[simple simon]

The Undertaker .... Hulk Hogan .... Lex Luger .... Sting

these are obviously not birth names, but who owns the names and likenesses ?

i remember the Honky Tonk Man from years ago .... and i have seen here in man there is someone (i think it's the same guy) wrestling very small time using the same 'stage name' ...... did he need to get permission to do that, or does he own the name ?

is it case by case or the same for everyone ?

[EmpireWF]

It's different for everyone. Some guys own their ring names (copyright/trademark, one of the two) and can use it wherever they like (such as Honky Tonk Man using it throughout the indy scene).

Some guys don't get their name trademark and when they leave a company are forced to use a different name. The most recent example would be the former Dudley Boys of ECW fame. They went to WWE and used the names. When they left for TNA they couldn't use the names and are now known as Team 3D.

Some guys on the indy scene get the rights to their name before they reach the "big time".

"The Rock" name was part of the WWE brand. When Rock left pro wrestling, Vince agreed to give the name up to him as a sign of respect and gratitude.

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Yep...the WWE owns a lot of them...in the case of Sable, they did not let her keep her name when she stepped away.

[Lefty Noob]

Originally Posted by Gotham Dark Knight

Yep...the WWE owns a lot of them...in the case of Sable, they did not let her keep her name when she stepped away.

Same with Chyna too, among others. A lot of it depends when and by who the name was created. In the case of the Dudleys, the name was invented in ECW I believe, to which Vince McMahon now owns the rights, and since they left on bad terms, he kept the title. Theoretically, if the wanted to, they could bring in another team and call them the Dudley Boys if they wanted to (they did this a few years ago with the Razor Ramon and Diesel characters). On the other hand, Jay Reso came into the WWE with the Christian Cage character and thus was able to take it with him. At least, I think I'm right about all this...