No gimmick is in higher demand in professional wrestling than Broken Matt Hardy and the Broken Universe. Fans are eager to see Broken Matt, Brother Nero, Queen Rebecca, King Maxel and Senor Benjamin in all of their former glory. One road bump prevents us from seeing this on WWE television. That road bump is Anthem Sports, the parent company of Global Force Wrestling. In what seems like round 3,285 of the feud between Global Force Wrestling and the Hardy family, GFW lost this most recent bout to trademark the Broken gimmick.
First reported by PWInsider, the United States Patent and Trademark Office refused all four Broken-Universe related trademarks that Global Force Wrestling filed for registration. “Broken Matt”, “Brother Nero”, “Broken Brilliance” and
“Vanguard 1” were all denied for different reasons. “Broken Matt” was already filed first by Matt Hardy. “Brother Nero” was refused as Nero is Jeff Hardy’s middle name and GFW has to indicate if it identifies a living person. This requires the Jeff’s consent. “Broken Brilliance” could just be a term of art. It falls on GFW to prove that it has significance in professional wrestling. “Vanguard 1” has to do with potential mix up with another trademark that has nothing to do with professional wrestling.
It is disheartening that things have broken down this badly between both sides. The Hardy family made numerous attempts to negotiate with Anthem. However, one side or the other backs away from the table at last minute. Just a few weeks ago, talks took a turn for the worst. The Hardys believed that they were finalizing purchasing the rights outright from Anthem. But Jeff Jarrett (GFW) and Ed Nordholm (Anthem) both stated that this was not the case.
At this point, a miracle is the only thing that will get fans the chance to see the Broken Universe again, that, or a judge ruling in Matt Hardy’s favor.
