About four months after starting talks with the Canadian Football League about a possible collaboration, the XFL said it has put those discussions on hold and looks toward starting play in the 2023 season.

The XFL said in March that it had begun discussions with the Canadian league to “identify opportunities for the leagues to collaborate, innovate, and grow the game of football.” As a result, the XFL said it would postpone its 2022 season. 

News that the talks had ended was first reported by Sports Business Journal. 

Speculation was high that the two leagues were exploring a possible merger. Last year, former CFL player, professional wrestler and current movie star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, his ex-wife Dany Garcia and RedBird Capital purchased the XFL out of bankruptcy for about $15 million.  With the tabling of the CFL talks, the chances of a possible merger appear slim.   

“Our talks with the XFL, exploring the potential for collaboration and innovation, have been positive and constructive,” the CFL said in a statement on its website. “While we remain open to finding new ways to work together in the future, we and our XFL counterparts have jointly decided to not pursue any formal arrangements at this time.” 

The XFL issued a similar statement.

“While our discussions with the CFL did not ultimately lead to a collaboration, the effort reinforced our belief and commitment to developing the XFL for international spring football,” the XFL said in a statement. “We look forward to seeing everyone for kickoff in spring of 2023.”

Just what is next for the XFL remains in question, especially as another spring football league — the USFL — gears up for its 2022 season, with minority owner Fox Sports as its broadcast partner.

NBC has revealed the cast for comedy Young Rock, about different chapters of Dwayne Johnson’s life. “From growing up in a strong and resilient family, to being surrounded by the wild characters of his professional wrestling family, to playing football at the University of Miami, the show will explore the crazy rollercoaster that has shaped Dwayne into the man he is today and the larger-than-life characters he's met along the way,” said NBC.

The series will premiere in 2021. Johnson, a wrestling star before his film career took off, will appear in each episode.

Adrian Groulx will play Johnson at age 10. “Honest, headstrong, impressionable and bold,” said NBC. Bradley Constant plays Johnson at 15. “Doing his best to fit in as a normal teenager but puberty has other ideas.”

Uli Latukefu plays Johnson at age 18-20. “Has just been recruited to play football on a full scholarship at powerhouse University of Miami,” said NBC, but an injury “puts his life at a crossroads.”

Stacey Luilua plays Johnson’s mother Ata. “A strong woman, both by nature and necessity, she’s a hopeful positive force in young Dwayne’s life,” said NBC. Joseph Lee Anderson plays his father Rocky. “Charismatic and charming, the pro wrestling champion juggles the ups and downs of his career with being a well-intentioned, but unorthodox, husband and father,” said NBC. 

Ana Tuisila plays Dwayne’s grandmother.

The series will be executive produced by Nahnatchka Khan, Dwayne Johnson, Jeff Chiang, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia, Brian Gewirtz and Jennifer Carreras. The pilot was co-written by Khan and Chiang. 

Universal Television, Seven Bucks Productions and Fierce Baby Productions will produce.

Seven Bucks Companies, the film and TV production entity headed by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and his ex-wife Dany Garcia, and RedBird Capital, the private equity company led by former Goldman Sachs partner Gerry Cardinale, have agreed to buy troubled sports league the XFL in a deal valued at about $15 million.

The XFL filed for bankruptcy protection in April, shortly after it canceled its season due to the coronavirus pandemic. At the time, the league reported assets of between $10 million and $50 million. 

The bid came on the day the bankruptcy court was scheduled to begin an auction for the XFL assets. In light of the bid, that auction will not take place.

The XFL, created by World Wrestling Entertainment chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, has struggled to eke out a niche as an alternative to the NFL. While the earlier version of the XFL crashed and burned after one season in 2001 amid low ratings and a string of bad luck, the latest iteration was supposed to be a more serious, fast-paced, fan-centric and family-friendly football league. In June 2018 McMahon hired former NFL and NCAA executive Oliver Luck as commissioner and CEO of the league, and tapped sports business consultant Jeffrey Pollack as president and chief operating officer.

Pollack was in charge of the auction process. In a press release he was pleased with the outcome.

“We are grateful for today’s outcome,” Pollack said. “This is a Hollywood ending to our sale process and it is an exciting new chapter for the league. Dwayne, Dany and Gerry are a dream team ownership group and the XFL is in the best possible hands going forward.”

Johnson and Garcia, a former Merrill Lynch exec, formed Seven Bucks Companies in 2012, which has mainly produced films and television properties for Johnson. This will be the company’s first foray into live sports. 

The deal is expected to close quickly. Seven Bucks said in a press release that the bankruptcy court will hold a hearing to approve the transaction on Aug.7, and with a favorable ruling the deal could close on or shortly after Aug. 21.

“For Dwayne, Gerry and myself, this property represents an incredible opportunity. It is the confluence of great passion, tradition and possibility” Garcia said in a press release. “Sports and entertainment are the foundations of the businesses I have built. Melding our expertise combined with our commitment to deliver exciting and inspiring unique content, has us all focused on developing the XFL brand into a multi-media experience that our athletes, partners and fans will proudly embrace and love.”

Johnson, a former professional wrestler, parlayed his fame into a career as an actor and entrepreneur. In addition to starring in blockbuster films like Jumanji and TV shows like HBO series Ballers, he is CEO of Seven Bucks Cos.

“The acquisition of the XFL with my talented partners, Dany Garcia and Gerry Cardinale, is an investment for me that’s rooted deeply in two things - my passion for the game and my desire to always take care of the fans,” Johnson said in a press release. “With pride and gratitude for all that I’ve built with my own two hands, I plan to apply these callouses to the XFL, and look forward to creating something special for the players, fans, and everyone involved for the love of football.”

Cardinale and RedBird have been involved in several sports deals -- it was part of the team that purchased YES Network last year and last month purchased an 85% interest in French soccer club Toulouse. Also in July, RedBird formed a special purpose acquisition corporation -- RedBall Acquisition Corp. -- with Oakland A’s executive Billy Beane to raise $500 million to invest in sports properties. 

“It is a privilege to partner with Dany and Dwayne on the acquisition of the XFL,” Cardinale said in the press release. “Their track record in building dynamic businesses speaks for itself, and their vision and passion for developing the XFL as a world class sports and entertainment property will enable a new future for this organization. As their partner in acquiring and relaunching the XFL, RedBird will bring its own track record and experience in building world class companies in sports and live entertainment to help realize their vision.” 

Dwyane Johnson is arguably the most bankable actor in Hollywood today, having starred in numerous mega box-office hit films for the better part of two decades.

The WWE Superstar known as “The Rock” has pinned down for himself a successful career across multiple media platforms, from appearing in multi-billion dollar film franchises such as The Fast And The Furious and television shows such as HBO's Ballers, to headlining global pay-per-view events such as the WWE's Wrestlemania.

In this 2013 interview, Johnson talks about what motivates him to create such an incredible portfolio of entertainment projects.    

Syfy tonight (Oct. 10) will televise the 15th anniversary episode of the WWE’s weekly series SmackDown, the network said Friday.

SmackDown, the second-longest running weekly show in television history behind the WWE’s Monday Night Raw, will feature several guest stars during its anniversary show, including WWE superstar/actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, NFL star Ben Roethlisberger, Cedric The Entertainer, Snoop Dogg, Kyle Busch and William Shatner.

Tonight’s episode will mark the 790th for SmackDown since the series launched in 1999. Currently the series is averaging 3.1 million viewers, tops for a cable series on Friday night, according to the WWE.