Back in August, The Inquisitr reported that the XFL had revealed its team names and their logos ahead of the new iteration of the league, which is set to kick off next year. Due to Vince McMahon’s association with the football league, it’s always going to have a relationship with WWE. During its last incarnation, however, the XFL almost saw a couple of former WWE superstars try out to compete in it.
As documented by Wrestling Inc. , former WWE superstar Stevie Richards recently spoke to the Dropkick DiSKussions podcast and revealed that he and Gene Snitsky almost tried out for the league in the year 2000. In the end, though, the pair decided not to try and make their football dreams a reality.
“Gene Snitsky, you know, the one that kicked the baby. He and I were considering trying out for XFL teams. He was a former lineman, lineman or a linebacker, one of the big trench guys. I was going to try out for field goal kicker because, back in high school, I was a field goal kicker, so I felt like it may be a cool thing to try out for. There was no team locally here for me to try out for so I didn’t end up doing it.”
During the interview, Richards also discussed the future of the XFL, but he wasn’t too optimistic about it succeeding. He doesn’t think that the new football league is going to be around for very long because it didn’t come along when the NFL’s ratings were suffering as a result of players kneeling during the national anthem.
The XFL seems to have been set up as a direct response to politics invading sports in recent years, though. The rules of the upcoming league state that players must stand during the national anthems and broadcast their political views elsewhere. By having the league remain politically neutral, McMahon and company hopes to attract a wide fan base.
Unlike the previous XFL, the newest version of the league will not feature sports entertainment elements. The last incarnation tried to incorporate WWE-style theatrics into backstage segments and interviews, including the use of WWE commentators and superstars at the games. However, the outcomes of the games were legitimate.
It remains to be seen if any WWE superstars end up in XFL down the line. After all, the company’s roster boasts no shortage of ex-professional football players who made the jump to wrestling after their careers on the field came to an end.
