WWE could possibly lose the rights to the name "Dean Ambrose"

Even though Dean Ambrose left WWE well over a year ago, the rights to that name have stayed with his previous company. That might soon be about to change, however, as WWE has hit a roadblock in their attempt to renew the trademark.

WWE Facing Issues Trademarking Dean Ambrose Due To Lack Of Written Consent https://t.co/LZ1KpLKSke

— FITE (@FiteTV) March 11, 2021

With just a handful of exceptions over the years, WWE has been notoriously protective of their intellectual property — especially when it comes to the names of their performers. It's the main reason why Tyler Black became Seth Rollins, Prince Devitt is now Finn Balor, and Jon Moxley was previously known as Dean Ambrose.

How could WWE lose the rights to "Dean Ambrose"?

To maintain rights to the IP of the character, WWE needs to renew the trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) every few years. That's easy enough to do when the performer using the name is still under contract - not so much when they aren't.

Because it was applied to a real person, making a profit from its use. So if the company applies it on its own, it could leave the real person unearned. It is a mere intellectual property formalism, since there are companies that can abuse this.

— Vektanaut: Andrés Valiente (@AndrezDeth) March 11, 2021

In order to renew the IP, WWE needs written consent from the person who previously used the name. Or, as HeelByNature.com - who first published this story - put it:

The first issue is identifying whether Dean Ambrose is the name of a “living individual”, including the first name, pseudonym, stage name, or nickname. WWE failed to identify this in their initial filing. The trademark office requires the written consent, which in this case would be Jonathan Good (Jon Moxley).

Now, all of this can most likely be resolved fairly easily, but considering this has been an issue numerous times over the past year or so for WWE, it's quite possible that the company could outright lose the trademark to the Dean Ambrose name.

It's an interesting story and one we'll keep an eye on going forward.