9. May 10, 2001: Vince Closes The XFL
When Vince opened the XFL, it was done so that he could compete with the NFL, because Vinces ego apparently wasnt satisfied with ruling the wrestling industry in the United States. However, despite some relative popularity with its targeted demographic, it was heavily criticized and deemed a colossal failure by McMahon himself. So on May 10, 2001, Vince completely closed the XFL after he and NBC both posted losses of $35 million. It was one of Vinces largest non-wrestling endeavors, and it got destroyed after only one season. A lot of the criticism towards the XFL was based on skepticism that any kind of come-from-behind win or any controversy was scripted, thus robbing the sport of any possible drama. Other criticisms included pep talks by the Rock and Vince himself, as well as poor play-by-play commentary from (of all people), Jim Ross. But the final nail in the XFLs coffin was the 1.5 rating for one of the games, deemed the lowest ever for any sports broadcast during prime time television in the United States. Vince must certainly be haunted by the memory of closing the XFL. It was his biggest chance to expand into other industries, and he totally failed at it. Considering how much people mocked him for it, maybe he should stop trying to out-do other people at what theyre best at and stick to pro wrester, sports entertainment.