Global Force Wrestling President Ed Nordholm recently did an interview with Sports Illustrated to talk about a number of topics. During the interview, the hot topic of discussion was the battle for the rights to the “Broken” gimmick between GFW and The Hardys. Here are some highlights from what Nordholm had to say:

Typically, the producer of a show owns the content and associated characters. The Hardys have stated they’ve spent thousands of their own dollars on producing the “Broken Universe” footage (ie. Jeff Hardy spent $3,000 on the volcano used in the “Apocolypto” episode) — so does that entitle them to any ownership of the Broken Universe trademarks?

“No,” Nordholm said. “The company spent millions of dollars producing television last year, including all of the shows that incorporate the various aspects of the ‘Broken Brilliance.’ I don’t know whether Jeff and Matt had some out-of-pocket expenses that they might have had on the volcano and the like, but that would not change, in any way, shape, or form, what their contracts say about who owns the IP. If they had some out-of-pocket expenses, they certainly never brought them to my attention. To suggest that they somehow funded the show is absurd.”

Sports Illustrated reported that both the Hardys and Anthem were close to an agreement that would have sold the “Broken Universe” intellectual property for somewhere between $10-15,000, but it fell apart when Anthem reportedly increased its financial demands from the Hardys. Was there ever a deal in place?

Nordholm answered, “What prevented it from completion is that we’ve never come to terms. I have made numerous efforts, going back to February and the time of the cease and desist letter [to Ring of Honor for advertising the ‘Broken’ Hardys for their 15th Anniversary pay per view] to make an arrangement with Matt Hardy to use the gimmick. Every time we have those conversations, they sort of start warm then end up not coming to fruition due to an inability to come to an agreement as to what basis I would confer those rates on him.”

Looking ahead, Nordholm was asked if he ever intends to sell the intellectual property.

“I’ve stopped thinking about this,” he said. “We have a show to put on, and a company and a brand. We’ve got things on our plate that are more important than sorting out the “Broken Brilliance.” I made a genuine effort to resolve something to benefit the Hardys as a goodwill gesture to Matt. It didn’t reach a conclusion and we’re moving on. We’re not going back to it, I’m not interested in opening a new dialogue, I’m not interested in opening another conversation about it. We made our best effort, it didn’t happen, and I’m not going to negotiate all over again.”

You can read Nordholm’s full interview with Sports Illustrated by clicking this link here.

Matt & Jeff Hardy have been locked in a legal dispute with their former employers Anthem Sports over the use of their ‘Broken’ gimmicks/personas, when the Hardys rejoined WWE back at this year’s Wrestlemania the speculation was that they would be bringing the highly successful characters to WWE television.

The legal battle between the Hardys/Anthem is still ongoing and both Matt Hardy and his wife Reby have taken to Twitter recently to vent their frustrations both with the company and individuals such as Jeff Jarrett.

Matt recently posted a tweet claiming that the set for ‘Final Deletion’ cost $2500 and the Hardy family received no financial help from TNA/Anthem.

Do you think that the Hardy’s will eventually get the opportunity to bring the Broken characters to WWE?

FUN FACT-Myself, Jeff & Reby spent $2500 & 4 days creating The Final Deletion set, with ZERO help from TNA, as it was our vision & creation.

— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) July 25, 2017

The Anthem Sports vs. Broken Hardys legal battle has flared up again online after Matt commented that a trademark deal was imminent, then Jeff Jarrett denying that, and Matt’s wife Reby then calling out GFW and Jarrett by saying a deal was reached last week.

In a new report by PWInsider.com, sources say that Reby’s story is true and Anthem and the Hardys agreed in principle to a deal that would allow the Hardys to use the Broken gimmick.

This verbal agreement reportedly called for both sides to issue statements wishing well to the other, and would cease publicly speaking about the dispute. It was indicated that Anthem would receive a payoff for the deal, and that WWE was not involved in any negotiations.

Anthem Sports executive Ed Nordholm reportedly feels that the agreement Hardy’s lawyer sent him is not what they had verbally agreed to. If Nordholm does not sign the agreement or renegotiate the terms, the Hardys are expected to file a lawsuit for breach of contract from their old TNA deals signed by Dixie Carter.

