10 Times WWE Got Its Ass Kicked

9. The Collapse Of The XFL

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XFL

Not just once, but twice the XFL has created some major problems for WWE.

Back during the football league's initial run in 2001, ratings were quick to drop off, with the gimmicky nature of the XFL turning off many who made the attempt to sample McMahon's idea of pro football. As such, it came as no surprise to see the XFL scrapped after just one season.

Despite being pegged as a completely separate entity to WWE, it's impossible to view the XFL as not having any ties to Vince's wrestling promotion - particularly as that first iteration of the league, according to the April 2001 financials, directly cost WWE just shy of $69 million!

Vince being Vince, he'd of course bring the XFL back to screens earlier this year... only to see the global situation of 2020 cause the league to initially be suspended before bankruptcy was later declared.

The most recent collapse of the XFL has hit Vince McMahon hard, and as a result has caused headaches for those involved with WWE. Just to add to the XFL-created headaches for McMahon and WWE, WWE stockholders are in the midst of a lawsuit based around a possible breach of duties to investors. That breach centres around McMahon and WWE higher-ups potentially diverting WWE resources to Vince's football dream rather than using said resources for World Wrestling Entertainment.

This isn't the only XFL lawsuit causing problems with McMahon and Co., for Oliver Luck - the XFL's former commissioner - is personally suing Vince for wrongful termination.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.