WWE Quietly Abandons Its 'Vice City' Trademark Just Weeks Before GTA 6
WWE filed to trademark the words "Vice City" back in August. Now, with Grand Theft Auto VI's November 19 launch closing in, that application is officially dead. No press release, no statement — just a quiet status change on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office database that wrestling and gaming fans both noticed almost immediately.
Here's what actually happened, why the timing is raising eyebrows, and what it means (and doesn't mean) for GTA 6.
Table of Contents
- What Happened With WWE's "Vice City" Trademark
- Why WWE Filed for "Vice City" in the First Place
- Why the Application Was Abandoned
- How This Fits Into GTA 6's Launch Buildup
- What This Actually Means (and What It Doesn't)
- FAQ
What Happened With WWE's "Vice City" Trademark
On August 4, 2026, WWE filed an application with the USPTO to trademark the term "Vice City." The filing covered entertainment services — wrestling exhibitions, live performances, broadcast and streaming content, fan club services, and websites. In plain terms, WWE wasn't trying to own "Vice City" everywhere; it was trying to lock down the phrase specifically within professional wrestling and live entertainment.
That application has now been marked "abandoned" by the USPTO. According to wrestling outlet Fightful, WWE submitted an express abandonment request on September 2, and the USPTO formally processed it on September 21 — less than two months before GTA 6 arrives on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. No official reason has been given by WWE for either the filing or the withdrawal.
Why WWE Filed for "Vice City" in the First Place
This wasn't WWE trying to muscle in on Rockstar's territory. The filing lines up almost exactly with the main-roster call-up of Lola Vice (real name Valerie Loureda), a Miami-born wrestler and former NXT Women's Champion. "Vice City" has been used as her nickname and ring persona for a while, tied directly to her hometown roots — not to the Grand Theft Auto franchise.
Vice made her main roster debut on the September 14 episode of Raw, and the trademark filing appears to have been standard pre-debut brand protection — the kind of move WWE routinely makes when building a wrestler's identity around a signature phrase.
Why the Application Was Abandoned
This is the part nobody has officially explained. A few points worth separating fact from speculation on:
- Confirmed fact: WWE filed an express abandonment on September 2, and the USPTO processed it on September 21.
- Confirmed fact: No public reason has been given by WWE, Take-Two Interactive, or Rockstar Games.
- Speculation only: Several outlets have noted that Take-Two owns both Rockstar Games and 2K — the studio that publishes WWE's own video games — which has fueled theories about internal or legal pressure. This connection is real, but any causal link to the trademark decision is unconfirmed.
- Speculation only: Some coverage has floated that WWE's legal team simply decided the filing wasn't worth pursuing given how closely "Vice City" is associated with an unrelated, much larger media property at this exact moment.
Worth noting for context: WWE doesn't actually hold — and never held — a trademark on the plain "Vice City" wordmark tied to the games. The trademark for "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" specifically belongs to two separate entities, Redcon 1, LLC and Wanted Brands, LLC. WWE's filing was for a different category of use (wrestling/entertainment) entirely, which is a detail that gets lost in a lot of the surrounding chatter.
How This Fits Into GTA 6's Launch Buildup
The timing is what's made this a story at all. Rockstar's marketing for GTA 6 has been leaning hard into the real-world overlap between the game's fictional setting and Miami, including physical "Welcome to Vice City" signage that's appeared around the actual city. With the November 19 release date approaching, Rockstar and Take-Two have every incentive to keep the Vice City name clean and unambiguous in the public's mind.
Whether that marketing push had anything to do with WWE's decision is, again, not confirmed. But the optics — a wrestling promotion filing for "Vice City" one month and quietly dropping it the next, right as GTA 6 hype peaks — are hard to ignore, which is exactly why the story has traveled well beyond wrestling media into gaming outlets.
What This Actually Means (and What It Doesn't)
It's worth being precise here, since a lot of headlines have oversimplified this:
- This does not mean Rockstar or Take-Two "won" a legal fight — there's no confirmed dispute, opposition filing, or legal action on record between the two companies over this trademark.
- This does not affect Lola Vice's ring name or persona — trademarking a phrase and abandoning an application doesn't stop WWE from continuing to use "Vice City" in her presentation informally.
- This does not change anything about GTA 6 itself — Vice City remains the game's central setting, part of the fictional state of Leonida, exactly as previously revealed.
- What it does confirm is that one specific, narrow trademark application — for wrestling and entertainment services — is now dead in USPTO records as of September 21.
FAQ
When did WWE file the "Vice City" trademark application?
WWE filed the application with the USPTO on August 4, 2026.
When was the trademark application abandoned?
WWE submitted an express abandonment on September 2, 2026, and the USPTO processed it on September 21, 2026.
Did WWE give a reason for abandoning the trademark?
No. Neither WWE, Take-Two Interactive, nor Rockstar Games has publicly explained the decision.
Is this related to Rockstar Games or GTA 6 directly?
No confirmed connection exists. The filing was tied to wrestler Lola Vice's branding, not the GTA franchise. Any link to Rockstar or Take-Two is speculation based on timing and shared corporate ownership between Take-Two and 2K, WWE's game publishing partner.
Does WWE own the trademark to "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City"?
No. That trademark belongs to Redcon 1, LLC and Wanted Brands, LLC — not Rockstar, Take-Two, or WWE.
Who is Lola Vice and why is she connected to this story?
Lola Vice (Valerie Loureda) is a Miami-born WWE wrestler and former NXT Women's Champion whose "Vice City" persona is tied to her hometown. She debuted on WWE's main roster on the September 14 episode of Raw.
When does GTA 6 release?
Grand Theft Auto VI is set to release on November 19, 2026, on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.