Jeff Jarrett says The Hardys haven’t acquired the “Broken” gimmick

Jeff Jarrett took part in a media conference call this afternoon and was asked by Raj Giri of Wrestling, Inc. if the Hardys have acquired the “Broken” gimmick. Jarrett simply replied “no they haven’t”. On this past week’s episode of RAW, The Hardy Boyz dropped some references to becoming “obsolete” and “broken”. Time will tell if Matt and Jeff bring the gimmick over to WWE, but it appears that they are still locked in a legal battle with Global Force Wrestling over who has the rights to it.

Reby Hardy responds to Jeff Jarrett on Twitter

Reby Hardy, wife of Matt Hardy, disagreed with Jeff Jarrett’s comments during the conference call earlier today and responded to Jarrett’s answer on Twitter. Reby claimed that there is an agreement in place and that the agreement also included a non-disparagement clause where they would have to pay Anthem Sports and Entertainment $5,000 for anytime she tweets something about GFW.

Here are Reby Hardy’s tweets:

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/885216199495307264

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/885217228853039105

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/885218055365767169

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/885222980757991425

Kurt Angle’s episode of WWE 24, set to premiere after tonight’s Raw, features an interview with former TNA owner, Dixie Carter. Considering that Carter was a key figure for much of Angle’s career, her perspective on Angle’s career should be interesting.

Matt Hardy and Dixie Carter

Matt Hardy and Dixie exchanged a few posts through social media recently. Matt had sent out a tweet about AJ Styles winning the US championship and Dixie responded to him and AJ:

I agree @MATTHARDYBRAND. Congrats @AJStylesOrg https://t.co/NL5trHfMiZ

— Dixie Carter (@TNADixie) July 8, 2017

Look forward to seeing you on @RealKurtAngle's #WWE24 piece after #RAW Monday on @WWENetwork. It's a unique "Who Would've Thunk It?" moment. https://t.co/5Z7viH9yXF

— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) July 8, 2017

Mick Foley Comments

Mick Foley, who also had a run in TNA, posted the following on his Facebook page regarding Dixie Carter appearing on WWE programming:

“DIXIE CARTER ON WWE TV – this makes me happy!

Yes, I am very happy that Dixie Carter will be appearing Monday night, after WWE Raw on the WWE Network special on Kurt Angle. Dixie did a lot for wrestling, a lot for Kurt and so many wrestlers – and in my opinion, her contributions to the wrestling business have been largely overlooked or greatly underestimated.

I have heard most of the criticisms before. I was personally critical of Dixie and TNA on several occasions when I worked there – and have poked a little good-natured fun at them from time to time since leaving. But, with the benefit of hindsight, I came to see how fortunate I was to have had Dixie Carter in my life – and how fortunate professional wrestling was to have had her in our business.

For the past few years, I wanted to write an article, “It’s a Wonderful Life, Dixie Carter”, where – in the spirit of the classic Jimmy Stewart movie – I would try to imagine the wrestling landscape had Dixie not been part of our world. I never quite got around to it. So instead, I wrote her a hand-written letter last month, expressing both my appreciation for what she had done for professional wrestling, and my gratefulness for having had the opportunity to work for her. But, try if you can to imagine the landscape of professional wrestling has she chosen not to become part of it in 2002. It almost certainly would look much bleaker than it does today. I didn’t always agree with Dixie’s decisions, but she was a good boss, a good person and a blessing to our business. I’m proud to call her a friend – and happy that she will be appearing on WWE TV.

If you could do me a small favor, try to fight that strong urge to say something negative – and perhaps think about sharing a nice thought about Dixie or TNA in the comments.”

Matt Hardy was cut open pretty badly during the 30-minute Iron Man tag match at Great Balls of Fire between The Hardy Boyz and Tag Champs Sheamus & Cesaro. It was the most blood shown on a WWE event in recent history.

https://twitter.com/UnderhookDDT/status/884221831460274176

It took 9 stitches to close the wound above Hardy’s eye, which is believed to have been caused by an elbow from Cesaro. WWE uploaded the above video of Hardy getting stitched up after Great Balls of Fire went off the air Sunday night. Matt also uploaded the below photos of the cut.

A BLOODLETTING often cleanses the SOUL. pic.twitter.com/12qS5DT71V

— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) July 10, 2017

Sheamus also received medical care backstage after the match. WWE uploaded a video of an exhausted-looking Sheamus with a welt on the side of his head being checked out by a trainer. In the video, Cesaro watches on as his partner complains of pain in his trapezius area.

