Since AEW does not usually trademark the character names of its talent, wrestlers are able to sell their own merchandise with little to no problem. AEW has its own online shop and sells its merchandise at events, but many wrestlers, such as Danhausen, sell merch on the side, on websites like ProWrestlingTees. A simple Google search for the website pulls up not just AEW-related merchandise, but New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Bullet Club merch, and other wrestlers’ stores. Sites offer merchandise like shirts to be sold directly from the wrestlers themselves, and the wrestlers receive most, if not all, of the profits from the items sold.

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With WWE, stars are only able to have their merchandise sold on WWE’s online shop, as well as through Fanatics, because the company owns the rights to their characters. Talent receive a cut of their merchandise sold and get royalty checks. WWE outlines this policy explicitly on their corporate website, saying: “We own the rights of substantially all of our characters and exclusively license the rights we do not own through agreements with our Superstars.” This difference is often cited as a big factor in a wrestler making a decision between companies, as some want their own freedoms as compared to their character and likeness being owned by a company.