The words Vice City are about to become much harder to ignore.
Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive are preparing for the next major stage of GTA 6 marketing, with an extended look at the game expected on Netflix on August 27. Meanwhile, WWE has made an interesting move of its own by filing a trademark application for the phrase “Vice City.”
At first glance, the timing could make the filing look like a potential clash between two entertainment giants. However, the actual trademark application appears far more specific.
WWE isn’t trying to take Vice City away from GTA 6. Instead, the company appears to have its own plans for the name, potentially connected to rising WWE NXT star Lola Vice.
WWE Files a Trademark for “Vice City”
WWE recently applied to the United States Patent and Trademark Office to protect the phrase Vice City.
The application was reported on August 4 and remains pending review.
Importantly, WWE’s filing focuses specifically on professional wrestling and sports entertainment. The company isn’t attempting to gain universal ownership over the phrase.
According to the filing details, WWE wants to use Vice City for services including:
- Professional wrestling exhibitions
- Live wrestling performances
- Televised wrestling programming
- Wrestling news and information
- Online entertainment content
- Entertainment websites
- Fan club services
- Fan events
- Newsletters
- Blogs
- Sports entertainment services
That distinction matters because trademark protection usually depends heavily on how a name or phrase gets used commercially.
Rockstar’s Vice City exists within the fictional world of Grand Theft Auto. WWE, meanwhile, appears interested in using the phrase as part of its wrestling entertainment business.
Lola Vice Could Be Behind WWE’s Vice City Plans
The most obvious explanation involves Lola Vice.
The NXT wrestler, whose real name is Valerie Loureda, has strong ties to Miami and already uses Vice City imagery as part of her presentation.
WWE bills Lola Vice from Miami, Florida, while the Vice City identity naturally fits her character and background.
More importantly, Lola Vice could reportedly make the jump from NXT to WWE’s main roster around the same period that GTA 6 marketing starts accelerating.
That creates an obvious promotional opportunity.
WWE could potentially use Vice City for Lola Vice merchandise, special events, fan experiences, online content, or a larger branding campaign surrounding her main-roster arrival.
The trademark application doesn’t confirm those plans. However, the timing makes the connection difficult to ignore.
GTA 6 Is About to Put Vice City Everywhere
The timing becomes even more interesting because of Grand Theft Auto 6.
Rockstar Games will take players back to Vice City and the surrounding state of Leonida. The fictional location takes heavy inspiration from Miami and Florida, making it one of the most recognizable settings in the Grand Theft Auto franchise.
Take-Two and Rockstar are expected to show an extended look at GTA 6 on Netflix on August 27.
That presentation could mark another major step in the game’s marketing campaign. Broader promotion is expected to follow as Rockstar moves closer to the planned November release.
As a result, searches and conversations surrounding Vice City could increase dramatically.
For WWE, that makes the timing particularly valuable.
Lola Vice already has a natural connection to Miami. If WWE pushes her Vice City identity while GTA 6 dominates entertainment headlines, the phrase could carry significantly more cultural weight.
Could WWE and Rockstar Fight Over Vice City?
A major legal battle currently appears unlikely.
Trademark disputes aren’t simply decided by who uses the same words. Courts and trademark authorities also consider how companies use those words and whether consumers could realistically confuse the products or services.
Rockstar uses Vice City as the name of a fictional location within the Grand Theft Auto universe.
WWE’s filing focuses on professional wrestling, live performances, broadcasts, fan clubs, websites, newsletters, and other sports entertainment services.
Those are very different uses.
Consumers are also unlikely to assume that a WWE Vice City wrestling event represents a new Grand Theft Auto product.
Unless either company dramatically expands how it uses the name, both versions could potentially exist without creating meaningful confusion.
Take-Two Makes the Situation Even Stranger
There is another amusing connection.
Take-Two Interactive owns Rockstar Games, which develops and publishes Grand Theft Auto through Rockstar.
However, Take-Two also owns 2K, the publisher behind the WWE 2K franchise.
That means Take-Two already has major business connections with both sides of this strange Vice City situation.
It doesn’t mean Take-Two controls WWE’s trademark strategy. Still, the overlap makes the story considerably more entertaining.
One side has arguably the most anticipated video game in the world preparing to return players to Vice City. The other has a wrestler named Lola Vice who could soon receive a major promotional push.
And WWE has now filed to protect Vice City within its own entertainment territory.
GTA 6 Fans Probably Have Nothing to Worry About
For GTA fans, WWE’s trademark application currently appears unlikely to change anything.
Rockstar has used Vice City for decades, including Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, which originally launched in 2002. GTA 6 will once again use Vice City as one of the central parts of its fictional world.
WWE’s application doesn’t suddenly erase that history.
Likewise, GTA 6 probably won’t interfere with WWE using Vice City in a wrestling-specific context connected to Lola Vice.
The two companies could simply use the same phrase for completely different entertainment products.
August Could Be Huge for GTA 6
The bigger story may ultimately be what happens later this month.
Rockstar’s August 27 extended GTA 6 presentation could kick the game’s marketing machine into a much higher gear ahead of its planned November launch.
Vice City will naturally sit at the center of that attention.
WWE’s trademark filing therefore arrives at an unusually interesting moment. Whether the company has major plans for Lola Vice or simply wants to protect branding options for the future remains unclear.
Either way, Vice City could soon become one of the busiest names in entertainment — both inside and outside GTA 6.