Matt Hardy is reportedly getting closer to winning the legal battle over his “Broken” gimmick. Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio this week that Hardy is “real close” to acquiring the rights to his “Broken Universe” from GFW/Impact Wrestling parent company Anthem Sports.

Hardy and Anthem have been involved in a legal battle over the rights to the Broken trademarks since Matt and Jeff left the company for WWE.

WWE is expected to begin using Hardy’s Broken Universe as soon as they’re legally able to. The McMahon empire reportedly believes there are big merchandise and marketing opportunities with the Broken characters.

My URGES are actively becoming more difficult to contain. pic.twitter.com/WwIm5wY6Tt

— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) July 2, 2017

A MASSIVE "Thanks" to all the Wrestling Fans that backed #HouseHardy in the latest #GreatWar.. We are days away from winning. KEEP FIGHTING!

— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) July 2, 2017

WWE cameras caught up with Finn Balor and the Hardy Boyz after their match against Elias Samson, Cesaro & Sheamus last night.

While it hasn’t been announced yet, it seems likely Balor faces Samson, and the Hardyz challenge Cesaro & Sheamus at the GBOF PPV.

Balor and the Hardyz vs. Samson and Sheamus & Cesaro

Balor pinned Cesaro after delivering the Coup De Grace to close out the match. Although he got the win, Balor was unable to deliver much of a beating to the Drifter, who spent much of the match avoiding him. Raw GM Kurt Angle could potentially pit Samson vs. Balor at the GBOF PPV.

The Hardyz lost the Raw tag team titles just once month after winning them at WrestleMania. Last month at Extreme Rules, Cesaro & Sheamus defeated them in a steel cage match. GBOF is in 2 weeks, yet a title match between the two teams has still yet to be announced.

Up until the Hardys WWE return at WrestleMania, arguably the two most talked about non-WWE wrestlers of the last year have been Matt Hardy and Kenny Omega.

Matt Hardy’s unique “Broken Universe” won over fans in 2016 and early 2017, while Kenny Omega’s popularity has exploded in the same time frame.

Recently Matt Hardy offered up his thoughts on Kenny Omega, when prompted by a fan on Twitter. He would also answer some other questions throughout a small Q&A session.

I think he's great. Love his work & personality. Outside of the @WWE's "Alexandria", he's a beacon of hard work & success in this industry. https://t.co/BptC8zR6HZ

— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) June 22, 2017

in response to a question regarding Enzo and Case:

They're OVAH! https://t.co/7ywcKvXdYo

— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) June 22, 2017

On Sasha Bank’s being nominated for a Teen’s Choice award:

Of course. She's a DELIGHTFUL choice. https://t.co/vXCnmT6tzf

— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) June 22, 2017

On what has changed in WWE since his last run with the company:

I've grown exponentially as a man, matured. I've assimilated life. @WWE is more athlete-friendly, mainstream & global. We fit together well. https://t.co/8Xfn4wpCie

— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) June 22, 2017

On who he feels is the best announcer of all time:

I'm partial to Jim Ross. @JRsBBQ https://t.co/U6AqNDtCu3

— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) June 22, 2017

On possibly facing members of the Shield:

All three. Obviously each individually. Or it could be in a 6 man tag along with @JEFFHARDYBRAND & @BenjaminSenor on my side. https://t.co/MHgBTqQ71p

— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) June 22, 2017

Kenny Omega to WWE?

Kenny Omega is under contract to NJPW until January 5th 2018. Most NJPW talents sign one-year deals that expire after the annual Tokyo Dome show on January 4th. Omega stated that working with former tag-team partner Kota Ibushi factored into his decision to stay with NJPW this year.

Omega lost a widely praised match in the Tokyo Dome this year to Kazuchika Okada. A subsequent rematch between the two at Dominion recently, resulted in a 60 minute time limit draw.

Kenny Omega wil be entered into NJPW’s U.S championship tournament on the July 1st and 2nd shows in Los Angeles.

