30 for 30 This Was the XFL (Season 3, Episode 14)
TV-G
TV Episode | 77 min | Documentary, Biography, History

30 for 30

This Was the XFL (Season 3, Episode 14)

TV-G

TV Episode | 77 min | Documentary, Biography, History

A bold challenge, a fearless experiment and ultimately, a spectacular failure. In 2001, sports entertainment titans Ebersol and McMahon launched the XFL. It was hardly the first time a league had tried to compete with the NFL, but the ...See moreA bold challenge, a fearless experiment and ultimately, a spectacular failure. In 2001, sports entertainment titans Ebersol and McMahon launched the XFL. It was hardly the first time a league had tried to compete with the NFL, but the brash audacity of the bid, combined with the personalities and charisma of Ebersol and McMahon and the marketing behemoths of their respective companies - NBC and WWE - captured headlines and a sense of undeniable anticipation about what was to come. Bringing together a cast of characters ranging from the boardrooms of General Electric to the practice fields of Las Vegas, "This Was the XFL" is the tale of - yes - all that went wrong, but also, how the XFL ended up influencing the way professional team sports are broadcast today. And at the center of it all - a decades long friendship between one of the most significant television executives in media history and the one-of-a-kind WWE impresario. This film will explore how Ebersol and McMahon brought the XFL to life, and why they had to let it go. See less

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Cast	+ Add Cast
33 cast members

Name	Known for
Vince McMahon Self Self See fewer	WWE Raw (1993)
Bob Costas Self Self See fewer	BASEketball (1998)
Dick Ebersol Self Self See fewer	Friday Night (1983)
Shannon Beach Self Self See fewer	Burlesque (I) (2010)
Dick Butkus Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
Jonathan Coachman Self Self See fewer	WWE Smackdown! (1999)
Basil DeVito Self Self See fewer	WWE Smackdown! (1999)
Chemish Fisher Self Self See fewer	Surge of Power: Revenge of the Sequel (2016)
John Gonzalez Self Self See fewer	Live PD (2016)
Hulk Hogan Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	No Holds Barred (1989)
Jay Howarth Self Self See fewer	Guiding Light (1952)
Dwayne Johnson Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Black Adam (2022)
Jerry Jones Actor Actor See fewer	Any Given Sunday (1999)
Peter King Self - Sports Illustrated Self - Sports Illustrated See fewer	A Football Life (2011)
Paris Lenon Self - Memphis Maniacs Linebacker Self - Memphis Maniacs Linebacker See fewer	The NFL on CBS (1956)
Aimee Leone Self Self See fewer	30 for 30 (2009)
Al Luginbill Self Self See fewer	A Football Life (2011)
Tommy Maddox Self Self See fewer	NFL Monday Night Football (1970)
John Miller Self - NBC Self - NBC See fewer	30 for 30 (2009)
Billy Rebman Self - NBC Self - NBC See fewer	30 for 30 (2009)
Jim Ross Self Self See fewer	WWE Raw (1993)
Ken Schanzer Self Self See fewer	30 for 30 (2009)
Rod Smart Actor Actor See fewer	Don't Blame the Lettuce (2010)
Pete Stendel Self Self See fewer	Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: Live in New York City (2001)
Rusty Tillman Self Self See fewer	NFL Monday Night Football (1970)
Matt Vasgersian Self Self See fewer	Pitch (2016)
Tom Veit Self - Orlando Rage Self - Orlando Rage See fewer	WWE Raw (1993)
Jesse Ventura Self Self See fewer	Predator (1987)
Mark Viviano Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer
John Elway Self (archive footage) (uncredited) Self (archive footage) (uncredited) See fewer	Resurrecting the Champ (2007)
Jim Hellwig Ultimate Warrior (archive footage) (uncredited) Ultimate Warrior (archive footage) (uncredited) See fewer	WrestleMania VI (1990)
Randy Savage Self (archive footage) (uncredited) Self (archive footage) (uncredited) See fewer	Spider-Man (2002)
Emmitt Smith Self (archive footage) (uncredited) Self (archive footage) (uncredited) See fewer	Little Giants (1994)