Impact Wrestling News: Impact Wrestling threatening to sue cable providers
What’s The Story?
It’s no secret that the Hardy family’s recent split with former employers Impact Wrestling has been less than cordial, therefore it won’t come as a surprise to many that TNA, which is now known as Impact Wrestling is pulling out all the stops to make sure they get one-up on their ex-employees.
If Hardy family matriarch Reby Sky is to be believed, TNA is threatening to sue cable companies that air segments featuring the Hardys enacting their Broken gimmick.
UPDATE: TNA sending "spooky" letters to cable providers threatening to sue if they air Hardys. Trying to screw ROH & ruin wrestling for fans
— Reby Hardy (@RebyHardy) March 11, 2017
Hardys just EXISTING & providing for our family, mind you. I think they believe they own our birth certificates at this point...
— Reby Hardy (@RebyHardy) March 11, 2017
TNA trying to ruin wrestling for all fans out of spite, but CONTRACTS ARE UP.
— Reby Hardy (@RebyHardy) March 11, 2017
*YOU* let them expire, REMEMBER ? You don't own these boys !
Irony is, Matt's contract did not include exclusivity; could have legally appeared on ANY televised program WHILE UNDER TNA CONTRACT...
— Reby Hardy (@RebyHardy) March 11, 2017
Addressing the Twitterverse, Queen Rebecca claimed that TNA is sending ‘Spooky Letters’ to cable providers that air pro wrestling content that has anything to do with the Broken Hardys. Furthermore, she stated that TNA is trying to screw ROH (Ring Of Honor) and ruin wrestling for fans.
She stated that she and her family are simply existing and looking to provide for themselves and that the company’s contracts with The Broken Hardys has run out owing to TNA’s lackadaisical approach toward re-signing them.
In case you didn’t know...
Having debuted his Broken gimmick in mid-2016, Matt Hardy’s broken persona has been one of the most talked about things in the pro wrestling community ever since, with his brother Jeff also eventually adopting the gimmick as Brother Nero.
Ever since the Hardys’ contracts were up with Impact, they’ve been at loggerheads with TNA-parent company ‘Anthem Sports and Entertainment’ that recently issued a ‘Cease and Desist’ order against ROH.
The Hardys were to perform at ROH events after their departure from TNA and have already worked a couple of matches for the organisation. However, the Cease and Desist order issued by Anthem Sports seeks to prohibit the Hardys from using their Broken gimmick in any other pro-wrestling organisation, except Impact Wrestling.
The heart Of the matter
The fact stands that the TNA vs. Hardy family saga is far from over, with the former employers and employees involved in an ugly legal battle for exclusive rights of the Broken gimmick. Reby Sky stated that her husband Matt Hardy’s contract with TNA didn’t include exclusivity and he could’ve easily performed for other promotions on a regular basis during his Impact stint.
Don't ever want to hear anyone talk about "burning bridges" when this move, which fucks ROH & cable providers, leaves the most ashes behind
— Reby Hardy (@RebyHardy) March 11, 2017
TNA would rather destroy biz relationships with ROH & cable providers for the sake of trying to fck the Hardys. Think about that ! pic.twitter.com/uatbrCxHxg
— Reby Hardy (@RebyHardy) March 11, 2017
Who is going to want to work with you now ? I mean, with the exception of GFW guys coming to IMPACT tapings for $20 towards greyhound fare..
— Reby Hardy (@RebyHardy) March 11, 2017
She also spoke about TNA burning bridges with pro-wrestlers and stated that the company is ready to burn bridges with ROH too just so they can spite the Hardys. Yikes!
What’s next?
Hardy and his family seem to be entangled in a legal battle with Anthem Sports and Entertainment – an issue that’ll take a few weeks or even months to get settled. Meanwhile, till the dust settles, Matt and Jeff Hardy are back to performing under the ROH banner albeit without their Broken personas.
Sportskeeda’s take
Seriously TNA? Impact Wrestling has time and again found a way to take stumble upon gold and turn said gold into a pile of manure. The company hit the jackpot with the Hardys’ gimmick last year and mind you, the Broken Hardys were also acknowledged by WWE purists let alone hardcore pro-wrestling fans.
Nevertheless, TNA as always managed to bungle up a said gimmick by not re-signing the Hardys in a timely manner and now they’re fumbling around, using their lawyers to downgrade Matt and his family, which is a bad look for Impact Wrestling.
Regardless of who ends up with exclusive rights over the highly-coveted Broken gimmick, without Hardy and his loyalists, TNA is on the verge of Deletion! Delete! Delete! Delete!