It has been an up-and-down battle for the “Broken” gimmick over these past few months between Impact Wrestling and The Hardys. Matt and Jeff made the decision to leave Impact earlier this year, in favor of returning to WWE at WrestleMania 33 where they won the RAW Tag Team Championships in a Fatal Four Way Ladder Match. Although Matt has still been using some “Broken” mannerisms and chants, he hasn’t been able to fully utilize the gimmicks potential due to the ongoing legal battle of the character’s rights with Impact.

Both sides have made arguments as to why the rights to the character rightfully belong to them, and Impact Wrestling’s Jeff Jarrett was the latest to chime in during a recent interview with Wrestle:List:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs_E-quJdiE

“I always take the high road because there is legal squabbles or potential legal squabbles but I have said this to a couple of outlets, and I say this with very broad strokes – I am from Nashville so I am around music which is intellectual property and I have been in the business 30 years,” Jarrett said. “Intellectual property laws are very simple, there are two sides to it; there are publishers and the writers, then there are the performers as well.”

– Today’s wrestling birthdays include Big Vito (53) and Larry “The Axe” Hennig (81). Today would have also been the 55th birthday of Mitsuharu Misawa and the 71st birthday of Bruiser Brody.

– It sounds like we might be seeing “Broken” Matt Hardy sooner than later. Hardy tweeted early Monday morning that he’s on the verge of breaking.

I have a PRIMAL PASSENGER within me that almost took OVAH today.

Its power could leave my VESSEL #BROKEN.

I cannot contain it much longer.

— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) June 19, 2017

– Following tonight’s WWE RAW, a new episode of “Table For 3” premieres on the WWE Network with Maryse and former WWE Superstars Eve Torres and Kelly Kelly. Here’s the synopsis: “It’s ladies night as Eve Torres, Maryse, and Kelly Kelly discuss life as a WWE Diva, and share some hilarious stories from their careers!”

– Even though he’s out with an injury, Tommaso Ciampa used Sunday’s Father’s Day holiday to take another dig at his former partner, Johnny Gargano.

https://twitter.com/ProjectCiampa/status/876572742010712066

WWE has uploaded a Hardy Boys interview special to the WWE Network titled, Reborn by Fate: Hardys Interview. Matt and Jeff recently sat down with Corey Graves to discuss their surprise returns at WrestleMania, winning the tag team titles on their first night back, what it’s like to be home in WWE and more.

When asked what’s different about the WWE locker room since their last run with the company, Matt said the vibe is much more and the talent is more athletic than ever. Jeff said he didn’t watch a lot of WWE television before their return and felt somewhat intimidated by the current crop of Superstars.

Matt joked that since he’s in his 40’s and Jeff will be 40 this summer, the term “Hardy Men” might be more of an appropriate name than Hardy Boys.

Of course, what would a ‘Hardy Men’ interview be without an update on the status of Matt and Jeff bringing the Broken Universe to WWE. “I definitely think there is a chance,” Matt said. “It’s a work in progress. Unfortunately, because of legal reasons, I really can’t go into it right now but I find it very flattering and humbling that every time we come and wrestle in front of the WWE Universe, they chant and they address it and they acknowledge it.”

Matt continued, “When it happens, and I’m not even going to say if, when it happens, it’s going to be the most exciting thing to hit WWE programming in a long, long time. We’ve got to keep people guessing.”

Corey Graves brought up the fact that both Matt and Jeff have battled demons in the past and questioned if they find it difficult working the WWE schedule again. Matt says it’s not for him, since he’s accepted the changes that along with getting older. Previously, he’d work himself into the ground and compete no matter how bad his body was feeling. Jeff said temptation is obsolete for him. He’s been there and done that with partying. Now, he looks forward to time on the road and looks forward to returning home to be with his family. Both said their families motivate them to stay clean and both look forward to resuming their singles careers in WWE when the time is right.

The special includes unseen footage from WrestleMania, including Matt and Jeff arriving in secrecy and hiding in a tour bus and the backstage reaction to the surprise after their match.

You can watch Reborn by Fate now on the WWE Network.

One-half of the now-former WWE RAW Tag Team Champions Jeff Hardy was recently a guest on fellow WWE Superstar Chris Jericho’s podcast, Talk Is Jericho, where the objective of the episode was to have Jeff meet Dean Ambrose for the first time. During the three men’s conversation, Jeff was asked about a variety of topics including he and Matt’s WWE return, keeping it a secret, and feuding with his brother again in a storyline.

