Running head: EXAMINING A BUSINESS FAILURE
Examining a Business Failure
Sanford Campbell
University of Phoenix
Organizational Leadership
LB08MBA05; LDR/531
ALLEN WEST
October 01, 2008
Examining a Business Failure
Seven years ago a very successful business man named Vince McMahon wanted to expand
his business but in an innovative way. Mr. McMahon was and still is President of the
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). He has successfully taken a product and marketed
it worldwide. His primary demographic is 12-24yr olds but WWE has hooked a much
broader crowd. The irony in the success is the wrestling matches are scripted and a winner
is pre-determined. The fans, though they know this, dont seem to care. After all, its called
WWE.
In 2000, Mr. McMahon set his sights on buying the Canadian Football League but was
thwarted when the governors of the CFL didnt support the buyout. Thus, the XFL was born
as a joint venture between the XFL and NBC.
The XFL was a single entity league meaning that all teams were owned by the XFL. There
were 8 teams total, games were played on Sat nights and televised on NBC, and players
were made up of former NFL players and athletes from all over the world. The XFL would
play immediately after the NFL Super Bowl and play 10 games over a 2 month period.
Player salaries were structured based on position played with bonuses going to winning
teams. Since this was a football league Mr. McMahon knew he had to have a strategic
change to differ his league from the NFL. For example, there was no longer a coin toss at
