If WWE Was Being Honest About The XFL

National Entertainment League.

By Michael Sidgwick /

WWE.com

He simply cannot help himself.

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Vince McMahon is relaunching his greatest failure—no, not King Corbin—but the XFL, his dismal attempt to inject America’s favourite pastime with more “fun”. “Fun” in this context meant “exponentially more danger” added to an already dangerous sport, the inherent danger to which is already contributing to its downturn in popularity. Seeking to “reimagine” the XFL as an alternative to the NFL, Vince this time ‘round is promising a safer game, and something about league-sanctioned fantasy football, but really, it’s wise to think of the reboot using a pro wrestling analogy—especially since we’re already in sports entertainment territory.

At the launch, Vince McMahon revealed official rules on league behaviour. “People don’t want social and political issues coming into play when they are trying to be entertained,” he said. “We want someone who wants to take a knee to do their version of that on their personal time.” This formal ban on activism effectively confirmed that Vince wished to ‘Akeem’ the NFL. The Akeem character—hailing from deepest, darkest Africa—was birthed in a back alley voodoo ceremony. The Akeem character was white.

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Black activists are not welcome in the XFL. Vince is actively trying to reach the rednecks that are put off the NFL in the wake of Colin Kaepernick’s national anthem protests, and to preempt any recurrence, per Commissioner Oliver Luck, the ban on protesting during the national anthem will be written into player contracts as a condition of employment.

Vince McMahon wants to Make Football Great Again.

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The Akeem character in itself materialised through spite. It was a rib aimed at the expense of Dusty Rhodes. As did XFL 2020.

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