A big change under the new WWE regime.
For many years, WWE talent could only keep their ring names when moving to other companies if it was their real name or a name they used before joining WWE. However, according to Bryan Alvarez on today’s Wrestling Observer Live, this has changed since the company was acquired by Endeavor and now falls under TKO.
Alvarez states, “I heard that with these new TKO contracts, WWE will trademark everything. For example, when Ethan Page joined WWE, they trademarked ‘Ethan Page.’ But now, when you leave, they give everything back to you.”
He added, “When you leave WWE, just like with AEW, you can take your name with you. Ethan Page can leave and keep his name. While you’re in WWE, they own the rights to everything for pro wrestling, but this is a big shift from the past when they kept those rights indefinitely. Stephanie Vaquer wanted to keep her name, and it seems they’re allowing her to do so in WWE, though they’ll trademark it while she’s there.”
Alvarez later noted that wrestlers like Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik retained their names after leaving WWE.
