Matt Hardy On TNA's Illegal Use Of Footage, Reby Hardy Texts Lawyer Regarding Tweet From Impact Exec
Matt and Reby Hardy continue to battle publicly with Impact Wrestling regarding the ownership of the "Broken" gimmick. In an interview with the LAW earlier this week, which is owned by Anthem, the parent company of Impact Wrestling, Impact Wrestling president Ed Nordholm said that it was "unquestionable" that they owned the gimmick.
"I think it's unquestionable that the ownership of the characters in the storyline resides in Impact Wrestling," Nordholm said. "I don't think even the Hardys would dispute that. They've all signed contracts. Their contracts are standard contracts. Not only in the wrestling industry, but in the entertainment industry, generally, the producer of the show owns the content and it doesn't really matter who in the creative team came up with the idea of what the character should be. The person that owns the storyline and the character is the person who invested to take that idea and put it on TV. That's what we did. Impact put those characters on TV, and the contracts with those people are indisputably contracts that provide their IP to Impact."
Impact Wrestling Creative Consultant to Head of Creative Dutch Mantel, who has been bickering with the Hardys on Twitter lately, responded to Nordholm's comments and thanked him for "clearing it up."
NEWS: Thanks @EdNordholm for clearing it up on @LAWradio. @IMPACTWRESTLING owns BrokenBrilliance IP 100%. No dispute.@RealJeffJarrett
? Dr. Zeb Colter (@DirtyDMantell) May 22, 2017
Matt Hardy's wife, Reby, responded to the former Zeb Colter and shared a text message that she sent to her attorney, as seen below:
Guys. Giving an "interview" to YOUR OWN NETWORK while lying through your teeth is now considered "NEWS:" ?????? https://t.co/TCP81KysBW
? Reby Hardy (@RebyHardy) May 22, 2017
No dispute ? Watch ??#TextsWithMyLawyer pic.twitter.com/ouJQy3txVo
? Reby Hardy (@RebyHardy) May 22, 2017
Now I'm just annoyed. Which is worse than pissed, trust me. Time to squash the bug.
? Reby Hardy (@RebyHardy) May 22, 2017
Matt chimed in, noting that Senor Benjamin was never paid by the company despite being promised, and he never signed a release to allow the company to air footage with his likeness:
Was in the TNA's top story & NEVER PAID A PENNY, even tho promised.
He NEVAH signed a release to use/air his footage-That isn't legal. #DTO https://t.co/d9CfdSD1ib
? Matt Hardy #DTO (@MATTHARDYBRAND) May 23, 2017