WWE are very much in the business of owning the names and symbols that appear on their television shows and it seems Samoa Joe is next on their list.

Those of you that watch other professional wrestling promotions other than WWE will have likely noticed Vince McMahon's refusal to let almost anyone who has made a name for themselves elsewhere continue their career under that persona. There is an almost endless list of WWE Superstars that have had to tweak or even completely change their names when they make the move from another company.

Although Mr. McMahon has been showing a little bit more leniency when it comes to this area as of late, it definitely still exists. AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura have been allowed to continue to compete under the names that made them famous around the world whereas Neville and Apollo Crews have had to adopt WWE approved names.

It seems that someone who falls somewhere between those two worlds is Samoa Joe. Joe has made a name for himself in Impact Wrestling and Ring Of Honor under the same name that he now wrestles with in WWE, but according to recent reports Mr. McMahon isn't entirely happy about that. PWInsider recently reported that WWE have filed a trademark for the name Samoa Joe so that they will own the name that the ring veteran utilizes.

Samoa Joe has been wrestling under his name for the majority of his career, a career that has culminated in him becoming a WWE Superstar. The Samoan Submission Machine will likely have no objection to his current employers wanting to own the rights to his wrestling name though. When exactly he will get another chance to use it is up in the air however as Joe is currently watching from the sidelines with a foot injury.

PREVIOUSLY: SAMOA JOE'S INJURY COULD MEAN HE MISSES WRESTLEMANIA

WWE being the massive company that they are means over the course of a year they attempt to register an awful lot of trademarks. Why exactly they have waited until now to try and lay claim to Samoa Joe's is unclear but if we were Joe we would be pretty happy about it. It likely means that they plan to keep hold of him for the long haul which is definitely something to be grateful for when you're sitting at home with an injury.