Q&A: Anthem’s Ed Nordholm Explains His Side of the ‘Broken’ Matt Hardy Situation

by Justin Barrasso

Ed Nordholm is the Executive Vice President of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, as well as the president of Global Force Wrestling/Impact. He is also currently in control of the “Broken Universe” intellectual property. Sports Illustrated spoke with Nordholm for more clarity on Anthem’s interest in the intellectual property, whether WWE is interested in acquiring the property, and if there are any on-going negotiations between the Hardys and Anthem.

SI: Given the recent negative publicity toward GFW/Impact, most notably an indefinite suspension of your world champion, would Anthem be best served by coming to terms with the Hardys over the Broken Universe intellectual property?

Nordholm: No. I don’t see how they’re related at all.

• Inside the legal battle for the ‘Broken’ Matt Hardy gimmick

SI: Anthem sent a cease and desist order to Matt Hardy, preventing him from using the “Broken” trademark in every way, including name, character, costume, the “Brother Nero” name and persona for Jeff Hardy, the Vanguard I drone, the Senor Benjamin character (though the man playing Senor Benjamin never signed a release or a contract), the “Delete” salute, as well as even “Broken” Twitter handles. Why do you believe Anthem is correct in its assertion that it owns these trademarks?

Nordholm: Because Matt Hardy, his brother [Jeff Hardy], and his wife [Reby Hardy] have all signed contracts that sign over all rights to the IP. That is the fundamental term of every term for every wrestler on our show, that’s a fundamental term for every wrestler with WWE, and that is the same contract that Ring of Honor has. It’s not really up for debate.

SI: Generally, the producer of a show owns the content; for example, the person who invests in the show owns the characters. The Hardys have stated that they spent thousands of dollars to buy and create shots for the tapings from their compound in North Carolina. Does the fact that the Hardys invested money into the company and the characters (for example, the $3,000 volcano purchased by Jeff Hardy for the “Apocalypto” episode) change the dynamic of ownership in the case of the Hardys v. Anthem?

Continue reading at the link : https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2017/07/26/ed-nordholm-broken-matt-hardy-global-force-wrestling