WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon has reportedly sold $100 million of WWE stock to fund his new, self-funded Alpha Entertainment venture. News of McMahon selling 3.34 million shares of WWE stock comes just days after Alpha Entertainment filed for five trademarks related to the XFL on December 16th.
According to ESPN's Darren Rovell, the company also sought to trademark "URFL," furthering the belief that McMahon is plotting on an alternative football league.
The XFL, a joint venture between WWE and NBC, originally debuted in 2001 but only last one season, as WWE and NBC lost approximately $35 million each, after taxes, on the league, according to Darren Rovell.
ESPN's 30-For-30 documentary series aired a piece on the rise and fall of the XFL earlier this year, in which McMahon sat down with former NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol. During their discussion, Ebersol asked the WWE chairman, “Do you ever have any thoughts about trying again?” McMahon replied, "Yes I do."
“I don’t know what it would be,” McMahon continued (H/T Washington Post). “I don’t know if it’s going to be another XFL, or what it may be, or how different I would make it.”
According to Darren Rovell, the WWE recently filed for the “He Hate Me” trademark, which was abandoned by XFL player Rod Smart in 2011, which also hints that an XFL resurgence is in the works.