XFL 3.0?
If the Houston Roughnecks return, it could play out like pro wrestling drama
May 22, 2020, 9:20 am
Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images.
You remember when Vince McMahon declared bankruptcy for his twice-flopped XFL and laid off all its players, coaches and front office personnel last month? Now there are reports that a mystery shopper is writing a deposit check to buy the XFL out of bankruptcy and resume play next year. And who's that throwing good money at a snakebitten football league?
The rumor is Vince McMahon. Well, somebody is reinstating XFL stadium leases in Seattle and St. Louis. If true, 2021 would mark McMahon's third attempt at getting the XFL off the ground. What's that definition of insanity?
Some underperforming XFL teams may relocate to markets abandoned by the NFL, like San Diego and Oakland. While most XFL teams faced free-falling TV ratings and downsizing attendance in 2020, and former XFL commissioner Oliver Luck is suing the league for wrongful termination, the Houston Roughnecks appear to be on firm artificial turf at TDECU Stadium on the UH campus. The Roughnecks were the undisputed crown jewel, the high-scoring dazzlers of the XFL 2020. They were the only undefeated team, standing at 5-0 with a 3-game lead in the Western Division when the plug was pulled in March, a victim of the COVID shutdown. Their average attendance was 18,230, good for third in the 8-team league. If the season had completed its 10-game regular season, the XFL title game would have been played in Houston. Our city clearly was the capital of the XFL.
A poll of XFL writers named Roughnecks quarterback P.J. Walker as the league's projected offensive MVP. Roughnecks' June Jones was the midway Coach of the Year. Receiver Cam Phillips was the XFL's "Star of the Week" three of the five weeks the league played games. Unlike that other pro football team in Houston, the Roughnecks did not trade their superstar receiver for a broken-down running back and a bag of used kicking tees.
After the season unexpectedly wrapped, six Roughnecks signed NFL contracts, the most of any XFL team: quarterback P.J. Walker (Carolina Panthers), cornerback Deatrick Nichols (New Orleans Saints), linebacker DeMarquis Gates (Minnesota Vikings), linebacker Edmond Robinson (Atlanta Falcons), and cornerback Savion Smith (Dallas Cowboys). Two more Roughnecks signed deals with the Canadian Football League: kicker Sergio Castillo (BC Lions) and receiver Jalen Saunders (Ottawa Redblacks). The bad news is, if the XFL returns, you might not be able to tell the Roughnecks without a scorecard.
While McMahon possibly is bringing back the XFL, his World Wrestling Entertainment is struggling to put on original live programming with Monday Night Raw, Wednesday Night NXT and Friday Night Smackdown in the WWE's empty Performance Center in Florida - God love it, the only state where professional wrestling is considered an "essential service."
Monday Night Raw debuted in January, 1993 and airs live, 3-hour shows 52 weeks a year. It is the longest-running episodic show in TV history. That's 1,408 weekly shows and counting. Second longest running episodic show – Friday Night Smackdown with 1,014 shows. Then comes NFL Monday Night Football with 718 games.
Earlier this month, Raw sunk to its lowest number of viewers ever, only 1.68 million fans for the May 4 episode. To be fair, pro wrestling is hard to watch, and very strange, without a live crowd cheering on the babyfaces and jeering the heels. WWE puts on 500 live events a year, but not 2020 with COVID-19 shutting down arenas worldwide and canceling lucrative U.S. and international tours. WrestleMania was canceled for the first time last month. WWE's last blockbuster live show was the Royal Rumble, which packed Minute Maid Park with 42,715 fans in January.
Last month, shareholders hit WWE with several class action lawsuits claiming that WWE lied about business opportunities while WWE executives unloaded stock in advance of troubling financial reports. Two of WWE's most bankable stars, Roman Reigns and Becky Lynch, are on the sidelines. Reigns is sitting out the coronavirus pandemic for health concerns. Lynch announced last week that she is expecting her first child. Last month, WWE laid off dozens of wrestlers and furloughed some veteran staff to the coronavirus crisis. Comic Tom Segura grabbed headlines this month when he called wrestling fans "retards, in the same category as flat-Earthers." WWE is facing a new rival for ratings on Wednesdays with the debut of All Elite Wrestling on TBS.
With all that happening, or not happening, a rumor is ratting WWE fans … is Vince McMahon negotiating to sell WWE and the WWE Network to ESPN and Fox? The buzz started last month when former WWE performer Dutch Mantell tweeted:
"Huge News: Any truth to this? Overheard directly out of WWE headquarters (in) Stamford (Connecticut) is that a deal is being negotiated to sell WWE & the network to ESPN and Fox as early as Mid May."
Mid May sounds about right now.
Although pro wrestling performers are known for being big fat fibbers, and they don't call Mantell "Dirty Dutch" for nothing, just maybe there's something to McMahon selling.
Vince McMahon, chairman and CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, is 74 years old. He bought WWE from his father and investors for $1 million in 1982. WWE is now worth $5.7 billion, and McMahon's personal wealth is estimated at $3.2. That's Oprah territory. That's more than Mr. Wonderful is worth on Shark Tank. WWE isn't just a wrestling company. McMahon sits atop an entertainment empire that includes movies, TV, music, magazines, toys and video games. WWE television shows air in 150 countries. He is one of the great owners in sports history, more than willing to strap it on and get down and dirty with his performers. Let me know when Jerry Jones or Tilman Fertitta lets Donald Trump shave his head bald on pay-per-view like McMahon did. McMahon is committed, all right, or should be.
What's he knocking himself out for? He could sell WWE to ESPN and Fox, and insist that son-in-law Triple H and daughter Stephanie McMahon are retained in executive positions. McMahon could cash out his billions, take a deep breath, and concentrate on losing a big chunk of it next year with XFL 3.0.
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.