A major development in the legal battle between Impact Wrestling and The Hardy Boyz came two weeks ago, when Anthem Sports and Entertainment’s Ed Nordholm released a statement to Sports Illustrated, noting talent contracts had been restructured in Impact allowing wrestlers to use their Impact gimmicks outside of the company.
The above has allowed Matt Hardy to use his “broken” mannerisms for his new “Woken Matt Hardy” character in WWE. It should be noted, however, that Hardy is using the “Woken” name in WWE not because of Impact, but because WWE wants to outright own the name. Matt Hardy is currently amidst a 30 day waiting period to trademark the “Broken Matt Hardy” name, and if the trademark is unopposed, Hardy will have full ownership of the name.
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According to PWInsider.com, there are two key reasons why Anthem eased up on talent contracts, one of them being public image. The report adds sources claim it was suggested to Ed Nordholm that he look into restructuring the talent deals, as many people inside and outside of the pro wrestling world felt the war between Anthem and The Hardys made Anthem look bad.
Secondly, with Anthem in major cost-cutting mode as of late, the company needed to make a gesture of good faith to talents, in order to entice them to work with Impact, since high money deals are not being offered as they were in the past. By allowing talents TV time on Impact to build characters and gimmicks that could then be used elsewhere, it incentivizes wrestlers to sign with Impact Wrestling.
PWInsider