16. Hardy Boyz Not Getting The BROKEN Gimmick (GFW Has Moved On)?

During a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, GFW President Ed Nordholm talked about not reaching a deal with The Hardy Boyz regarding the BROKEN gimmick. Below are the highlights:

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?

“No. 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.”

Will you ever sell the intellectual property? Also, will you want a bigger sum of money if the creation is used on WWE television?

“I’ve stopped thinking about this. 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.”