5 current WWE superstars whose names are not trademarked by the company

WWE is notorious for wanting complete control over the characters that wrestlers portray in their programming and for good reason. It’s a pretty efficient way for them to maintain full control over things like merchandising rights, licencing, etc.

With a number of superstars today whose names have changed from the ones they used in the indy scene prior to joining up with Vince McMahon’s company. Kevin Owens used to be Kevin Steen, Finn Bálor used to be Prince Devitt, and so on and so forth. The primary reason for this level of control is that a name basically equates to a brand in this day and age. Whoever controls the rights to the name, controls the majority of the income coming in through that name.

But, this isn’t the case for everyone. There are a number of wrestlers on the WWE’s roster whose names still belong to them and not to the company. So, without further ado, lets’ get into our list of 5 current WWE superstars whose names are not trademarked by the corporation:

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#5 WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan

Whenever Mount Rushmore of Wrestling is discussed, Hulk Hogan's name will surely be mentioned. The Hulkster was possibly the biggest superstar of 1980s, having main evented eight of the first nine editions of WrestleMania. The Hall of Famer is currently signed to a legends contract, and was last seen during the induction of the New World Order into the WWE Hall of Fame.

The real-life Terry Bollea's in-ring name is not owned by Vince McMahon's promotion, it being the reason why Hogan was able to use the name in TNA, WCW and NJPW.

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#4 Shinsuke Nakamura

Right, this one is a bit of a strange case. The name Shinsuke Nakamura as well as the catchphrase “King of Strong Style” were both indeed trademarked by WWE when the Japanese superstar made the jump over from New Japan Pro Wrestling to World Wrestling Entertainment.

He was allowed to keep his name because he was already a global phenomenon at that point. Unfortunately for Vince McMahon and company, Shinsuke Nakamura also happens to be the birth name of the wrestler and birth names are exempt from trademark laws. This will allow Nakamura to use his real name in another wrestling promotion if he ever decides that he is done with the world’s premiere wrestling company.

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#3 AJ Styles

Who ever would have thought that the poster boy for TNA would not only be wrestling in the WWE but making such a massive impact in Vinny Mac’s crazy house of muscled lads? Before January 2016, no one.

But, The Phenomenal One has indeed made a huge splash since coming over from New Japan Pro Wrestling along with Shinsuke Nakamura and The Club – Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows.

It was his phenomenal (if you’ll excuse the pun) global appeal which allowed him to keep the name that made him a household name. But the funny thing is, the moniker AJ Styles was originally owned by TNA.

They ultimately relinquished it to Styles when he left the organisation to go over to NJPW. I wonder if they’d have let him have it if they knew he was going to end up in the wrestling behemoth? Probably not.

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#2 John Cena

Despite what AJ Styles might claim after beating John Cena, the latter is still very much The Face that Runs the Place. Not only is he the top superstar in the promotion, but he is also on his way to mainstream success akin to what The Rock achieved in the noughties.

While a lot of Cena’s merch and catchphrases and the like are trademarked by WWE, his name is still very much his own. As he wrestles under his birth name, he is free to use it to the fullest outside of his WWE work.

Cena might be the most committed company guy since The Undertaker, but he definitely has options should he ever choose to move away from Vince McMahon and his wrestling promotion.

Suggested: When WWE used this John Cena's real-life rivalry for an on-screen fued!

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#1 Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar has been such a phenomenon that his name was making waves right from his days as an amateur wrestler. WWE made the call to let him use his real name upon his debut with the company, and Lesnar has made the most of it since.

Even after leaving the company for the first time, he was free to use the name that made him a mega star in New Japan Pro Wrestling as well as the UFC. Regardless of how big John Cena might become using his real name, Brock Lesnar has already beaten him to the punch thanks to his MMA career.