It could've easily been a softball documentary, but This Was the XFL doesn't shy away from the many, many, many problems with the league. Each talking head is pretty upfront and honest; XFL commentator Matt Vasgersian tells the story of how he was demoted by McMahon for not playing along with the McMahon and the league's view on cheerleaders. You see, along with changing the rules of regulation football to allow rougher gameplay, the XFL's other selling point was its cheerleaders, who McMahon suggested should be more involved with the broadcast than the NFL, by way of cheerleaders being encouraged to date the players and with sideline gyrations presented with seedy low-camera angles.

The XFL, in its ten weeks of existence, had one major high by way of massive ratings for its first game, but hit bottom pretty quickly in its second week due to a power outage during gameplay, caused by of all things, a power generator's empty gas tank. This Was the XFL attempts to list all of the league's failings, with brutal honesty, while also presenting the XFL as an experimental passion project by one man, who even with the help of an old friend, just couldn't give football fans the entertainment they wanted — the actually gameplay was garbage, no doubt. Fans of the WWE will no doubt get something out of this peak into McMahon's mind, with the story behind his contentious interview with Bob Costas coming as no surprise. While casual football fans, and even non-sports watchers, will be shocked at the absurd antics that went on at this "extreme" football league. Like many 30 for 30 documentaries before it, This Was the XFL is a fascinating and informative watch, as it's always a sight to behold to see something fail as spectacularly as the XFL.