Dwayne Johnson is a name of prestige in both the sports and entertainment worlds. The actor is co-owner of XFL, which he bought from its previous owner Vince McMahon for $15 million, in August 2020. Johnson had high hopes of taking the league to exponential growth and amassing huge viewership, however, COVID-19 halted its progress. Nevertheless, the XFL has been renewed and restarted with high enthusiasm in 2023.
XFL is finally back after a two-year hiatus, and football fans are very excited about the return of the spring football league. The season already received an amazing start and gaining more traction with the ongoing matches. Regarding the viewership for the present season, ESPN made the numbers public on social media, which reveals The Rock has to work harder to bring XFL among the major leagues.
Dwayne Johnson retorts as ESPN reveals the viewership numbers of XFL
A few days ago, ESPN shared a post on the viewership numbers of the second season of XFL. It stated that the first OT game of the 2023 season, XFLVipers and XFL Battlehawks peaked at 1.18 million views, and the second game between, XFLRoughnecks and XFLBrahmas peaked at 2 million views. It is appreciable that the numbers are in the millions, however, they are no way near the viewership of the major leagues. ESPN also added that the new rules have made the game more interesting for the fans.
Jumanji star Dwayne Johnson, who is part owner of XFL, reposted ESPN’s tweet as he accepted that the numbers are less, but they are off to a good start for the season. He also added that the league is building slowly, and upcoming games will be massive hits. He wrote,
“Nowhere near huge numbers, but nice cable ratings nonetheless. Building a league step by step. Little by little. Our heads down and we’re all working hard. This weekend’s @XFLDefenders game at @AudiField stadium is SOLD OUT… Let’s ball out.”
Dwayne Johnson is actively vouching for the games and the teams and keeps sharing updates on his social media.
XFL part ownership cost Dwayne Johnson $15 million
The Scorpion King star bought the league along with RedBird Capital and Dany Garcia in 2020. The XFL was formed by Vince McMahon in 2018, however, the new league could not grab the attention of the viewers. Hence it only lasted one season. Later it was sold to Dwayne Johnson and others for $15 million, three months after the league declared bankruptcy.
Johnson and the team had decided to bring back XFL with numerous interesting innovations and rules, creating lots of hype in the country. NFL also took notice of the revival of XFL. However, all plans came to a screeching halt or shut down within five weeks due to COVID-19. Now the football league is finally back in action after Super Bowl LVII.
Dwayne Johnson is putting in all his effort and time for the success of the XFL, as it is a major source for him to gain back his $800 million worth in due time.
