IMPACT Wrestling sent a cease and desist letter to Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy prior to the weekend, demanding that the duo immediately stop all utilization of the “Broken” characters, claiming that intellectual property of the characters and anything related to them would fall under the ownership of the company and not Matt and Jeff Hardy and that they are not to use anything related to the “Broken” universe going forward.
For those wondering, this is what prompted Reby Sky to take to her Twitter account and rip apart IMPACT Wrestling as she wrote, “There’s so much more I want to say, but will refrain out of respect for people who don’t want their personal biz out in this mess. For now. What I don’t understand is why a company already fighting an uphill battle would make their own war path even steeper. Trust, I haven’t had one person (affected by this) respond with, “hey, maybe you should chill”. I’m not the only 1 who feels this way only difference is I have nothing to lose by putting it all out there. And the boys ? Yeah, THEY GOOD. Bet. They’re going to be JUST FINE But don’t come for hard working, loyal dudes who have done nothing but right by u in & throughout shady biz & expect silence. Bc I don’t GAF. Everyone else out there can call it what they want, but I go hard for my family & what I believe is right… ..& even harder when something is WRONG. And these MFers are dead wrong for this. Not about the $. Not about the gimmick. It’s the PRINCIPLE.”
IMPACT Wrestling are claiming that any new, original intellectual property created by the Hardys while they were under contract to the company would be owned by IMPACT and cannot be used outside of their auspices. Matt Hardy, probably in response to all of this going on, filed for a trademark on the Broken Matt Hardy character himself back on March 1st, immediately after his contract with IMPACT Wrestling came to an end.
The ripple effects of all of this was felt during last night’s Ring of Honor 15th Anniversary pay-per-view, as all of the pay-per-view distributors carrying the event, as well as Ring of Honor themselves received legal notice regarding the duo’s intellectual property, which is why ROH called them The Hardys last night and made no mention of the “Broken” gimmick on-air.
The only pay-per-view distributor to pull the event from their listings last night was reportedly the DISH Network, with Reby Sky commenting on the matter and noting that Matt Hardy was never exclusively signed to IMPACT Wrestling and could have appeared elsewhere during his time with the promotion stating, “Ayy @dish. You’re the only cable provider who p***ied out to TNA’s threat. DO BETTER by wrestling fans who support you & the talent ! UPDATE: TNA sending “spooky” letters to cable providers threatening to sue if they air Hardys. Trying to screw ROH & ruin wrestling for fans. Hardys just EXISTING & providing for our family, mind you. I think they believe they own our birth certificates at this point…TNA trying to ruin wrestling for all fans out of spite, but CONTRACTS ARE UP. *YOU* let them expire, REMEMBER ? You don’t own these boys ! Irony is, Matt’s contract did not include exclusivity; could have legally appeared on ANY televised program WHILE UNDER TNA CONTRACT…Don’t ever want to hear anyone talk about “burning bridges” when this move, which f***s ROH & cable providers, leaves the most ashes behind. TNA would rather destroy biz relationships with ROH & cable providers for the sake of trying to f**k the Hardys. Think about that! Who is going to want to work with you now ? I mean, with the exception of GFW guys coming to IMPACT tapings for $20 towards greyhound fare..”
IMPACT Wrestling have declined to comment on the matter as of writing.
