Vince McMahon Once Advised to Buy Arena Football League Instead of Launching XFL

Vince McMahon is known for investing heavily in ventures like pro wrestling and professional football. The XFL, his brainchild, had two unsuccessful attempts before The Rock and his investors turned it into a branch of the UFL. Arena football was suggested to McMahon long ago as a potential venture.

In 2000, McMahon announced the XFL, leveraging WWE’s success from the Attitude Era to change football. The league lasted one season. He revived it two decades later, but the pandemic halted its progress despite early momentum.

Former WWE President Stu Snyder, speaking to Eric Bischoff on 83 Weeks, recalled his initial meeting with McMahon and questioned the XFL decision. At the time, an arena football league was suggested instead.

“I said, ‘I do have a question. Can I ask you about this venture you just announced called XFL?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ Vince got very serious. ‘I’m trying to understand the positioning, the take, why you’re doing it and how does it fit into the job you want me to do? What’s the game plan?’ He explains it a little bit.”

“Vince is a genius from the standpoint of business and how he looked at life and things. I give him a lot of credit for a lot of things. He says, ‘I can tell by your question that you have some doubt.'”

“I said, ‘I have some questions because it sounds like it’s going to be very expensive, high risk. You have a very successful company. Did you ever think maybe of buying Arena Football League? You can control it, centralize it, it’s in arenas where WWE has tons of shows. You can leverage the arena fees. All of those things.’ He looks at me and just goes, ‘Arena Football is not football. Not even compared to football.’ At that point, I figured I blew it.”

Stu Snyder became WWE President despite his doubts about McMahon’s decision. McMahon’s tenure at WWE ended after Janel Grant filed a lawsuit, leading to significant changes.

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