Despite Vince McMahon having licenced the name "Christian" as copywrited WWE property several years ago, Christian will retain full rights to continue using the name outside of World Wrestling Entertainment.
For several years prior to entering the WWF as a member of The Brood, Christian wrestled on the independent circut as "The Canadian Rage" Christian Cage. The absolute worst case scenerio would be that he would have to use the last name Cage if he were to work outside of the WWE.
The precedent for this has already been set and enforced several times in favor of the individual performer. Vince McMahon had copywrited "The Honky Tonk Man" as his intellectual property, however the copywrite was struck down, as the former Intercontinental Champion was able to prove that he wrestled under the name "Honky Tonk Wayne" in Stampede Wrestling prior to his WWF debut, and was given full control over the name and gimmick. The Ultimate Warrior was also granted rights to the name "Warrior" as well as the character's trademark facepaint and ring attire, as Jim Hellwig was able to prove that he had used the Dingo Warrior gimmick prior to signing a WWF contract.
On a side note, it is looking entirely likely that Christian will be signing a TNA contract when he is legally able to do so. His friendship with TNA head booker Scott D'Amore dates back to their days on the Canadian independent circut. Christian is also a resident of Florida, and would only need to work a maximum of five dates a month, most of which would not require him to leave the state, as opposed to being on the road as many as 300 days out of the year.
More information will be made available in upcoming weeks.
-- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
