Despite the fact that it was more well-received than its first iteration, the XFL was unable to complete its 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It led to the league’s parent company, which was owned by Vince McMahon, filing for bankruptcy and a few weeks of drama regarding its future, but ultimately, the league was purchased by a group led by Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia.
We were unable to smell what The Rock’s group was cooking up, however, as they kept their plans vague and under wraps. But on Thursday, Johnson posted a hype video to his Twitter account that announced that the league will try to give it another go in spring of 2022.
XFL returns SPRING 2022
As owners, we’re proud to champion our XFL players, coaches, cities and fans into an electrifying 2022 season!
It’s an uphill battle – but we’re hungry, humble and no one will outwork us.
A league of culture, passion & purpose. #XFL
#Spring2022 pic.twitter.com/jY0VWGj33Y
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) October 1, 2020
An official announcement came shortly after this hit the Twitterverse, with the league’s president and chief operating officer Jeffrey Pollack making clear that they want to wait for a more safe environment to start back up. This means that the XFL won’t resume operations for quite some time.
“For the love of football and for the safety of our players and fans, we’ll be back on the field in 2022,” Pollack said. “The opportunity in front of us, with our new ownership, is simply too big to rush back. We want to do this properly with care and thought for everyone who loves football, especially our players, coaches, partners and fans.”
It’s unclear what the league will look like, namely if we’ll see the same teams in the same cities that existed in the rebooted version of the league. But regardless, the XFL is coming back, even if we might have to wait a while for its return.