Recently, stories about Vince McMahon wanting to reboot the XFL have been flooding wrestling sites left and right. Over the past week, news of trademark filings and
On December 21st, McMahon sold 3.34 million shares of his stock in the WWE, worth around $100 million. McMahon did so to fund Alpha Entertainment LLC, a side project entirely separate from the WWE. On December 15th, a WWE spokesperson issued a statement to Deadspin’s David Bixenpan, who had been inquiring about the rumors of an XFL revival.
“Vince McMahon has established and is personally funding a separate entity from WWE, Alpha Entertainment, to explore investment opportunities across the sports and entertainment landscapes, including professional football. Mr. McMahon has nothing further to announce at this time.”
ESPN’s Darren Rovell reported that Alpha Entertainment had filed for five trademarks for the XFL on December 16. Rovell stated that the filings are for the XFL as a “professional football league and also cover merchandise related to the league.” However, it looks like the WWE has actually been filing extension requests for years, and they are on their fifth and final extension, which would be ending in January 2018, as stated by Chris Harrington of Wrestlenomics Radio.
Here's the kicker — it looks like WWE has been filing extension requests on the XFL trademark for years. They need to show use in commerce in order to keep the trademark. This is their fifth extension and lasts until January 2018. It is their 5th & LAST extension too. pic.twitter.com/ElXMQmCyFN
— Chris Harrington (@mookieghana) December 22, 2017
It’s speculated that McMahon could be looking to make an announcement regarding his ventures outside of the WWE within the next month or so. As for whether he plans to announce the revival of the XFL or an entirely new project, nothing is known for certain. There have also been rumors that McMahon could look into buying the Carolina Panthers, as the current owner, Jerry Richardson, plans to sell the team at the end of the 2017 season amid claims of sexual and racial harassment. However, until McMahon’s statement sometime in the coming months, the rest is hearsay.