrestling announcers such as Jim Ross or Jesse Ventura wouldn’t be calling games.
The man who brought us the XFL is making a second attempt at a pro football league.
Vince McMahon discusses it live here: https://t.co/JzWDFSWWgj pic.twitter.com/wsPZMhOzqb
— ESPN (@espn) January 25, 2018
The ESPN 30 for 30: This Was the XFL documentary that came out last year was brought up, but Vince said that didn’t bring this recent decision about and that a relaunch or reboot of the XFL had been in consideration for years. Beyond that, other information included Vince saying it won’t be a franchise model for the league’s teams and that they are still far off from announcing cities. Vince said there would be “a lot of research involved and that will come in the future.”
Will former NFL stars such as Tim Tebow, Johnny Manziel, or Colin Kaepernick be allowed to play in the XFL? Vince said anyone who plays the game of football well and has the right character would be able to join the league. However, he also mentioned the XFL will have a strict set of policies or rules as to who the league would accept. Vince brought up anyone who has a criminal record may not be able to play in the new league, which seems to rule out Manziel, per Forbes report .
This is football reimagined. This is the XFL. Watch the official announcement — LIVE NOW! #XFL2020 https://t.co/KFX5oLmkHw
— XFL (@XFL2023) January 25, 2018
As far as how the league will be presented, Vince McMahon talked about possibly using a mix of television and online components to bring the game to people. Most importantly, Vince responded to the question of Donald Trump being involved, saying he had “no idea” if President Trump will support this and it will “have nothing to do with politics” or “social issues.” Vince made it clear that “we’re there to play football..they want football, that’s what we’re there to deliver.”