8 Things We Learned From WWE's Opening XFL 2020 Games

Football worth watching.

Vince McMahon XFL
WWE/XFL

Back in the testosterone-fuelled days of 2001, Vince McMahon's XFL could've been accurately nicknamed the SEX-FL. Sophomoric behaviour was a rule of thumb, and the then-WWF tried to stir in elements of their pro wrestling programming with the football league by bringing Attitude to the gridiron.

It bombed spectacularly, and ended up costing Vince a ton of money.

People understandably scoffed when McMahon announced an XFL reprise several years ago, and there's been a healthy amount of giggling in the lead-up to 2020's relaunch. On Saturday night, it finally arrived – XFL 2020 presented two games that came hot on the tail of last weekend's fun Super Bowl LIV festivities. First, Seattle Dragons visited DC Defenders, and then the LA Wildcats made the trip to Texas to take on Houston Roughnecks.

It was an unpredictable night for this NFL mega-fan. Would the XFL's rule changes, technology tweaks and brand of football be up to scratch? Or, would this be another false dawn for McMahon and follow in the footsteps of 2001's experiment, and other costly WWE botches like ICO-PRO and the WBF?

Here's everything one intrigued viewer learned...

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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.