Rumor Killer on Talent Using Ring Names After Leaving WWE

Reports surfaced today claiming WWE was allowing wrestlers to keep their ring names after leaving the company. However, both Fightful Select and PWInsider have debunked the rumor.

The confusion reportedly stemmed from discussions surrounding the trademarking of Ethan Page's name. This led to speculation of a policy shift, but as both sites confirm, that's not the case.

Some wrestlers have been able to continue using their names because WWE never owned the rights in the first place. These were typically pre-existing names the wrestlers licensed to WWE for use. Chris Jericho, Adam Cole, and Sting are examples of this.

WWE can't prevent wrestlers from using their real names outside the company. Ryback and Ultimate Warrior famously changed their legal names to their ring names to exploit this loophole. Wrestlers like Metalik can keep their pre-WWE names, but not their WWE-assigned names like Gran Metalik.

Wrestlers whose names were created by WWE would have to adopt new ones upon leaving. This explains why Dolph Ziggler uses his real name Nic Nemeth outside WWE, and why Jinder Mahal and Top Dolla cannot continue using those names.

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— Ben Kerin Jul 16, 2024 11:03AM