You can read the highlights below:

He and Matt’s WWE return being an inevitability:

“It was one of those things that was inevitable. I think when I did [Jim Ross]’s podcast live at like the House Of Blues back at a couple of WrestleCons ago, that was the big question: ‘are you ever going to return [to WWE]?’ And then, I was like, ‘oh yeah, it’s inevitable.’ I wasn’t sure how it was going to come about, but I always knew it deep down, like you’re not going to know what that extended family means, even back then I remember, ‘we want you to be part of the extended family,’ so yeah, it was inevitable and meant to be in some weird way, just how it all happened was the perfect story. From The Expedition Of Gold to becoming the WWE [RAW] Tag Team Champions. I mean, it’s just the perfect story.”

It being difficult to keep their WrestleMania return a secret:

“We knew that after our contracts expired with that other world, basically, we knew, we’d been through all the deal we had to go through. We just had to keep it a secret and that was so hard. Like, that day of WrestleMania, I was lying like crazy! ‘Will we see you tonight?’ ‘No, I’m on the first flight out of here.'” Hardy added, “even in interviews on the Friday and Saturday before with these people, I even said, ‘yeah, we’ll be with Ring Of Honor through the summer.'”

Feuding with Matt again in WWE:

“I think so, yeah [fans want to see the Hardys together]. Yeah, for sure. Bottom line is people don’t really want to see that. It’s cool for us, like Bret and Owen [Hart] wrestling each other years [ago]. We loved that. Naturally, for us, back in the day, it was awesome. But yeah, the bottom line is people would rather see us together instead of apart.”

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

The Hardy Family grew by one member early this morning, as Reby Hardy gave birth to the couple’s second son. The couple have named the child Wolfgang X Hardy.

Between Birdie Joe Danielson and Wolfgang X Hardy, it has been an interesting year for wrestler baby names.

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/873106684754788352

"Wolfie" Wolfgang X Hardy debuted/was born on June 8th at 11:37pm..

King Maxel was excited to meet his healthy younger brother. Thanks all!

— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) June 9, 2017

The Hardy Family Grows

We first learned that Reby Hardy was pregnant again at the end of “Total Non-stop Deletion” back in December. Most recently, Matt Hardy missed Raw this week, possibly due to wanting to be at home for the pending birth of his child.

The Hardyz recently lost the Raw tag team championships in a steel cage match against Sheamus & Cesaro at Extreme Rules.

As was the case with several other superstars who lost at Extreme Rules, the Hardys were not on Raw last night. Cesaro & Sheamus wrestled, and won, a non-title match against Heath Slater & Rhyno.

The Hardys might have been kept off Raw to sell their loss at Extreme Rules, as was the case with Bayley. Finn Balor only appeared to the live audience after Raw went off the air, and Austin Aries was absent from the show as well.

New Hardy Family Member on the Way?

Earlier this morning, Matt Hardy indicated on social media that the newest addition to the Hardy family might be on their way soon.

DaDa's coming home Mama & King Maxel.. It's time for your brother to debut! pic.twitter.com/LAWM7hfvjW

— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) June 6, 2017

As of this writing there is no word on when Matt and Reby Hardy’s second child is due exactly, but Matt seems to be indicating he will debut shortly.

As we previously reported, Matt Hardy had applied to trademark “Broken Matt Hardy” a while back in the midst of his ongoing battle with Impact Wrestling over the rights for the famed gimmick. Per a report from PWInsider, that request was shot down by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. If Hardy doesn’t respond to the declination in six months then his application will be dismissed.

Here’s why the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office says they declined the application:

“Registration is refused because the applied-for mark, as used on the specimen of record, identifies only the name of a particular character/personal name; it does not function as a service mark to identify and distinguish applicant’s services from those of others and to indicate the source of applicant’s services.”

It has been a rough couple of months for Matt Hardy. After being forced to battle with Impact Wrestling over the rights to his beloved “Broken” gimmick, Impact Wrestling President Ed Nordholm released a long log of private communication between he and Hardy, as well as a portion of RAW Tag Team Champion’s contract with Impact.

