As reported by Bleeding Cool and several other media outlets, the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., for the uninitiated) has apparently come to its senses and decided to drop its application for registration of GUNTHER STARK as a federal trademark. The WWE had filed a registration for Austrian-born wrestler Walter Hahn who later changed his name to Walter Stark and recently began calling himself Walter Stark in (and out of) the ring.
The real Gunther Stark was a well-known German U-Boat commander in World War II and the WWE seems to have forgotten to vet the name before filing the application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Kapitänleutnant Stark served in the Kriegsmarine and died at the age of 27 on June 8, 1944 while on patrol in the English Channel.
In World War II, U-boats were German submarines that caused havoc during the Battle of the Atlantic by sinking hundreds of Allied ships that carried troops, materiel, and supplies to Great Britain in support of the Allied war against Nazi Germany and Fascists Italy. U-boats were so damaging to the Allied war effort that British Prime Minister Winston Churchill commented that it was the only time during the war that he thought Britain would have to contemplate surrendering.
The WWE, on the other hand, is a business enterprise that promotes wrestling style entertainment combined with scripted dramatic elements for live audiences and on television in order to turn a handsome profit.
For the rest of the Bleeding Cool article, check out https://bleedingcool.com/tv/gunther-no-more-wwe-abandons-name-trademark-for-walter/
And for more on the career of Kapitänleutnant Stark, check out his profile on Kapitänleutnant Günther Stark - German U-boat Commanders of WWII - The Men of the Kriegsmarine - uboat.net
Why It Matters. In the grand scheme of things, it really doesn’t matter except as another indication that people can make very bad choices in the name of making more money when they probably should have known better.