In an effort to bolster his sports-entertainment empire, professional wrestling mogul Vince McMahon has announced that he plans to resurrect the ill-fated football league, the XFL.

“If at first you don’t succeed…” said McMahon, who suffered enormous financial losses and public humiliation when the “extreme” football league spectacularly collapsed after its first season.

Never one to be deterred by critics or controversy, McMahon announced that the XFL will return to television in the fall of 2014 with “heavier hitting, hotter cheerleaders and a lot of on-air promotion of the XFL smartphone app.”

According to sources close to McMahon, the tenacious promoter never fully recovered from the emotional damage caused by the original failure of the XFL, and has refused to let the idea die.

“Vince is determined to destroy the NFL,” said one friend, on condition of anonymity.

“He likes to pretend that (NFL Commissioner) Roger Goodell is (former WCW owner) Ted Turner.”

McMahon reportedly phoned former football star and one-time wrestler Lawrence “LT” Taylor this week to ask if he’s interested in playing again.