The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has rejected a second WWE attempt to trademark "RKO" for wrestling purposes, Fightful reported. A nonfinal office action issued on November 3, 2026 says WWE's mark conflicts with existing marks owned by RKO Pictures.
The examiner wrote: "Applicant's and registrant's marks all share the sole or dominant literal element 'RKO,' one of registrant's marks is in typed form and is identical to applicant's mark." WWE filed the application, serial number 99925015, on July 6, 2026. According to Fightful, WWE has until February 3, 2027 to respond, with an option for a three month extension.
RKO is the name of Randy Orton's finishing move. WWE's first application for the mark, serial number 98867275, was filed on November 22, 2024. USPTO records show it drew a nonfinal refusal in May 2025 and a final refusal in January 2026, with extensions granted in August 2025 and April 2026. The same records list it as abandoned on July 10, 2026, because WWE failed to respond to the office action. The first filing covered wrestling performances and news content across television, radio and online platforms, the records show.
The two applications are separate filings. The RKO Pictures citation appears in the November 3 action on the second application.
A nonfinal office action is not a final decision. It gives the applicant the chance to submit arguments or evidence against the examiner's objection, Fightful noted.
WWE has not publicly said whether it will respond to the November 3 action. As of November 5, the second RKO application is pending with a nonfinal refusal on file.
