Fightful has reported that a lawsuit has been filed against Cody Rhodes, WWE, and Fanatics.
The case was filed by Wesley Eisold, frontman for the band American Nightmare, citing trademark infringement, breach of contract, and deliberate interference with contractual agreements.
Eisold, who has held the trademark for clothing, music, and entertainment purposes since 2016, previously reached an agreement with Rhodes on using the nickname during the latter’s time in AEW following an attempt to file the trademark.
Per the report, the lawsuit details a number of use cases agreed upon in 2021 in order for Rhodes to use the trademark going forward, including a restriction that Cody’s name and likeness is at least “75% bigger” than the American Nightmare tag, in order to differentiate the WWE star’s merchandise from that of the band by the same name.
Eisold is now stating that WWE, Rhodes, and Fanatics (WWE’s main merchandising partner) have violated their agreement by selling merchandise bearing the trademark with “little to no reference” to Cody Rhodes as a wrestler, further citing fans of WWE and wrestling tagging the band in social media posts among the proof that confusion has been made between the two entities.
The plaintiff of the lawsuit is seeking at least $150,000 in damages and treble damages of up to $300,000 for federal trademark infringement, in addition to legal expenses.