"I left wrestling to come home to Utah and be with my family and I find myself in the biggest battle of my life — to save my identity," said the ex-fighter, whose real name is Darryl Peterson. "They stole something from me that I'm not going to give up."
Peterson said he introduced the Payne persona_ also known as Maximum Payne, Max Pain and Lucifer Payne — in 1988, and uses it in commercials, voice-overs and movies.
A spokesman for Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of Rockstar Games and Gathering, declined to comment. Spokesmen for the other companies did not immediately return calls.
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