WWE has filed a new trademark application for AWA covering merchandise, including toys, action figures, clothing, and collectibles.
The company previously held a similar AWA trademark from 2010 until it abandoned the mark in 2014, according to records at the US Patent & Trademark office.
WWE separately holds an AWA trademark covering wrestling entertainment services, along with one for downloadable mobile applications dating back to 2014, so the new filing does not touch its rights to the name itself. It specifically reopens the door to AWA branded products.
The filing lands days after WWE posted a full documentary on the promotion’s history to its WWE Vault channel, titled The Spectacular Legacy of the AWA. Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo founded the American Wrestling Association in Minneapolis in 1960, and it ran until 1991 before its assets were absorbed by WWE.
Part Of A Broader Filing Wave
The AWA application is one of several trademarks WWE has filed with the USPTO in recent weeks. The company also filed for WWE Lock It In, WWE Scratchcard, and WWE Championship Gold, all pointing toward new video game or interactive product lines.
The same stretch of filings includes Cruz Montana, the new ring name for the former Mike Santana, submitted on July 24. WWE also filed for WWE Radio on July 22 and for Alix Brooks, the new name for NXT talent Meghan Walker, on July 19.
None of the new filings confirm a specific product launch or event. Trademark applications like these typically precede WWE bringing a name to market, but the company routinely files marks it never activates.
