Several WWE stars returned in the past year, including a pair of former tag team champions and a multi-time singles champion. The company recently filed several trademarks for these recently returned stars, as well as for a few current ones.
Some of the former stars that returned over the past year include CM Punk, Carlito, Kairi Sane, and the Authors of Pain. Fightful Select (h/t eWrestlingNews) reported that the names Carlito, Akam, Rezar, and Paul Ellering are part of the new trademarks filed by the Stamford-based company.
WWE also filed trademarks for several tag teams such as #DIY, The Creed Brothers, and The LWO. Ivar of the Viking Raiders, who has taken off as a singles superstar this past year, rounds out the recent trademark filings.
Carlito initially returned at Backlash 2023 in Puerto Rico to help Bad Bunny win his match against Damian Priest. He officially returned to the company in October after teaming up with Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar to beat The Pride at Fastlane.
The Authors of Pain along with Paul Ellering made their surprise return at New Year's Revolution, aligning with Karrion Kross and Scarlett to form The Final Testament. They are currently in a feud with The Pride's Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits.
Meanwhile, #DIY and The Creed Brothers are part of the recent resurgence of the tag team division. WWE filed a trademark for the New Catch Republic, a team consisting Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne, last month.
A couple of WWE superstars returned at the Royal Rumble
Naomi and Andrade are two former superstars who returned to the company to start the year. Both were surprise entrants in this year's Women's and Men's Royal Rumble Matches.
While The Rock is probably the biggest name to return, he has always been part of the WWE family even though he's not under contract. Naomi spent some time at Impact Wrestling after walking out of the company with Sasha Banks in 2022.
Meanwhile, Andrade spent a few years in AEW after his initial release back in 2021. He is currently not involved in any storylines, but the company has been teasing the fans about him joining Judgment Day.