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

3. It's Like The AEW Of American Football

Ready for some irony?

Vince McMahon's XFL is to the NFL what AEW is to his WWE. OK, stop laughing now, because this isn't a bad thing at all. His football league has the same cult-like atmosphere as Tony Khan's Dynamite show, and there's an exciting 'anything can happen' current surging through the presentation.

Fans were encouraged to be quirky and express themselves, players were full of unscripted charisma (Seattle's Dillon Day even dropped an f-bomb on the sidelines at one point during an interview) and the whole ambience was one of celebration. It was like any corporate reins the NFL has were taken off and thrown away.

What does that sound like? It sounds like a commentary on WWE's corporate climate. Therein lies the beauty of this XFL experiment; it's determined to do things differently to the established market leader (like AEW do with WWE) and proudly trumpets individuality.

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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.