WWE Responds To Lawsuit Involving Cody Rhodes

Zack Heydorn | Nov 23, 2024

WWE.com

WWE has issued a response to a lawsuit against them and Cody Rhodes alleging trademark infringement and breach of settlement.

In recent court filings and as reported by Post Wrestling, WWE and it's merchandise partner Fanatics motioned to dismiss the suit due to the fact that the "American Nightmare" moniker in question is used in conjunction with the Rhodes skull logo and thus does not violate previous agreements with the plaintiff.

WWE argues that the skull logo is part of Cody's likeness.

The suit was filed in September in the California Central District federal court. The plaintiff's name is Wesley Eisold and he's the lead singer of a band named American Nightmare. Eisold and Rhodes came to an agreement in 2021 that allowed Rhodes to use American Nightmare for wrestling related purposes as long as the use met certain criteria. Eisold claims that pieces of Cody merchandise do not abide by the settlement.

The motion filed by WWE also indicates that they didn't have previous knowledge of a settlement between Rhodes and Eisold. The settlement between the two parties was made during Cody's run in AEW.

Cody Rhodes left AEW and returned to WWE in 2022. Rhodes returned at WrestleMania 38 and defeated Seth Rollins on that show. Rhodes wrestled Roman Reigns in the main event of both WrestleMania 39 and WrestleMania 40. He defeated Reigns at WrestleMania 40 to win the Undisputed WWE Championship -- a title he still holds.

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Published Nov 23, 2024

ZACK HEYDORN

Zack Heydorn has been covering the pro wrestling industry for nine years. He's a former Assistant Editor of PWTorch and Managing Editor of SEScoops. Zack is the author of the Hybrid Shoot book Stunning: The Wrestling Artistry of Steve Austin, which is available on Amazon. You can follow Zack on