WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, who created the new Alpha Entertainment entity late last year, announced on Thursday afternoon that the XFL would be returning in 2020.
The football league, which had its inaugural season in 2001 and ended after only one season, will be returning with a new approach in two years according to McMahon.
McMahon held a live call with members of the media on Thursday.
You can check out highlights below via our tweets below as we covered the call live.
The Alpha Entertainment press conference has started, the #XFL is indeed coming back #XFL2020 pic.twitter.com/tMu6idkGht
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) January 25, 2018
Vince McMahon is now live confirming the return of the #XFL, he is currently talking about fan feedback trying to improve the presentation of football going forward #XFL2020 pic.twitter.com/4vwcZnR6SS
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) January 25, 2018
Vince McMahon is currently taking questions, he is asked about bringing back the #XFL, McMahon notes 7 months of no football, "why not now, I've always wanted to bring it back" #XFL2020
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) January 25, 2018
Regarding lessons learned, Vince says the quality of play will improve. he notes they have two years to "really get it right" #XFL2020
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) January 25, 2018
Vince is asked about media plans to host the games, he wants to re-imagine how you distribute the game, Vince says it could be a "combination" of many forms of presentation #XFL2020
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) January 25, 2018
No initial talks have taken place with cable or broadcast outlets to carry the return of the #XFL as of right now, Vince noted a lot of interest #XFL2020
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) January 25, 2018
Vince says the return of the #XFL will not pull him away from his duties with #WWE, he will continue to be Chairman and CEO of the company, regarding a crossover with talent, Vince says "there will be no crossover whatsoever from #WWE to the new #XFL" #XFL2020
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) January 25, 2018
Vince is asked about his previous #XFL role in 2001 and what it will be now, Vince says this may be the "last you see of me" out front and that he won't be the center of attention, they plan to hire qualified executives #XFL2020
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) January 25, 2018
When asked if the recent #NFL controvery this past season played a role with this launch, Vince said no and they always had a plan to bring it back, he said #WWE isn't directly involved due to the initial $100 million investment #XFL2020
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) January 25, 2018
Regarding the start up, Vince says it would start at the end of January/early February, he wouldn't refer to it as a "Spring league" #XFL2020
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) January 25, 2018
Media question about concussions and CTE in football, Vince is asked about keeping players safe, he wants to re-approach the game of football "on all levels" and make it "as safe as possible" #XFL2020
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) January 25, 2018
Vince is asked if President Trump would support this return of the #XFL, Vince has no idea, he says #XFL will have "absolutely nothing to do with politics or social issues" #XFL2020
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) January 25, 2018
Vince is asked if he's worried about over saturation with football in the market, Vince points out 7 months without football when the #NFL and college seasons end, he thinks they can create their own demand with better football #XFL2020
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) January 25, 2018
Regarding keeping politics out of the #XFL, Vince all players will understand the rules and abide those rules regarding the national anthem, "whatever are rules are is what everyone will abide by" #XFL2020
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) January 25, 2018
When asked about cities they are thinking of including maybe markets without an #NFL team, Vince says they will go where fans want them to go, "we are no where near that right now" in regards to plans #XFL2020
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) January 25, 2018
Vince is asked if they plan to target markets already with #NFL facilities or stadiums, Vince agrees, "the intent is to play where a lot of the other #NFL teams play", Vince said every city is on the radar #XFL2020
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) January 25, 2018
Vince says one example they might do is get rid of halftimes to make the game go faster, they plan to explore all options and be safe, "we are going to try and get to 2 hours" #XFL2020
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) January 25, 2018
Vince is asked about the #ESPN 30 for 30 and if that helped play a role in the return, Vince said no as they were exploring bringing it back for many years, he did put over the great job #ESPN did with the piece #XFL2020
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) January 25, 2018
Vince is asked about maybe going with a different name, he said they did explore other options, Vince said they stuck with the #XFL because "it is a cool name" #XFL2020
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) January 25, 2018
Regarding no TV partner at the moment and streaming games with social media, Vince said "all options are available to us and was never there before", he noted they could do a "combination of things" #XFL2020
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) January 25, 2018
Vince is asked if nicknames will be allowed, Vince says "they aren't there yet" regarding nicknames on jerseys, he's asked to clarify about rules and the national anthem, "it's a time honored tradition to stand and appreciate the national anthem" #XFL2020
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) January 25, 2018
A national TV partner is still "to be determined", Vince talks about the possibility of different "feeds" to appeal to a variety of demographics #XFL2020
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) January 25, 2018
When asked about former #NFL players getting involved with the league, Vince says they want people with "clean records", he said we could see someone like Tim Tebow in the league "if he wants to play" #XFL2020
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) January 25, 2018
He again emphasizes that "anyone who plays the game of football" is welcome to play in the #XFL (Colin Kaepernick is brought up by the caller), he says the rules and regulations will be known before you sign regarding the national anthem and other things #XFL2020
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) January 25, 2018
When asked if any wrestling broadcasters would get involved like Jim Ross, Jesse Ventura and Jerry Lawler did with the original #XFL, Vince immediately shoots that down and says no wrestling crossover will be involved #XFL2020
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) January 25, 2018
Vince plans to "take a back seat" when it comes to the executive level and overall process of the #XFL this time around #XFL2020
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) January 25, 2018
When asked if he spoke with his wife Linda McMahon about this #XFL venture, Vince simply replied "no" #XFL2020
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) January 25, 2018
The call/live broadcast comes to a close, what do you think about the return of the #XFL in 2020? #XFL2020 pic.twitter.com/gZFmoEFBDF
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) January 25, 2018
You can watch the entire announcement below.
