Generally speaking, Vince McMahon hasn't been too successful when he's tried to promote anything other than wrestling. Over the years, the patriarch of the WWE empire has tried his hand at bodybuilding (the WBF), workout supplements (Ico Pro), movies (No Holds Barred) and even American Football. The latter experiment is an example of how limited WWE's pull is outside the wrestling bubble. Looking to stick it to the NFL, McMahon formed the XFL in 1999. It wasn't until 2001 that games were played however, with the first being between the New York Hitmen and the Las Vegas Outlaws. The ratings for the first game were good, but would drop off substantially with each passing week. The media absolutely blasted the concept, citing the 'tawdry' nature of WWF programming and the clear lack of professional football on offer. In short, the entire experiment was yet another non-wrestling disaster for Vince McMahon. Perhaps he deserves credit for even trying to the idea in the first place, but it was little more than a colossal waste of company time, money and resources. So disastrous was the reaction to the XFL that WWE never mention it today, and would rather everybody forgot about it.
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.
