“Broken” Matt Hardy Might Stay Broken – In a Legal Way

Matt and Jeff Hardy left Impact Wrestling in search for greener pastures, and now the question is up in the air as to who owns the “Broken” gimmick. While Matt Hardy claims that he owns the gimmick, stating that his contract with Impact allowed him to profit off of any gimmick used during his time at the promotion and that he retains ownership of his name and characters when he leaves, Impact has a different stance. The company states that the deal the Hardys were signed to allowed them to retain ownership of any intellectual property created during their tenure.

If the latter is the case, that has not stopped Matt from filing a trademark claim on Broken Matt Hardy in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The trademark–filed last week–extends to “Entertainment services, namely, wrestling exhibits and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer.”

Should the Impact legal team still disagree on ownership of the name–which is highly likely–it is highly possible that we will see a legal opposition to this trademark in the near future.

Broken Matt Hardy cuts a promo after The Hardy's win the ROH World Tag Team Championship

As for the Hardys, they are just getting started in the Ring of Honor after a very confusing free agency, which saw rumors fly that they were planning to sign with New Japan Pro Wrestling and WWE alike.