In response to this, Hardy took to Twitter yesterday (Thurs. May 25, 2017) and claimed that he no longer wants to keep the issue between him and the promotion ‘peaceful’:

Well said-I wanted to move on peacefully & keep our incredibly unprofessional contract negotiations silent. NOT NOW. https://t.co/tPye1NS9hl

— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) May 25, 2017

According to a report from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, the WWE is distancing themselves from the battle between Matt Hardy and Impact Wrestling for the rights to the “Broken” gimmick because they don’t want to set a precedent for attempting to buy gimmicks from other companies.

Meltzer also stated that if WWE was truly not interested in the gimmick, they would tell Hardy to stop pursuing the character’s rights and utilizing “Broken” mannerisms on WWE TV.

WWE does want Matt to use the Broken gimmick in WWE, but has no interest in getting involved in the process to acquire its rights.

• Matt Hardy Responds to Impact President Releasing His Contract Online

The battle between The Hardys and Impact Wrestling over the famed “Broken” gimmick continues to get uglier. Impact Wrestling President Ed Nordholm just fired off the latest shot in the battle by sending PWInsider a long list of communications between Impact and Matt Hardy.

He also included a four-page excerpt from Matt’s Impact contract, which stated that the company owns all intellectual property after their relationship ends. An email exchange with WWE was also included, in which WWE claimed they have “no interest” in getting involved in the battle for the gimmick.

Check it out:

Good afternoon,

In response to on-going speculation concerning our position with respect to the “Broken Brilliance” creative, I am providing this detailed log of our communications on the subject and the contractual structure of our relationship with Matt Hardy with respect to intellectual property matters (which is standard to our roster and in the industry).

There has never been any argument from Impact Wrestling that the Hardy’s were key contributors to the development of the characters and story line, or that Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy executed on their roles in spectacular fashion. But the position taken by the Hardys is a massive disservice to the contributions of the rest of the creative team at Impact Wrestling, including Jeremy Borash, Dave Lagano (sic), Matt Conway and Billy Corgan, and is totally at odds with the terms of their contracts.

The Hardys would have you believe that Anthem is somehow avoiding their lawyers to address this. This is the log of our communications with the Hardys and/or their lawyers. It is clear that we have not been avoiding them.

* March 10 – EBN speaks with executives at ROH about “Broken Brilliance” being used in ROH shows. I indicated willingness to provide an arrangement that would allow the creative to be used in ROH shows and encouraged ROH to have Matt speak with me if he wanted to pursue that discussion
* March 11 – EBN spoke at length with Matt by telephone about the structure of an amicable arrangement for use of the Broken Brilliance creative
* March 14 – Matt sent text message to Ed Nordholm at 4:05pm:

“Tried giving you a call, it rang & went busy. I’m open to working things out amicably as we spoke about. The lawyer who represent me is interested in seeing your offer. My lawyer’s email is {redacted} which you could send the offer to for review. Thanks.”

And I responded by text at 6:41 pm

“Thank you Matt. I was supposed to be [flying] into NYC today and am a little twisted. I will pull something together with [our] lawyers and try to get it over to your lawyer tomorrow or Thursday at latest”

* March 16 – At 8:25 pm I sent an update text to Matt:

“Hi Matt. My lawyer got me a draft too late to get reviewed for today. I will look at it in the morning. Sorry for the delay”

And he responded at 9:16 pm

“Ok, he’s ready for it. Thanks for the update.”

* March 17 – counsel for Anthem Wrestling delivered draft proposal to counsel for Matt Hardy
* March 24 – counsel for Anthem Wresting followed up with Matt Hardy counsel requesting comments on the proposal
* March 27 – counsel for Matt Hardy responds that they have been away and have not reviewed the proposal but will be back “in the next few days”

After which no further communication until

* April 18 – counsel for Matt Hardy leaves a voice mail message for counsel for Anthem Wrestling asking to arrange a meeting
* April 20 – EBN contacts WWE by email to determine veracity of internet rumours concerning WWE interest in Broken Brilliance
* April 21 — WWE respond by email that there “is no interest on our end” {redacted email exchange attached}
* April 21 – counsel for Matt Hardy sends a follow up message requesting a meeting
* April 27 – lawyers speak to arrange a meeting
* May 16 – lawyers meet but no agreement reached

Finally, I am attaching a copy of the relevant provisions of Matt’s contract with Impact. The clause is virtually identical to the corresponding provisions of every wrestler under contract with Impact.

