Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson just shared some interesting news about the relaunch of the XFL. The 49-year-old went to Instagram to post a photo of him on a plane dressed in a suit. And in the caption, Johnson gave an update on the upcoming XFL season.
“Making a special trip this morning and flying into NYC for a very big and exciting XFL ownership & organization meeting.” Johnson wrote. “The positive mana & energy will flow. ‘League of culture, passion, innovation and excitement.’” In 2020 Johnson teamed up with his business partner Danny Garcia to purchase the XFL with RedBird Captial in a $15 million deal. This came a few months after the XFL shut down its inaugural season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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“For Dwayne, Gerry and myself, this property represents an incredible opportunity. It is the confluence of great passion, tradition and possibility,” Garcia said in August 2020. “Sports and entertainment are the foundations of the businesses I have built. Melding our expertise combined with our commitment to deliver exciting and inspiring unique content, has us all focused on developing the XFL brand into a multi-media experience that our athletes, partners and fans will proudly embrace and love.”
The XFL was originally launched in 2001 by WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon. The pro football league only lasted one season, but McMahon announced in 2018 that he was bringing the league back in 2020. It was first announced that the XFL would return in 2022 before shifting it to 2023 in July. There were talks of the XFL teaming up with the CFL in some capacity.
“As an owner of the XFL, our discussions with the CFL have been very exciting. There’s a real pulse here because you can feel the unique opportunity we can potentially create together,” Johnson wrote in an Instagram post alongside a photo of him from his time playing in the CFL. “Wherever it all leads, I can tell you this one is personal to me and is driven by all my passion – because me being cut by the CFL was the greatest thing that happened. It set me on a path that years later would lead me right back to the league.” The 2020 XFL season featured eight teams, and the games were played after the NFL season came to an end.
