XFL file for bankruptcy; WWE's role in the company revealed

XFL have officially filed for bankruptcy, and that has brought an end to the uncertainty over the league's future. The move will make it the 2nd league in as many years to shut down without finishing its debut season.

The filing for bankruptcy has listed Vince McMahon as the 100% Class A owner, while WWE has been listed as the 23.5% Class B owner.

BREAKING: XFL files for bankruptcy. N bankruptcy filing reveals that WWE actually does own part of league (23.5% of Class B stock). Among the creditors — Bob Stoops ($1M), Marc Trestman ($777K), Ticketmaster ($655K), other coaches ($583K) and MetLife Stadium lease ($368K). pic.twitter.com/PRj3CXAnkv
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) April 13, 2020

XFL was just five weeks into its season when it was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic. The sudden break saw the league discontinue all operations and they also laid off almost the entire staff within a month.

The league was set up to fill in the void between the NFL seasons and was enjoying moderate success as well. However, the uncertainty over the future grew in the last one month, and the big decision was taken to end its operations completely.

Alliance of American Football was a similar league set up in 2018. The league debuted in 2019 but could not complete the season and also filed for bankruptcy. There were rumors that AAF had approached XFL for a merger, but that was rejected by Vince McMahon.

The WWE Chairman's dream of running a successful football league now remains unfulfilled again.