OT: XFL 2020

[Josh Buchanan]

Howard Finkel also passed away today. Been a rough week for the WWE.

AEW will get some of the talent, some will go to other promotions like Impact or IWGP, and some will hold out in hopes of a return to WWE. That's usually the way it goes.

Impact surprises me. They were all but dead a few years ago, but have settled into a nice little position - kinda "semi-pro" wrestling it seems like. I doubt they'll get back to the glory days of Aj Styles and Samoa Joe, but they are becoming a more viable option for performers these days.

New Japan and AEW will definitely get some of them. I would guess at least 4-6 of those who just left WWE will be in AEW by mid to late May if they don't have to wait a certain period, depending on how contracts were worded.

Watch Impact from last week. I saw what the booking was and could not believe it. They had a 70 year old man who almost beat a young guy who is good and had to cheat to beat the old guy. They have a woman who is nowhere near the baddest woman in wrestling as the world champion. Reminds of Vince Russo booking. LOL.

[SW_Mustang]

Vince has to be upset. Changed his mind on taped shows and wants live now, having to cut a lot of salaries in WWE, and XFL filed for bankruptcy. A very sad day. Vince has been stockpiling talent for so long just to keep them away from AEW. He really needs to cut about 15-20 more wrestlers. They had almost 210 total wrestlers on roster. He really needs to trim down to about 150.

Meanwhile, AEW is adding talent. Several of those names will show up in AEW. You can mark it down.

Howard Finkel also passed away today. Been a rough week for the WWE.

AEW will get some of the talent, some will go to other promotions like Impact or IWGP, and some will hold out in hopes of a return to WWE. That's usually the way it goes.

Impact surprises me. They were all but dead a few years ago, but have settled into a nice little position - kinda "semi-pro" wrestling it seems like. I doubt they'll get back to the glory days of Aj Styles and Samoa Joe, but they are becoming a more viable option for performers these days.

[Josh Buchanan]

WWE just took a major hit this afternoon. They released a ton of midcarders from their roster, furloughed a bunch of staff, and passed out executive pay cuts. It sounds like they are also halting construction on the new Titan Towers. Supposed to save $4 million per month.

They also made regular roster releases within the last week too. I would expect some, but not all, of these guys to return at some point given who they were.

EDITED TO ADD: NXT roster cuts are coming as well but nothing specifically stated.

Vince has to be upset. Changed his mind on taped shows and wants live now, having to cut a lot of salaries in WWE, and XFL filed for bankruptcy. A very sad day. Vince has been stockpiling talent for so long just to keep them away from AEW. He really needs to cut about 15-20 more wrestlers. They had almost 210 total wrestlers on roster. He really needs to trim down to about 150.

Meanwhile, AEW is adding talent. Several of those names will show up in AEW. You can mark it down.

[SW_Mustang]

WWE just took a major hit this afternoon. They released a ton of midcarders from their roster, furloughed a bunch of staff, and passed out executive pay cuts. It sounds like they are also halting construction on the new Titan Towers. Supposed to save $4 million per month.

They also made regular roster releases within the last week too. I would expect some, but not all, of these guys to return at some point given who they were.

EDITED TO ADD: NXT roster cuts are coming as well but nothing specifically stated.

[SW_Mustang]

Worry not XFL fans, Topps is still releasing XFL football cards. It will be interesting to see how these do, both short term and long term. I'll sink a cool $20 in a box from Wal-Mart.

I'm gonna miss XFL v2. It was what it was. I feel for the players though. It can't be easy having your dream end this way. I am a believer in more opportunities in football, not less.

Well, until the next spring league tries and fails... it was fun.

[Josh Buchanan]

Have to disagree with you there, Josh.

If anything, AEW is competing with NXT, not WWE as a whole. Also, mid-2000's TNA proved that talent-raiding WWE's mid-card is not a sustainable strategy. My guess is if they can stop beaming Matt Hardy around the arena, they'll settle in behind WWE for a solid hold on the #2 promotion.

The fact of the matter is, WWE has built up a solid position in the mainstream that AEW won't have for a very long time. Honestly, once Hunter takes over the product I would imagine it would be very hard for anyone to compete with the WWE for the foreseeable future. Love Vince or hate him, there's a reason why he's still in the game after 50 years.

I get where you are coming from and AEW Dynamite is definitely competing with NXT right now. Here is the thing. WWE runs NXT so technically they are still competing. AEW also has a lot of wrestlers that Vince wanted to sign and several he once had but did not use correctly. Another reason why I say they are competing is because while AEW does not have the name yet they have more money than Vince.

AEW will have to raid the top end talent for WWE for sure as they only have 2 or 3 wrestlers who were among their top 20 or so names and the rest were mid card or lower.

Here are 2 reasons why AEW is more of a threat than it may seem now and I would not be surprised if in 5 years from now there is discussion about who is better.

