Is TNA right to ban ROH from using the Broken Hardys?

[Milky]

Poll

[Jamie G]

They're essentially banning any promotion to use it I guess. TNA have been prickish about how they've gone about it.

I can see why they've done what they've done if it's in the contract and the Hardys were aware of it, but it still all comes across as arsey and bitter. You can bet your house that WWE would do the same thing though.

They have no goodwill with many fans after years of cock-ups, bad decisions and backward thinking.

I'd say they may be within their rights to do it but the way they've done it negates that for me. So technically yes, but I'm going to say no.

[rocketking]

At the moment, I'll go with 'yes'. TNA needs to protect its intellectual property, just as WWE would in the same situation. They've handled it like shit, because they're TNA, but that's a different question.

Even if it turns out that the Broken gimmick isn't their intellectual property, they are still right to protect it until proven otherwise.

[deezy]

It's technically the right thing to do.

Strong arming cable companies over it and using it on non contracted characters isn't.

Both will lose out because of this.

[siredger]

Personally, it's a can't-win situation for TNA. Because now, they'll also alienate the part of the audience that watched Impact Wrestling solely because of the Broken Hardys. Right now, they're overwhelmingly losing the PR battle and the longer it goes, the worse it'll get for them. So, right now, from a PR standpoing, it was an excruciatingly bad move for Impact.

And it also comes down to if TNA really had that much creative input on what was done with the Broken Universe. If they were only asking to keep only what was done within the promotion, I'd sure understand. But from what Jeff Hardy said in a recent interview, Impact Wrestling has no leg to stand on in their claim.

[deezy]

It's like WWE with Cody Rhodes.....If you can do it.....Why not?

It's up to the company to showcase their muscles when needed, tna has shown throughout most of their existence that they've been doormats for wrestlers.

[RKing85]

as Meltzer said on one of his podcasts, Legally right and Morally right are two different things.

[Christian Small]

Got to agree with the majority here. They're right but doing it wrong. It's also not helping with the fact TNA has had so much stuff happening lately with the sale, new management, new look and now this.

[Chris Thunder]

Legally YES, it was on their company's show. Morally NO, Matt claimed to have full creative control.

It's a bad look for a "NEW" company trying to change their image with the fans, but their are guys they haven't/didn't block after they left like: Bobby Roode (NXT), Bully Ray (ROH), Eric Young (NXT), Christopher Daniels (ROH), Frankie Kazarian (ROH), Kenny King (ROH), Jay Lethal (ROH), Chris Sabin (ROH), Samoa Joe (WWE).

Now I'll admit it I'm not up to date with the full back history of the guys I listed above and am unaware if they debuted elsewhere first, but as far as I know most either debut (or re-debuted with a new gimmick) Nationally/Internationally on TNA/Impact TV first.

[thehotnscaryclassic]

Mar 16, 2017 20:33:50 GMT -5 Chris Thunder said:

Legally YES, it was on their company's show. Morally NO, Matt claimed to have full creative control.

It's a bad look for a "NEW" company trying to change their image with the fans, but their are guys they haven't/didn't block after they left like: Bobby Roode (NXT), Bully Ray (ROH), Eric Young (NXT), Christopher Daniels (ROH), Frankie Kazarian (ROH), Kenny King (ROH), Jay Lethal (ROH), Chris Sabin (ROH), Samoa Joe (WWE).

Now I'll admit it I'm not up to date with the full back history of the guys I listed above and am unaware if they debuted elsewhere first, but as far as I know most either debut (or re-debuted with a new gimmick) Nationally/Internationally on TNA/Impact TV first.

I can't speak for all of those guys, but some of them at least TNA just flat out couldn't have stopped. I actually just scrolled past this in this week's observer:

The trademark issue is why there isn’t a similar issue regarding Mark LoMonica and Bully Ray. LoMonica, who had been burned once before on the Dudleys character which was created in ECW, and Paul Heyman had verbally given he and Devon Hughes the rights to use, but never took care of it legally, saw WWE claim ownership of the Dudleys name and gimmick based on the idea that they had purchased ECW in bankruptcy court, and thus now owned its intellectual property. So when LoMonica came up with the Bully Ray character while in TNA he trademarked it and TNA never opposed the trademark. This would have allowed him to use it, even in WWE.

So Bully Ray they never could have stopped regardless of where he created the character. Joe at least I know is hard to argue he created the gimmick in TNA, which seems to be the provision of the contract. He  was playing the big Samoan badass long before he got to TNA.

[Deleted]

TNA could not have blocked Samoa Joe from using his name in WWE, or anywhere else.

For one, Joe legally owns the name and gimmick. TNA and Joe had a brief dispute over this years ago with TNA ultimately allowing him to retain both.

www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2008/0416/samoajoe321847shtml/


Beyond that, "Samoa Joe" as a wrestler and character was well established years prior to him being on the TNA roster. The name, gimmick, moveset, likeness, etc. were already a commodity when he debuted in TNA. So even if there was some kind of hypothetical issue between Joe and TNA in present day, it would be a losing argument for TNA.

[Milky]

I hope TNA don't win this lawsuit because it would set a bad precedent. Usually when a guy moves to a rival company he keeps the mannerisms and just changes enough of the character to make it acceptable. Take TNA's version of Kurt Angle for example ("It's real, it's damn real")

It would be a real shame if The Broken Hardy's couldn't continue their characters in some form or fashion.

Personally, I think TNA are just after some money here. But it's caused ill-will between them and the Hardy's and I think they would have made more money by just letting them depart nicely and then welcoming them back again after WWE inevitably screw up their gimmick anyway.

[siredger]

Matt Hardy's tweet about owning the Broken gimmick

I saw on Twitter this weekend (that was brought up by a fan actually) that Matt Hardy DOES have the rights to the Broken Matt Hardy gimmick. So yeah, Anthem, good luck with that one in court.