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The third season of the XFL has been bittersweet. Sweet, since the new owners finally managed to give viewers a full season, bitter as reports of $60 million loss were reported soon after the end of the final game. The financial loss made XFL co-owner Dwayne Johnson a target for trolls. The 51-year-old also had his say, which one can deem to be a subtle reply to the naysayers.

So, how did The Rock react to the reports of a $60 million loss? Let’s find out.

Dwayne Johnson opens up on his learnings from XFL

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The 2023 season of the XFL was the third in the league’s history, having witnessed its inception in 2001. The second season was slated to being in 2020 but was called off. Johnson, his business partner Dany Garcia and private investment firm RedBird Capital Partners joined forces to buy the defunct league from the previous owner Vince McMahon in August 2020.

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This was the first season for the new owners. As mentioned above, they have witnessed both success and loss. Dwayne Johnson also accepted that fact. Days after reports of the financial loss emerged, he tweeted his stance on the issue. “We saw some nice successes and took some L’s in our first season that we learn from,” part of his tweet read.

He also spoke about the virtue of patience while running the XFL. Actor Trinity Whiteside expressed his support for the post and agreed with Johnson’s vision and urged people to understand the benefits of the long game. Reacting to Whiteside’s comment, he said, “They just don’t brother. It’s very rare these days for people to understand that long game value.”

This was also a subtle jab at those who attacked the 51-year-old after the reports of losses emerged.

On the other hand, Johnson spoke about how he plans to keep the XFL afloat, in a recent chat with Forbes.

No special treatment for XFL, says Dwayne Johnson

Johnson spoke to Forbes’ Jabari Young recently about the XFL. Sharing a clip from the interview, he said that he’s not planning anything special about the league and would treat it like he treats all his other ventures. 

“I play the long game in business and everything I venture into. XFL is no exception,” he wrote on Instagram. “We’re in it for the long haul. Step by step building the league of opportunity. Like with any venture, success takes time,” Johnson added.

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via Imago

XFL is also very close to his heart as it helped him to partially realize his broken NFL dreams. Meanwhile, XFL owners are looking to topple the MLS to become more significant in the US sporting ecosystem. Already, over 20 XFL players have been selected by NFL teams so far.

According to Johnson, “75-100 XFL players will be competing in NFL camps this fall”. So, it is a step towards becoming the breeding ground for the much superior NFL. 

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That said, what’s your take on Dwayne Johnson’s process of dealing with the loss? Let us know in the comments.

Watch This Story: 50 Years of The Rock: Dwayne Johnson’s Greatest Achievements in WWE

Written by

Sudipto Maity

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One take at a time

Sudipto is a WWE writer at Essentially Sports. He holds a PG degree in Mass Communication. Being an experienced journalist, Sudipto has interviewed WWE Superstars Alberto Del Rio and Sheamus and hopes to add some more names to that list.
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Edited by

Sherjeel Malik