AEW Voluntarily Drops Bid For ‘Shockwave†Trademark After Dispute with NWA

AEW has abandoned its attempts to trademark the term “AEW Shockwave,†following a dispute with NWA.

NWA World Television Champion Bryan Idol recently claimed that AEWâ€s introduction of the new National Championship stemmed from an ongoing trademark dispute between both companies over the term ‘Shockwave.â€

NWA had filed a formal opposition to AEW applying to trademark ‘Shockwave,†stating that they have been using the name since as early as December 2020. NWA had also sent a legal letter to AEW last year, demanding that the company abandon the trademark application.

Now, in a latest development, Wrestlenomics is reporting that AEW has voluntarily abandoned the trademark. The report states:

“AEW filed for abandonment a week-and-a-half ago on Nov. 13. Because AEW withdrew the application without the NWAâ€s direct written consent, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board entered judgment, which is standard procedure. The board entered a judgment on Nov. 17 “with prejudice,†meaning AEW canâ€t pursue the trademark again in the future, effectively closing the case.â€

The current status of the trademark application on the USPTO website reads:

“Abandoned after an inter partes decision by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.â€

AEW President Tony Khan Recently Spoke With NWA President Billy Corgan

AEW abandoning the trademark application coincides with Tony Khanâ€s recent comments about having a conversation with NWAâ€s Billy Corgan. Speaking on  The Ariel Helwani Show, Khan revealed that he was probably not going to do ‘AEW Shockwave†anymore after having a phone call with Corgan,

“Iâ€m probably not going to do it,†Tony Khan admitted. “I had a really nice talk with Billy and Billy Corgan, who owns NWA. And I like Billy, and even before I became a wrestling promoter, I had met him. I think heâ€s just a great artist, and I like him.

“So when I talked to him on the phone, I said, if thatâ€s a show that you might do again, because NWA had done a Shockwave — I guess Pride had done it before that, but then NWA had done a Shockwave, which I didnâ€t know at the time when we filed it. And then I talked to him and said, if thatâ€s something you want to do and you did it first, then you can do that. Thatâ€s fine. And he said, Oh, thatâ€s great. I appreciate that. So that was nice.â€

Read More: Ric Flair: Tony Khan Legitimately Cares About Everyone That Works For Him

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