The facts are that we tried to accommodate the Hardys for their Ring of Honour engagements, and have tried to elicit an indication from WWE whether they have an interest in using the Broken Brilliance creative in WWE. We are not hoarding it from WWE; WWE is not interested in it.

We fully respect the decision of Matt and Jeff to return to WWE and appreciate all of their contributions to Impact Wrestling. We wish them every success.

Our focus is on the future and we will not have any further public comment on this matter.

Ed Nordholm

Reby Hardy took to Twitter to respond to Impact’s latest move and even threatened to release phone calls between the two sides:

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/867166443451760640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wrestlinginc.com%2Fwi%2Fnews%2F2017%2F0523%2F626497%2Fhardys-impact-wrestling-fight-gets-even-uglier%2F

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/867167309089062913?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wrestlinginc.com%2Fwi%2Fnews%2F2017%2F0523%2F626497%2Fhardys-impact-wrestling-fight-gets-even-uglier%2F

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/867168559851479040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wrestlinginc.com%2Fwi%2Fnews%2F2017%2F0523%2F626497%2Fhardys-impact-wrestling-fight-gets-even-uglier%2F

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/867168754190344192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wrestlinginc.com%2Fwi%2Fnews%2F2017%2F0523%2F626497%2Fhardys-impact-wrestling-fight-gets-even-uglier%2F

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/867169023695376384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wrestlinginc.com%2Fwi%2Fnews%2F2017%2F0523%2F626497%2Fhardys-impact-wrestling-fight-gets-even-uglier%2F

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/867169491028803585?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wrestlinginc.com%2Fwi%2Fnews%2F2017%2F0523%2F626497%2Fhardys-impact-wrestling-fight-gets-even-uglier%2F

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/867169657425244162?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wrestlinginc.com%2Fwi%2Fnews%2F2017%2F0523%2F626497%2Fhardys-impact-wrestling-fight-gets-even-uglier%2F

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/867169988079001600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wrestlinginc.com%2Fwi%2Fnews%2F2017%2F0523%2F626497%2Fhardys-impact-wrestling-fight-gets-even-uglier%2F

Matt’s response was much more direct and to the point, saying that his evidence will be released via the correct venue:

I tell the truth & I don't need to desperately overcompensate to prove my public credibility. My facts will be shared via the correct venue.

— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) May 24, 2017

As we previously noted, Impact Wrestling President Ed Nordholm did an interview with LAW earlier this week and stated that The Hardys “Broken” gimmick is unquestionably the property of Impact Wrestling:

“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.”

Head of Impact Wrestling creative, Zeb Colter, recently took to Twitter to thank Nordholm for ‘clearing it up’:

NEWS: Thanks @EdNordholm for clearing it up on @LAWradio. @IMPACTWRESTLING owns BrokenBrilliance IP 100%. No dispute.@RealJeffJarrett

— ??. ????? (@DirtyDMantell) May 22, 2017

Reby Hardy responded to these comments by sharing a text message conversation she had with her lawyer over the situation:

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/866772078002819072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wrestlinginc.com%2Fwi%2Fnews%2F2017%2F0523%2F626476%2Freby-hardy-contacts-lawyer-regarding-impact-drama%2F

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/866773370645368832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wrestlinginc.com%2Fwi%2Fnews%2F2017%2F0523%2F626476%2Freby-hardy-contacts-lawyer-regarding-impact-drama%2F

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/866773998167703552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wrestlinginc.com%2Fwi%2Fnews%2F2017%2F0523%2F626476%2Freby-hardy-contacts-lawyer-regarding-impact-drama%2F

One-half of the WWE RAW Tag Team Champs, Matt Hardy, chimed in by noting that Senor Benjamin was never paid for his work with Impact Wrestling:

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 (@MATTHARDYBRAND) May 23, 2017

WWE Monday Night RAW Tag Team Champions Matt and Jeff Hardy recently did an interview with The Sports Bible to talk about their return to the WWE and sitting atop the tag team division on RAW. During the interview, The Hardys were asked about possible singles careers moving forward, and you can check out what they had to say here:

Matt on a potential singles run:

