Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s latest venture has gotten off to a hot start, with the XFL kicking off to a great reception on the weekend.
Johnson, who’s now one of the biggest names in Hollywood, rose to fame as a wrestler with WWE. But he had hoped for a career in football and ended up in the CFL before deciding to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a wrestler after getting cut from the Calgary Stampeders roster.
Now, Johnson is the owner of a football league, noting his life has “come full circle” following his takeover from Vince McMahon.
The alternate league, which is offering fans spring football, with the NFL in its offseason, debuted on Saturday for the third time. Johnson has said he’s incredibly humbled by the reception.
“By grace of blessings, life has come full circle,” he said in an Instagram post in which he shared a few photos from opening weekend. “Our XFL has officially kicked off its season. Incredibly humbling weekend, I’ll never forget.
“We started a pro football league of grit, passion & opportunity. Now the work continues.”
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The Rock was in attendance for two of the games, appearing at Arlington and Houston in Texas on Saturday for games between the Arlington Renegades and Vegas Vipers and the Houston Roughnecks and Orlando Guardians.
The former wrestler bought the football league alongside his ex-wife Dany Garcia and RedBird Capital Partners for $15 million in 2020. He has since repackaged the business, securing deals from ABC and ESPN networks.
The future looks bright for Johnson and the XFL. But he will need to avoid the pitfalls McMahon fell victim to. Nothing is assured as yet.
