5 ways a WWE and XFL cross-promotion can happen

#1 It shouldn't

The XFL

Not really what you were expecting, was it?

As much as the terrible quality of play on the field, as well as the TV production SNAFUs that happened during the original XFL's first couple of weeks, led to the league crashing and burning after one season, those aren't the only reasons.

A big part of it was its association with the then-WWF. By the time the XFL was launched, it was pretty widely understood that professional wrestling was scripted entertainment and a show as opposed to an actual sporting competition. And, frankly, other than people who either a) had a problem with the risque content WWE was putting out at the time or b) just liked to say "you know it's fake, right?" because they're hollow, empty people, nobody cared.

Football, on the other hand, was a different story. The WWF may have been accepted as a form of entertainment, but when the guy who runs a form of entertainment that pretends to be an actual competition (again, as part of the show, not as a ruse) starts a legitimate football league, there's going to be a lot of skepticism.

The current XFL is actually doing everything right. They took the time to develop the league and let the eight teams get organized and train (as opposed to the rushed off-season of the original league). They're not making any illusions that they're currently at the same level of play as the NFL - which is smart. They're not trashing their own product , they're just being realistic. This past weekend was a great start - the games were a lot of fun to watch.

WWE has also become even more mainstream since the days of the original XFL. It's certainly more family friendly, and it's also produced a number of high respected Hollywood movie stars - The Rock, Batista, and John Cena. So, being associated with WWE isn't really the hindrance it used to be.

Here's the thing, though - the XFL has proven during this first week of games that it doesn't need the WWE connection to entertain people. Yes, some people are tuning in because they're WWE fans. But, a lot are tuning in because they want to watch football during the NFL offseason and don't really care about wrestling.

And there's nothing wrong with that. XFL needs to - and I believe they can - succeed on their own merits without a WWE association. Their main goal should be to create such a great American Football product that WWE benefits from appearing on XFL programming and not the other way around.

But, what do you guys think? Did you enjoy the first four XFL games? How do you think the league will do? Let us know in the comments below