UPDATED: ProWrestlingTees Say WWE Forced Them to Pull Jim Neidhart Shirts

UPDATE: One Hour Tees (the company behind Pro Wrestling Tees) took to Twitter to comment on their Jim Neidhart story, with Colt Cabana and CM Punk weighing in as well:

WWE says Jim Neidhart cant sell his own shirts. They don't own his name nor Hart Foundation, YET HE CANNOT SELL HIS OWN TEES? So Classy WWE

— OneHourTees (@OneHourTees) September 29, 2015

Now I'm told they have an "exclusive merchandise contract" with Jim Neidhart. THEN WHERE THE FUCK IS ALL OF HIS MERCHANDISE AT? WWE is Gross

— OneHourTees (@OneHourTees) September 29, 2015

Bullies! https://t.co/El4Rzc8LGQ

— Colt Cabana (@ColtCabana) September 29, 2015

Allegedly! https://t.co/Lzi0cDCzfL

— Coach (@CMPunk) September 29, 2015

ORIGINAL: Pro Wrestling Tees have released a statement revealing that they were forced to remove their just-added store for Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart T-Shirts. The company has released a statement saying that they were ordered to remove the store after WWE accused them of violating intellectual property. The statement (which you can read below) notes that while WWE didn’t own the trademark on Jim Neidhart or Hart Foundation, they were informed that Neidhart has an exclusive merchandise agreement with WWE.

The site argues that WWE has no Neidhart merchandise on sale and claims that WWE “continuously blocks retired pro wrestlers from selling merchandise on the internet.” You can see the full statement below.

Sorry, Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart t-shirts are no longer available on ProWrestlingTees.com.

We received a notice from WWE saying that we were violating intellectual property rights by selling Jim Neidhart shirts on our website. First off, we don’t sell anything on our site, the wrestlers do. Our website is a portal for independent and retired pro wrestlers to sell their own merchandise to hundreds and thousands of fans worldwide. We then simply print for them and ship them to their customers. Everything is contracted through the wrestlers. They sign contracts with us taking all claim to their property and the rights to their designs. 90% of the time they provide their own artwork or get final say in the designs they sell. Every aspsect from the shirt color, to the title of the product is decided by the wrestler or their estate.

After doing more research we found that WWE didn’t own the trademark on the name Jim Neidhart nor Hart Foundation. After explaining this to their lawyer, we were then told that Jim has an “exclusive merchandise agreement” with WWE. Exclusive merchandise agreements are understandable, when you’re selling merchandise! Where is all the Jim the Anvil merchandise? We’ve never seen a Jim “The Anvil” t-shirt ever. Maybe one of him and Bret Hart together but never solo.

WWE continuously blocks retired pro wrestlers from selling merchandise on the internet. Not only Pro Wrestling Tees, but other websites as well. These wrestlers have fans that want to show their appreciation for them but they aren’t allow to because WWE says they have the “merchandise rights” to them. If WWE has these rights then use them. It’s simple. There is no reason they shouldn’t allow Jim to have extra money in his pocket. There is no competition here, because they aren’t selling Anvil’s t-shirts. Being under a WWE legends contract is understandable, but why is Jim in an “exclusive merchandise contract” with no merchandise? If they aren’t going to allow him to sell his own merchandise through our web portal then at least sell shirts for him through the WWE shop. #RespectTheLegends