“Speaking from my perspective, I think right now our goal, especially starting, coming back, being reintroduced to the WWE universe after being away for a substantial amount of time, really was to be a tag team – we became famous for being a tag team. I think down the road there will be a potential for both of us doing our own things; we’re both strong singles personalities in many ways, and I think as performers we’ve grown as we’ve got older; we’ve got smarter”

Matt’s dream matches for him and Jeff as singles competitors:

“Just for starters, if we get to where we need to be, I think ‘Broken’ Matt Hardy against Bray Wyatt would be an amazing deal, and you look at him [Jeff] – him vs Seth Rollins, him vs Finn Balor, either one of us vs Roman Reigns – there’s a lot of cool, interesting combinations of guys who became stars in the last five or six years that we’ve never worked against, it’s totally like a fresh slate. So there’s a lot of potential forces as singles competitors also.”

WWE has released a video in which WWE RAW Tag Team Champions Matt and Jeff Hardy announce that they will be defending their titles against No. 1-contenders Sheamus and Cesaro at the WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view (PPV) next month.

A stipulation for the match was not mentioned directly, however, Jeff mentioned that he’d like to take on Sheamus and Cesaro in a No DQ Match. As of this writing, no other matches have been announced for the PPV. Extreme Rules goes down from the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, Maryland on June 4, 2017.

You can check the video out here below:

Reby Hardy, the wife of WWE Superstar Matt Hardy, says that TNA is still going after her on Twitter. Reby also took a jab at TNA, stating that they are laying off people but can afford to “go after” her. The Hardys and Impact Wrestling are in a battle over who has the rights to Matt and Jeff Hardy’s “Broken Universe” and characters. Here is the tweet Reby Hardy sent out this morning:

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/860846593783734272

WWE has uploaded a new video of The Hardy Boyz during their European tour. The Hardys picked up a victory in Bologna, Italy. Jeff Hardy said that he hasn’t been to Italy in 7-8 years and the reaction they are getting is amazing.

EXCLUSIVE: #RAW #TagTeamChampions @MATTHARDYBRAND & @JEFFHARDYBRAND are feeling right at home among the @WWEUniverse in Europe! #WWEBologna pic.twitter.com/SK05IsM3Ru

— WWE (@WWE) May 5, 2017

Matt Hardy is making it as clear as he can (without actually saying it) that his broken character will be returning shortly.

The CELESTIAL VOICES have told me the GENESIS of my Modern Testament nears.

My VESSEL will be blessed if I push it to unseen parameters.

— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) April 28, 2017

Hardy started going all-out Broken again on Twitter recently, which led some to report/suggest that a deal with Impact had been struck. Impact has been claiming ownership of the characters despite Matt and Jeff using them on the independent scene as well.

The OBSOLETE Owl cannot evade my #BROKENBrilliance by flying away.. DELETION is coming. https://t.co/o48oaTy3Kn

— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) April 28, 2017

There is no confirmation that a deal with Impact has been reached, but it does appear Matt is confident the character will be on WWE programming shortly.

It could also be the case that the Hardys have received legal advice that they are able to use the characters, and that Impact’s claim to ownership of them is too weak. that seems to be what Reby is insinuating below:

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/857792624522035200

The Hardyz vs. Sheamus & Cesaro

Should a return to the Broken gimmick occur, it could mean the Hardys drop the tag belts on Sunday. In storyline, it was Matt’s successful expedition of gold that contained his condition, so having him lose the belts could let it loose again.

Oh, Skarsgard .. You're GOLDEN. pic.twitter.com/ytDn1AnE71

— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) April 28, 2017

The Hardy Boyz Last Independent Booking 

WWE has allowed Matt and Jeff Hardy to finish up their independent bookings while under contract. The Hardy Boyz final independent booking is with Pro Wrestling South on April 29th at Vance Middle School in Bristol, TN. Matt and Jeff will then defend their Raw Tag Team Championships the following night at WWE Payback against Cesaro and Sheamus.

https://www.facebook.com/ProWrestlingSouth/posts/639471452920545

Dash Wilder Posts Video From WWE Performance Center

Dash Wilder of The Revival is currently out of action after sustaining a fractured jaw. The injury isn’t slowing him down too much as he posted a video of him working out at the WWE Performance Center. Wilder has his jaw wired shut and is expected to return to WWE in approximately 2 months.

https://twitter.com/DashWilderWWE/status/857329911572377600