TNA Rumored To Take Legal Action Against WWE Over Ric Flair: Possible?
Rumors are swirling ever since WWE announced that Ric Flair, along with the rest of the Four Horsemen, would be inducted into the 2012 WWE Hall of Fame. The first speculation was if Flair, currently under contract to TNA, would even appear at the event. When Flair confirmed he would be there after a fan’s inquiry, new rumors are starting to swirl that TNA may sue WWE over this.
So, where does it stand? Can TNA actually sue WWE over their inclusion of Ric Flair in the Four Horseman they chose to induct?
I’m no lawyer, so I certainly can’t speculate on legal issues, but what I can speculate on is the bare-bones facts of the situation. As of this moment, WWE has no promoted that Ric Flair would be attending their event, appearing on the WWE Hall of Fame 2012 broadcast or be featured on the WrestleMania DVD. Ric Flair’s induction is as part of a larger entity and he technically is not being used as a draw for the show.
TNA’s position, inevitably, will be that just using Flair’s name for the event is technically using him as a drawing force. People interested in attending the Hall of Fame may buy a ticket just because they’re honoring Ric Flair.
However, the problem lies in that WWE owns the rights to the Ric Flair of that era. They aren’t promoting the current era Ric Flair or honoring him for his work in TNA. It’s solely for his time as part of the Four Horsemen, an era of footage and trademark that WWE acquired during the purchase of WCW back in 2001.
Again, I’m no lawyer, so there may be some legal red tape that I may be overlooking or simply aren’t aware of, but the real question is… what should WWE do?
Simply put, TNA can try to sue WWE and engage in what will inevitably be a long and costly court battle, and considering the depth of each company’s respective legal pockets, the move might be more damaging to TNA than it would be to WWE. And while yes, I know that TNA is technically owned by Panda Energy, and allegedly Flair’s contract is with Panda directly, but would they even get involved? WWE likely will continue forward with the matter and let Flair deal with the situation.
Another question is should TNA even bother? The fact is, Flair IS still a TNA contracted performer. Having one of your performers appear on WWE TV and on a WWE DVD for free is a nice perk that could be used to their benefit, if they’re smart about it. TNA would be wise to just let it happen and then start promoting Flair as the only two-time Hall of Famer in history. You don’t need to say “WWE” and they might actually get some benefit out of it.
In the end of it all, I still expect to see Ric Flair show up during the induction ceremony and be there with everyone else to accept his induction as part of the Horsemen. The only person who I don’t know if they’ll be there is Barry Windham, solely based off his health, but we’ll see.
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