The Broken Hardys recently parted ways with Impact Wrestling, and although Matt has been a class act through the whole situation, the split has been messy.
PWInsider is reporting that Impact Wrestling sent a 3 page cease and desist letter to Matt and Jeff Hardy ahead of the Ring of Honor 15th Anniversary pay-per-view demanding that they stop using the Broken Hardys gimmick. The company also reportedly sent legal notices to PPV distributors.
Impact is claiming that all intellectual property related to the Broken Universe belongs to them and the Hardys are not to use the gimmick going forward. The push to send out the legal notices was reportedly a decision made by Anthem Media and not Jeff Jarrett himself. The situation is said to be a case of corporate owners protecting what is theirs.
Reby Hardy called out Impact Wrestling officials via Twitter on Friday after Ed Nordholm gave credit to several other people for coming up with the Broken Universe concept.
Broken Universe will always be here. Kudos to the creative team behind the vision @JeremyBorash @paradysexoxo @Lagana @Billy
— Ed Nordholm (@EdNordholm) March 10, 2017
Matt Hardy filed a trademark for the “Broken Matt Hardy” character on March 1st, but it looks like this situation is only going to get worse before it gets better, because Impact clearly believes they are the rightful owners of the character.
The Hardys did appear at the Ring of Honor 15th Anniversary show where they defended their ROH Tag Team Titles, and there were plenty of “DELETE” chants coming from the crowd. According to the Broken One himself, the chants will NEVAH end.
#HouseHardy will continue DELETING & the DELETE chants will NEVAH end.. https://t.co/so5MzlvXmY
— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) March 11, 2017
Fans aren’t happy about WWE Fastlane and we’re talking all about it on this week’s episode of Still Real Radio. Let us know how you felt about the pay-per-view and you can check out the latest episode below and on iTunes by clicking here.