The first iteration of the XFL, back in the early 2000s, failed because league founder Vince McMahon tried a little too hard to turn the league into a football version of WWE. The reprise, in 2020, founded again by McMahon and skippered by league president Oliver Luck, failed because of a pandemic. Now, the third version arrives in 2023, and for this one, owned by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and some other investors, hopefully the third time is the charm.
To that end, on Monday, the eight team league announced the names and logos for their franchises, and they include a familiar moniker here in Houston. The teams are as follows:
HOUSTON ROUGHNECKS
ARLINGTON RENEGADES
DC DEFENDERS
ORLANDO GUARDIANS
SAN ANTONIO BRAHMAS
SEATTLE SEA DRAGONS
ST. LOUIS BATTLEHAWKS
VEGAS VIPERS
The league released this video announcing the eight teams:
And this video reintroducing the Houston Roughnecks, who went 5-0 before COVID ended the 2020 XFL season and functionally killed that version of the league:
The Roughnecks aren’t the only team reprising their team name from XFL, 2.0. In fact, a vast majority of the team names harken back to the 2020 version of the league, with Orlando and Vegas adopting the names from the now-defunct New York and Tampa Bay franchises. Also, Dallas has changed their city name to Arlington, and Seattle added the word “Sea” to “Dragons.”
The one completely new name is for the San Antonio franchise. They will be named the “Brahmas,” ostensibly a tip of the hat to Johnson, whose WWE character “The Rock” is also known as the “Brahma Bull,” with a logo similar to the one that San Antonio fans will see on their team’s gear. I won’t lie, I am disappointed that the Houston franchise didn’t get the “Brahma” moniker, for two reasons. First, the gear would be incredibly badass, and second, it would be the perfect counter to the Texans’ Toro mascot. Bull on bull violence!
The XFL brand and assets were purchased out of bankruptcy in the summer of 2020 by Johnson, his ex-wife Dany Garcia, and RedBird Capital. In a statement, Garcia said:
“Countless hours of creative sessions and collaboration went into bringing these team brands to life. Each team’s identity represents the fabric of their local community while also embodying the XFL’s vision and ethos: they are authentic, dynamic, modern, and unapologetically bold.”
“From the start, Dany, [RedBird], and I have wanted to deliver our fans nothing but the best,” Johnson said in a statement, “and it is motivating to see our creative vision come to life. We have our cities, our team identities, and our rockstar coaches. Now we get to fill our rosters with hungry and deserving players that will wear their uniforms with XFL pride.”
The league will begin play on February 18, 2023, and will hold its first draft for this iteration of the league next month. The eight teams are all owned by the league, and the XFL has hired full personnel and coaching staffs for all eight teams. In Houston, the head coach for the Roughnecks will be the ultra popular Wade Phillips, last seen in Houston as the defensive coordinator for the Texans in 2013.
The Roughnecks home games will again be played at TDECU Stadium on the University of Houston campus, and all 43 games of the league’s season will be televised or streamed on a Disney or ESPN platform.
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This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2022.
