For decades, WWE talent was not allowed to keep their names in other companies unless it was their real name or a situation where the name was used in a wrestling organization prior to their WWE signing. Per Bryan Alvarez on Wrestling Observer Live, that has changed in the TKO era.
Alvarez said, “I was told that these new TKO deals are such that when you go to WWE, they are going to trademark everything. For example, Ethan Page went and they trademarked Ethan Page. This is from someone in the company, when you leave they hand everything over to you now.”
Alvarez continued, “Apparently when you leave WWE, and it’s kind of the same thing I think with AEW, it’s like she [Vaquer] can leave and take her name. Ethan Page can leave and take his name. While you’re there, they own the rights to everything for pro wrestling. But that is a very big change from back in the day when they owned you into perpetuity. She very much wanted to keep her name and apparently, they’re allowing her to keep the name in WWE. They’re gonna trademark it while she’s there…”
Alvarez and Mike Sempervive pointed out how Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik were able to keep their names after leaving WWE.
Note: Stephanie Vaquer’s full legal name is Ana Stephanie Vaquer González so she would have been able to continue as Stephanie Vaquer if she left WWE and Julian Micevski used the name Ethan Page before WWE but the point still stands as Alvarez stated about wrestlers now being able to use their name elsewhere when they leave.
Update: Alvarez got got. https://pwinsider.com/article/185818/shooting-down-a-dumb-rumor-meet-la-knight-friday-more.html?p=1
I wonder if they’d let people that have already left use their WWE names if they wanted. Granted, I don’t know who might want to, but Bryan “Daniel Bryan” Danielson would be fun.
Duddley Boys right now: “Oh sure NOW you do this…”
Oh wow the absolute most basic thing!
Ummm… this isn’t something new, Samoa Joe is a recent big name example, WWE has always trademarked your real name and given it back when you leave.
Lince Dorado was using the name before WWE and I’m pretty sure Gran Metalik was Metalik early on in his career, but don’t quote me on that it could be a different person.
Things like Daniel Bryan, Sasha Banks, and the like are WWE created and owned.
EDIT: PWInsider says they are not going to get to keep their WWE names.
For those asking about a rumor that WWE is going to allow talents to retain their ring names if and when they leave WWE, there’s nothing to that claim. If a talent has ownership of a name (whether it be their own name or intellectual property they created prior to WWE), they retain the rights if and when they leave WWE, but license the use to WWE while they are under contract. Example: CM Punk. If a ring name is created under WWE’s auspices, WWE owns and retains that trademark. Example: Seth Rollins. We try to avoid even mentioning rumors so we don’t give them any credence, but the amount of emails about this today were ridiculous.
