New England Championship Wrestling and World Women’s Wrestling star, Lexxus will be undergoing a name change next weekend at the NECW and WWW events at the National Guard Armory in Quincy, MA.Last Thursday, NECW promoter, Sheldon Goldberg received a letter from a Washington D.C. law firm representing Toyota Motor Corporation claiming that the name “Lexxus” was “an unauthorized commercial use” of that name, claiming it is a misuse of their Lexus automobile trademark.
The letter requested than NECW, World Women’s Wrestling and the wrestler known as Lexxus cease and desist using that ring name. The firm cited Lexxus’ one time appearance in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling using the name “Mercedes Steele” as proof of “the wrestler’s intention to associate herself with well-known automobile brands.”
NECW co-owner and promoter, Sheldon Goldberg took the matter under advisement with the wrestler known as Lexxus and the company’s attorney. NECW sent a response to Toyota’s law firm today.
Goldberg said, “To sum up our response, our counsel agrees with us that the wrestler named Lexxus is well within her rights to use that name. We do not believe that any reasonable person would confuse the wrestler known as Lexxus with an automobile. However, as a practical matter, there would be nothing to gain from a legal battle, which could only be waged at significant cost to us. For that reason, we have informed Toyota that we intend to comply with their request, and the wrestler known as Lexxus will undergo a name change on the event scheduled for Saturday, November 29 in Quincy, MA. Her new name will be revealed at that time.”
Goldberg also said, “This is actually a compliment to our company and to the wrestler known as Lexxus. If our promotion of Lexxus and her exemplary performance were not significant, it would never have attracted the attention of a global conglomerate like Toyota. While we absolutely disagree with Toyota’s claims, we do respect their efforts to protect what they perceive to be their intellectual property. We have asked Toyota to consider working with our company in the future.”
NECW returns live to the National Guard Armory, 1000 Hancock Street, Quincy, MA for a 2 night Thanksgiving Weekend spectacular called DOUBLE INTENSITY. Saturday night, November 29 at 7 PM will be an NECW event, and the following afternoon, Sunday, November 30 with a 5 PM start time, it will be the return of World Women’s Wrestling. Complete information and ticket ordering can be found at www.NECWwrestling.com.