Recent news seems to have come down the pipe that after Matt Hardy began to "break" on Raw this past Monday, Anthem Sports is in full support of WWE and Hardy using the "Broken" gimmick. How is this the case? Since all new Impact contracts allow for talent to use their ideas outside of Impact when they leave the company, Anthem is looking to extend that courtesy to former talents like Hardy.
This is great news for Hardy who has been fighting for months to obtain the trademark from Anthem and good news for the WWE if they were thinking of using the gimmick.
Depending on which side of this debate you sit on, the reality is, none of it might matter. Speculation is now that WWE is planning on running with a similar idea for Hardy but the words "Broken" won't be used in association with the character. WWE has never been a company fond of using ideas that were not created by them. Thus, even if Hardy owns the name "Broken" starting on Dec 19, 2017, WWE may choose to go a different direction anyway.
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What is being reported by Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated is that WWE plans to use some features of the character but call it something else. Perhaps that something is "Woken" as Hardy has been using social media on Wednesday to promote his character change.
Barrasso went on to suggest that what the WWE may focus on is the type of character Hardy created towards the end of his run in TNA. Whether that means Hardy will be a babyface or a heel is unknown, and if this means that Jeff Hardy will join him as "Brother Nero" is yet to be determined.