The 2020 XFL season, which began 19 years after the 2001 XFL season, was the league's first season since its revival and the second overall in its history. It was founded and run by professional wrestling mogul Vince McMahon.
Eight teams started the competition in February 2020, as declared in December 2018. St. Louis BattleHawks, Houston Roughnecks, New York Guardians, Dallas Renegades, Los Angeles Wildcats, Seattle Dragons, DC Defenders and Tampa Bay Vipers were the teams.
In accordance with the regular season schedule, each team was going to play ten games, with the top two from each division moving on to the postseason.
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On February 8, 2020, the D.C. Defenders hosted and beat the Seattle Dragons to kick off the season.
The run started off well with high television ratings and supportive fan comments. The XFL Championship Game was intended to occur in Houston on April 26 after the league's regular season ended on April 12. The division semifinals were set for April 18 and 19.
The league's prosperity, though, was brief. After just five weeks of competition in its debut season, the XFL announced in March 2020—during the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States — that the league would postpone the remaining games.
The XFL declared bankruptcy on April 10, 2020, and on August 21, 2020, it was revealed that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Dany Garcia and RedBird Capital Partners had bought the organization out of insolvency.
The downfall of the XFL was mostly caused by external circumstances, namely the league's debut overlapping with the COVID-19 pandemic. The XFL's chances of surviving were harmed by that as well as the absence of a lucrative broadcast deal.
Where can you stream the XFL games in 2023?
This year's XFL regular season consists of 40 games. There will be one championship game and two more postseason games. The XFL Championship Game has been scheduled for May 13 after the playoffs on April 29 and 30.
The D.C. Defenders, Seattle Sea Dragons, Houston Roughnecks, Arlington Renegades, Vegas Vipers, San Antonio Brahmas, Orlando Guardians and St. Louis Battlehawks all have games you can watch on ESPN+. The 2023 XFL playoffs will be available to stream on ESPN+, ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2.