WWE News: WWE May Have Found A Genius Way To Force TNA Into Giving Up The Broken Universe
For some time now, Matt and Jeff Hardy have been using an amazing “broken” gimmick that wrestling fans loved, but sadly TNA stopped them from using it and now WWE is getting involved. Yes, Anthem Sports and Entertainment, the new owners of TNA, are threatening the Hardy brothers with a lawsuit if they use the broken gimmick, and they’re going to go after any company that uses it. This led to some issues in Ring of Honor Wrestling, but nothing much in WWE as of yet.
The reason is due to the fact that WWE is sort of using words and things from the broken gimmick but they are not quite using the entire thing as of now. Matt Hardy feels he owns the gimmick that he destroyed with all over the world, both in and away from TNA Wrestling. Both Hardy brothers wanted to re-sign with TNA but the company disrespected them and offered them insulting contracts, despite the Hardy brothers being the biggest stars they had going into 2017.
TNA nor the new owners in Anthem ever bothered to register a trademark or copyright on the broken gimmick, but Matt Hardy did go forth with it the moment he left TNA. As of now, he owns the name rights to it all. However, Anthem is still pushing things and they are threatening legal action. Matt Hardy seems totally ready to go head-to-head over it, which seemed to jar Anthem and according to Reby Hardy, they offered a settlement deal. The Hardy family declined it.
Due to all of the issues, WWE decided to not use the broken gimmick right away in the company. However, they feel it is wrong that Anthem is doing this to the Hardy brothers. That said, they are now going after TNA from a legal point as well. According to The Wrestling Observer, WWE legal is going after TNA, or now as they call themselves, Impact Wrestling regarding the fact that profited off of a WWE registered trademark.
WWE is working with the Hardy family in order to get things resolved. There is a thought that if Anthem keeps pushing, WWE will counter-sue Anthem in order to get the case thrown out and give the Hardy family full rights to the entire Broken Universe. Some may be asking, what could WWE actually sue over and what was actually a WWE registered trademark?
You notice how WWE is calling Matt and Jeff Hardy the “Hardy Boyz” or “Hardy Boys” again? This was not a random occurrence. Before the brothers left WWE years back, they were simply called the Hardys. This was done because the Hardy brothers did not like being referred to as “boys” when they had grown up and become men. However, the WWE is going back to the “Team Xtreme” gimmick to highlight a major issue that TNA forgot about.
When referring to the brothers in TNA, they too called the Hardys the Hardy Boys or Boyz at first before they changed over to the broken gimmick. For some time, Jeff Hardy was really in TNA on his own. Matt Hardy had been in WWE for years before finally ending up with TNA, but then he was let go for multiple reasons in his first run. He would end up returning, where the two would team up once more. It was about a year later that Broken Matt Hardy came into play.
Obviously, TNA did not violate anything by using the Hardy name, as that name isn’t owned by anyone other than the brothers who gave their permission at the time. TNA would make merchandise using the “Hardy Boys” name and even their logo was featured. WWE did not bother to sue over this, as it wasn’t much really to fight over at the time and it would not solve a lot for them anyway.
However, if WWE Legal could go after Anthem over this and force them into a situation where they will sue them for their use of a WWE trademark, Anthem will have their hands tied. WWE would, in turn, help the Hardy Family win the broken gimmick that they should have owned to start with, and WWE would then be able to win out in the end. This would be a brilliant plan for WWE and the Hardy Family, and clearly, fans of the Hardy brothers hope it ends up working out.
[Featured Image by TNA Wrestling]
