Cody Rhodes, WWE and Fanatics are facing legal action over the terms of the “American Nightmare” trademark.
The lawsuit, which has been filed by musician Wesley Eisold, claims that Rhodes and the 2 companies have violated the terms of their pre-existing agreement, which was first reported by Post Wrestling.
Eisold is the founder and lead singer of the band American Nightmare, who were first formed back in 1998. Eisold also holds the trademark for American Nightmare for use in music, clothing, and entertainment services, which was first filed back in 2016 according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
In 2019, Rhodes applied for the trademark of the same name for “wrestling-related activities”, which was opposed by Eisold. Both sides agreed to a settlement in 2021 to resolve the issue, with Rhodes being a contracted performer for AEW at this time. The terms of the settlement stated that Rhodes needed to adhere to the following for future merchandise:
Eisold allowed Runnels [Rhodes] to use (but not register) the Runnels Mark in clothing and apparel on the express condition that the only clothes and apparel that Runnels was allowed to sell had to prominently feature Runnels’ name, Runnels’ name and likeness, or significant indicia of wrestling—which must be 75% or larger than the Runnels Mark
Rhodes also gave Eisold a one-off payment of $30,000 as part of the settlement.
On September 4th, Eisold filed the lawsuit against Rhodes, WWE and Fanatics as the musician alleges that the aforementioned terms have been broken. As part of the preliminary statement, Eisold claims that the three defendants “blatantly violate” the agreement:
Runnels, WWE, and Defendant Fanatics Holdings (“Fanatics”) sell clothes that blatantly violate the express conditions in the settlement agreement and Eisold’s trademark (“Runnels clothes.”) The Runnels clothes are brandished with the words “American Nightmare” but do not include Runnels’ name, his name, likeness, or indicia of wrestling (or do so in puny fashion). The counterculture-style clothes often feature a winged skull embossed with the stars and stripes (“Runnels Logo”), a black-and-white winged skull, or various representations of the U.S. flag.
Eisold is seeking damages due to the lawsuit and wants to end the confusion between both fanbases:
Widespread confusion about Runnels’ use of the Eisold Mark persists among WWE fans and Runnels’ fans. Legions of American Nightmare fans ask Eisold if he endorses Runnels or the wrestler’s use of the Eisold Mark and his image. Eisold’s fans frequently buy the Runnels clothes by accident, Runnels’ fans regularly buy the Eisold clothes by mistake, and fans of both inadvertently make and purchase apparel that mix references to both the band and to Runnels.
Eisold thus seeks damages and injunctive relief
To support his case, Eisold has also included multiple images of his band’s merchandise along with some produced by WWE for Rhodes along with social media posts of fans confusing the two brands:
Left: A licenced Cody Rhodes T-shirt sold by Fanatics. Right: A licenced hoodie from the American Nightmare band.
Eisold is seeking $150,000 in damages and $300,000 related to trademark infringement along with the recovery of legal fees.
The full document can be viewed here.
In November, WWE filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
Wesley Eisold Comments On Cody Rhodes Lawsuit
On top of being a member of the band American Nightmare, Eisold has a solo project called Cold Cave. Via the Cold Cave social media account, Eisold stated the following when quoting the Post Wrestling article regarding the lawsuit:
Listen you f*cking dolts. I already own the name. Doesn’t matter who you like. They licensed it from me. Then violated that agreement.