On the heels of the announcement earlier in the week, we have an AEW-Owen Hart update. Plus, probably not shocking, but FOX is not happy with WWE.
AEW – Owen Hart Update
Now that their partnership is official, we have an AEW-Owen Hart update.
In this case, it’s an interesting new wrinkle.
We know that AEW and the Owen Hart Foundation have entered into an agreement. This arrangement means we will see an Own Hart Memorial Tournament.
The winner of the tournament gets to claim the trophy, known as The Owen.
However, it seems AEW was angling for tournament to be known as “The King of Harts”.
We know this, because AEW filed legal documents to do so.
“AEW Files Trademark For ‘King Of Harts’ All Elite Wrestling filed a trademark for the phrase “King Of Harts” with The United States Patent and Trademark Office”
Now we know what that was about.
— The Macho Beard (@Machobeard4life) September 20, 2021
However, the company was blocked.
Thus far, it is not known who blocked it or why. Suspicion would quickly turn to WWE, and for a logical reason.
Owen Hart was, for a time, known as The King of Harts, during his time with WWE. So, it wouldn’t be a reach to think WWE would still own that, or seek to block their rival from using it.
Except…WWE does not own the term King of Harts. They haven’t in a while.
According to Wrestling Observer, there is a clothing company, owned by actress Melissa Joan Hart, using the name King of Harts.
It is possible, but not confirmed, that this could have been the sticking point.
So while we don’t know who blocked AEW using it…someone did.
If not for the block, we could have seen the AEW-Owen Hart partnership give us the King of Harts tournament.
Instead, it is the Owen Hart Memorial (which is still fine).
FOX Not Happy With WWE
Switching gears to Stamford, it seems that FOX is not happy with WWE.
Honestly, if you take a look around, FOX is not the only broadcast partner not happy with WWE.
However, according to Fightful, FOX is not happy with WWE.
They went so far as to say they were disappointed. This is also not some recent issue.
Per the report, it seems this has been the feeling since at least July of 2021.
There are a few issues that are likely popping up.
For one, ratings are not what FOX had expected or hoped. There might be some slack, considering the global pandemic.
Beyond that, it seems there may be some FOX folks unhappy that they hear mention of competing broadcast companies during their shows.
Challenge there is, of course, that WWE also runs on the NBCUniversal-owned USA Network. Plus, the WWE Network now exists only on the Peacock platform-also an NBCUniversal vehicle.
So, it is inevitable that WWE programming on FOX ends up mentioning something airing on a competitor’s network.
It is unclear how much that issue bothers FOX, especially considering the WWE-NBCU relationship was not secret. WWE has had a relationship with NBC in particular going back to before the first WrestleMania.
RAW and SmackDown have been dueling a bit, especially since the FOX partnership.
We’ve seen each brand’s broadcast home be less than happy that the other brand landed a major Superstar or match, for example.
While RAW was, for a long time, the lead show…it seems that, since SmackDown moved to FOX, that perception has changed.
We know that WWE officials met with FOX officials before SummerSlam, and the Fightful report indicates that went well enough.
Given the broadcast rivals involved, perhaps it isn’t crazy to wonder…could WWE actually, finally get sold? If so…could FOX be the buyer?
