Connect with us

XFL News

XFL-Co Owner The Rock Meets With MLSE’s Larry Tanenbaum In Toronto During Black Adam Tour

The Rock is currently on a whirlwind tour promoting the new Black Adam movie coming to theaters on October 20th. According to his business partner and XFL Chairwomen Dany Garcia, this project has been six years in the making.

Dwyane Johnson started the tour in Mexico, then made his way to the US this week with appearances in New York. Last night he stopped in Toronto during a Maple Leafs game. 

Canadian radio host Rod Pedersen reports that The Rock is meeting with MLSE Chairman Larry Tanenbaum while in Toronto. With Johnson’s busy movie promotion schedule, it was a bit eyebrow-raising that he would make time to meet with Tanenbaum.

Tanenbaum is the longtime chairman of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. MLSE owns the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, the NBA’s Toronto Raptors, and Toronto FC of Major League Soccer. 

They also own the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts. We all know about the XFL and CFL talks, which ended in July 2021. Tanenbaum was rumored to be high on the XFL/CFL partnership/merger talks. 

In June, Tanenbaum talked about the CFL in an interview with the Globe & Mail

“The community-owned teams seem to be satisfied with what’s happening in the CFL, so we’re working to see how the Argos fit into that scenario. I’m not happy with it. I’m not happy with the structure of the league. “

TSN Football Insider Dave Naylor talked about the interview.

Dwayne’ The Rock’ Johnson chimed in on Twitter, saying.

“Larry was a great partner & advocate who I found to be a gutsy visionary who saw an amazing opportunity to grow the game of football that we all love – in a very exciting & electrifying way for the FANS.”

Dwyane Johnson’s appearance at the MLSE-owned Maple Leafs could be much to do about nothing. Just simple movie promotion and meeting with an old friend before heading off to London for the next part of his movie promotional tour. 

We know a MAJOR difference between the XFL 2.0 era and the 3.0 era is the relationships. The relationship between the XFL front office and NFL helped guide the NFL/XFL partnership. Dany Garcia’s connections in the TV/Movie business, Gerry Cardinale’s relationship with the NFL and other pro sports leagues. Do Tanenbaum and Johnson have something cooking? We will have to wait and see down the road.

The XFL recently announced a partnership with the IFL but has yet to release its team names and logos. The Argos are in the CFL playoff hunt, and Tanenbaum was recently unanimously re-elected as chairman of the NBA board of governors.

These friendships might not mean anything now, but they could years later.


Unleash the Action: Sign up for XFL Insider and Fuel Your Passion for Football!


Mark Perry, a devoted sports journalist and founder of XFL News Hub, has been a key figure in XFL coverage since its 2018 revival. Launching XFL News Hub soon after the league's return announcement, Mark has established the platform as a primary source for comprehensive XFL updates. Renowned for his in-depth knowledge and commitment to sports journalism, Mark actively engages the XFL community, welcoming interactions at mark.perry@xflnewshub.com.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

XFL Kickoff

[ycd_countdown id=16876]

XFL News Alerts

USFL and XFL Merger: A Deep Dive into the Historic Collaboration

Latest Podcast

Subscribe XFL Podcast

More in XFL News