Are character rights/ names negotiable?

[Next Big Thing]

Could a signee like Joe Hennig or even Windham Rotunda, who both are talented in the ring and have marketable names unlike Kaval (Brandon Silvestry sounds kind of boring) maybe negotiate to use those names or names they created without signing the rights over to the WWE or does the WWE automatically force all the signees to bow to the pornstar nickname generator for their ring names?

Can you imagine Randy Orton or even Ted Dibiase with one of those shitty WWE names?

[Xero]

I'm sure it's negotiable, as Punk was able to keep his name. The way it works is that WWE can use the name however they like but Punk more than likely added the stipulation that he was able to keep the name in the event of the parties parting ways. I couldn't see him signing away the CM Punk name after seeing what happened to the likes of The Dudleys.

It probably comes down to the marketability of the actual name, too. I'm not saying that "Michael McGillicutty" is a good name, mind you, just that maybe they think owning his likeness is better than using "Joe Hennig". And the fact that they didn't want him to live in his father's shadow, which has always been a big thing with Vince Junior.

[MoFo]

And the fact that they didn't want him to live in his father's shadow, which has always been a big thing with Vince Junior.


But why did he give Ted DiBiase Jr the exact same gimmick as his dad?

[Xero]

The gimmick is marketable, I guess. Plus DiBiase Sr. may have pushed for it.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

No, Vince McMahon has a different middle name than his father. Mr. McMahon of course has the middle name Kennedy and his father has the middle name James. To legally considered a "Jr." you have to have every part of your father's name first name, middle name and last name.

[Xero]

Everyone used to call him "Junior", though, and he hated it.

And really, people still do it when they need to designate the difference between his father and him.

[Next Big Thing]

Everyone used to call him "Junior", though, and he hated it.

And really, people still do it when they need to designate the difference between his father and him.

Like: "Damn I wish Sr. had never sold to Jr. so I could still be running my four state territory and selling out VFW halls. That was when wrestling was wrestling."

[KayfabeMan]

They were selling out a lot more than VFW halls back then.

They did more live gate, adj. for inflation and whatnot too, than these guys could ever dream of today - and they made more money as well. Marketing / merchandising keeps WWE alive today, much of it coming from the days when they sold out the VFW halls.

[Tiger Paw]

KayfabeMan with the PWNAGE

[JimmyMess]

But why did he give Ted DiBiase Jr the exact same gimmick as his dad?


Ted Dibiase, Sr. represents the image WWE wants... clean, no issues, not dead of a drug overdose or steroids causing heart disease, liver failure, etc.

And Mr. Perfect died of a coke overdose... something the company does not want to be linked to any of its performers (even if its a blood relative). So they probably don't want to always be referring back to Joe Henning as his father's son...

Thats how I look at it