1. AEW has much deeper pockets. Vince is rich but Khan is much richer.
2. Vince is hoarding talent up until this COVID-19 stuff just to keep names from going there. He is making a huge play to keep Jeff Hardy and sign to a long-term big money deal just because he knows he wants to go to AEW. If Vince was not worried about AEW and they were no threat then why hoard talent and why re-sign wrestlers so early like he is just to keep them from hitting the market. If not for AEW I bet there are 15-20 wrestlers at WWE who would be down in ROH, IMPACT, NWA, etc. Vince knows they are a threat
3. WWE locker room is having a lot of issues with talent upset at how they are used, treatment by Vince, ec.
4. Wrestling ratings in general and especially WWE are much lower than they use to be. They use to hit 5 or 6 but now I read they are down near 2-3 for Raw and Smack Down.

I'm not saying AEW is going to pass WWE right now and I'm not saying that AEW is the direct reason for this but they are causing Vince to spend more money and keep more people on the roster than he would like to. Tony Khan is way younger than Vince and he can run this for the next 35-40 years. Vince won't be around in 15 years running it I bet. Their pockets are deep enough to last way past when Vince passes and hands it off to Triple H and Stephanie but I'm sure there will be a fight between them and Shane for the company.

I grew up a fan of the WWF but completely stopped watching after the Attitude Era. AEW has a big hill to climb but they have the money and enough young blood there to really make it interesting in 15 years. I don't hate Vince at all but he is not the same as he once was and the fact he is spending more. I pulled for the XFL but when it formed and I watched the games I said they would only last one full season for sure and maybe two seasons. This virus stuff shut it down earlier than expected but Vince would have had an easier time with the WWE product if not for AEW.

[SW_Mustang]

This was sad to see. The XFL was not going to sustain long term. COVID-19 forced them to pull the plug earlier than expected but I think McMahon got a lucky break here to be honest. Things looked much better and he can say they were headed on right track but this forced them to pull the plug. This way it won't look like his fault. The reality here is that the TV ratings were dropping and by the end of next year he would have pulled the plug anyway. Also, keep in mind the Jags owner is running a wrestling company that is really hurting the WWE numbers. The last couple years have not been great for WWE in terms of money except for when they go to Saudia Arabia and a couple moments here and there. Khan's AEW is giving them all they can handle right now and he has more money than McMahon so it is not going anywhere. WWE has even let go of some wrestlers recently to cut costs while AEW is signing more wrestlers to contracts.

Have to disagree with you there, Josh.

If anything, AEW is competing with NXT, not WWE as a whole. Also, mid-2000's TNA proved that talent-raiding WWE's mid-card is not a sustainable strategy. My guess is if they can stop beaming Matt Hardy around the arena, they'll settle in behind WWE for a solid hold on the #2 promotion.

The fact of the matter is, WWE has built up a solid position in the mainstream that AEW won't have for a very long time. Honestly, once Hunter takes over the product I would imagine it would be very hard for anyone to compete with the WWE for the foreseeable future. Love Vince or hate him, there's a reason why he's still in the game after 50 years.

[crixus]

I tried watching a couple XFL games this season, but I couldn't get into it. Football will always be a fall/early winter sport for me.

[Josh Buchanan]

This was sad to see. The XFL was not going to sustain long term. COVID-19 forced them to pull the plug earlier than expected but I think McMahon got a lucky break here to be honest. Things looked much better and he can say they were headed on right track but this forced them to pull the plug. This way it won't look like his fault. The reality here is that the TV ratings were dropping and by the end of next year he would have pulled the plug anyway. Also, keep in mind the Jags owner is running a wrestling company that is really hurting the WWE numbers. The last couple years have not been great for WWE in terms of money except for when they go to Saudia Arabia and a couple moments here and there. Khan's AEW is giving them all they can handle right now and he has more money than McMahon so it is not going anywhere. WWE has even let go of some wrestlers recently to cut costs while AEW is signing more wrestlers to contracts.

[Twincitiesmav]

The title of this article made me think Arnold Schartzenegger was back.

https://footballscoop.com/news/xfl-h...all-employees/

Still a bummer. The xfl was fairly a good product and got a VERY unlucky break with COVID-19. Definitely a better version of the xfl than the 2001 version...

[UNALions]

XFL has suspended operations and all staff have been laid off.

With no plan to return in 2021.

[laker]

XFL has suspended operations and all staff have been laid off.

The title of this article made me think Arnold Schartzenegger was back.

https://footballscoop.com/news/xfl-h...all-employees/

[Twincitiesmav]

XFL has suspended operations and all staff have been laid off.

[SW_Mustang]

I hate the production. The football is good enough to be enjoyable to watch, but airing the play calls, having 2-3 different sound streams over the top of each other, and bad commentators made it a little hard to watch.

In game interview questions with coaches, mic'd up QB, OC/and DC play calls at the same time, etc... All of that should get flushed, imo.

The interviews are... interesting... I guess? I think it's too gimmicky and will get canned if the XFL returns for a second season.

[WT_TKW]

Also, the NY QB calling out the OC to the press at halftime screams "staged, fake, invented drama, WWE crap" to me

I didn't see it that way, I think he's just a whiny idiot.