Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated is featuring an article about Anthem no longer looking to step in and prevent the “Broken” Matt Hardy character from appearing on WWE TV.
As noted in our recap this past Monday night, Matt Hardy started to tease the arrival of his “Broken” character after losing a match to Bray Wyatt and sitting down in the corner.
Hardy sent out a series of tweets after Monday night, instead using #WOKEN.
YEEAAAASSSSSSSS! My dormant CONDISHTION has been #WOKEN. pic.twitter.com/SJ3S1YQgut
— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) November 28, 2017
My physical contact with Bray Wyatt on #RAW seems to have TRIGGERED & AWAKENED my PRIMAL PASSENGER. https://t.co/IBeryV4mQZ
— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) November 28, 2017
What in NERIC's name was my MORTAL VESSEL thinking on #RAW?
I showed symptoms of a Spot Monkey ADDICKKTION.
NEVAH AGEEN! https://t.co/Vwj9xgYlDn
— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) November 28, 2017
Sports Illustrated reached out to Anthem (the owners of Impact Wrestling) and Ed Nordholm asking if they intend to still block the usage of the character on WWE television. As documented, Nordholm had stated that all usage of the characters were the intellectual property rights of Anthem based on the contracts the Hardy signed at the time.
However, based on this new statement, that no longer appears to be the case:
“We have seen the character development and will be interested to see where they take the concept. Our new talent agreements all incorporate language that allow talent to continue to use their IMPACT persona after they leave the company. We are working with our legal team to amend our existing agreements to extend this to all of our current and former talent.”
It would appear any conflicts Anthem has had with both Matt and Reby Hardy may be coming to an end based on the statement released this week.
We reported two weeks ago that “Broken” Matt Hardy trademark will be published for opposition effective December 19, giving any parties 30 days to file.