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After Losing $60 Million, Dwayne Johnson’s XFL Suffered Another Huge Setback as Viewership Numbers Reveal Terrifying Scenario

Published 10/19/2023, 10:38 AM EDT

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Dwayne Johnson acquired XFL in 2020 with the help of Redbird Capital despite the company’s declared bankruptcy. This showed his vision as a businessman and his love for American Football. But now that the WWE legend rebooted the minor football league in 2023, it didn’t turn out to be the huge success fans were expecting it to be. In fact, Johnson and his team faced a major loss.

Despite the circumstances, the aura surrounding the league was positive. So far, we had been expecting the league to make a bigger comeback the following season. However, new reports may jeopardize your hopes if you are looking forward to seeing XFL again next year.

Dwayne Johnson’s XFL faced a real issue during their first season

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The league was founded by Vince McMahon in 1999. However, the man behind WWE’s success wasn’t able to run the football league quite as efficiently. After its revival in 2018, the first season was held in 2020, which had to be shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic situation. As a result, the league went bankrupt, sliding into oblivion, until Johnson and his team saw a big opportunity and took it. Much to everyone’s surprise, despite the first successful season in 2023, XFL faced a big loss of $60 million.

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Dany Garcia and her ex-husband sat down with ESPN in an exclusive interview in May this year. They declared the league’s first season a ‘success’. However, the two business partners also shed some light on the negatives.

According to reports, XFL averaged 14,398 fans per game. Although the numbers are still huge, it is a significant drop from the pre-Covid 2020 season, which had 23% more fans on average. Garcia added to this by saying, “Numbers always matter. Every number. But they came exactly where we were feeling and what would make sense.

So, even though the attendance numbers are significantly low compared to that of the 2020 season, Dwayne Johnson and his business team are hopeful about seeing their league climb the success ladder.

These stats that compare and present XFL’s latest season against its predecessors encouraged several netizens to troll the billionaire superstar. However, Johnson had a fitting reply in store for people who didn’t understand why he hadn’t given up the league despite the $60 Million loss.

Dwayne Johnson hits back at his trollers

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After the reports of Johnson’s big loss came out, even media giants such as Forbes were onto the news. In a tweet, embedding one of their pieces on XFL’s loss, Forbes asked their readers who would dare to tell Johnson that he is wrong to trust in his new business venture. Johnson answered this tweet with a fitting reply.

How Much Did Dwayne Johnson Buy XFL For? Does Dwayne Johnson Own an XFL Team?

The Hollywood superstar implied that he has been trying to tell himself to stop his whole life but he doesn’t even listen to himself when it comes to his business. After a fan found himself on the same page as The Rock, he tweeted in his support. Then, Johnson agreed that he was in this business for the ‘long game’.

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So, even though the loss and attendance numbers are a worrying cause for The Brahma Bull’s fans, he is not likely to give up on his dream sport that easily.

WATCH THIS STORY:- Broke Teenager to Highest Paid Hollywood Actor: The Evolution of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson

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Written by:

Kaif Ali

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Kaif Ali is a WWE writer at EssentiallySports. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in the English language from a top university. He has been an avid fan of stars such as Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns and is also interested in what some of the big names in pro wrestling are up to beyond the ring.
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Edited by:

Sherjeel Malik