Tony Khan confused a whole lot of people this week by introducing the AEW National Championship. In hyping up AEW’s new belt, Khan relied on the lineage of a belt that turned out to be the NWA National Heavyweight
Championship. Needless to say, current NWA National Champion Mike Mondo didn’t take too kindly to Khan’s misleading tactics.
Bryan Idol is another NWA wrestler who called out Khan on social media, going so far as to say the new AEW National Championship is retaliation for AEW’s ongoing trademark litigation with NWA over the term “AEW: Shockwave.”
AEW filed for that trademark in September 2024 for what was believed to be a the name of a new program, but nothing came from it. Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston now has a great write-up on the legal battle between AEW and NWA over that trademark, which you should check out for all the details.
NWA filed to trademark “NWA: Shockwave” a couple weeks after AEW, under the premise that they already used that term for events in 2020, as well as 2005 to 2012. NWA sent AEW a legal letter “demanding” they abandon their trademark application because it can create confusion in the marketplace.
Fast forward to June 2025, and NWA got the trademark on “NWA: Shockwave” approved. However, AEW’s trademark application for “AEW: Shockwave” was still active. In July, AEW filed its legal response to NWA’s opposition, denying that the trademark damages NWA or creates confusion within pro wrestling, while arguing that NWA didn’t continuously use the term Shockwave since 2020.
Thurston says litigation between AEW and NWA over this matter may last quite a while longer:
“…the NWA’s opposition is now the subject of an ongoing proceeding before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, where the dispute is still in its early stages and may not be resolved until well into 2026.”
Do you think AEW should abandon this legal fight over the term Shockwave at this point? Why do you think it’s such a big deal to Tony Khan? Do you believe Idol’s claim about Khan retaliating by trying to steal the National Championship’s legacy from NWA?
Let me know your thoughts on all of this in the comments below, Cagesiders.
