WWE & Fanatics Respond To 'American Nightmare' Lawsuit

Back in September, it was revealed that a lawsuit had been filed against WWE and Cody Rhodes over the use of the ‘American Nightmare’ trademark. Punk musician Wesley Eisold sued Cody Rhodes, WWE and Fanatics, alleging trademark infringement, breach of contract, and intentional interference with contractual relations. As a result of the suit, he is seeking to receive cumulative damages of over $300,000. 

WWE and Fanatics are now looking to dismiss the lawsuit altogether, per Brandon Thurston, as they feel as though they are meeting the conditions of the previous settlement between Rhodes and Eisold. 

This initial settlement took place during Rhodes’ time in AEW, where Eisold (lead singer of band American Nightmare) opposed Rhodes’ trademark in 2019. They resolved this in 2021 by agreeing that Rhodes’ name, likeness, and wrestling-related imagery were at least 75% larger than the American Nightmare text. Eisold believes WWE have now gone back on that initial agreement. WWE believe that using the text with Rhodes’ ‘American Nightmare’ skull tattoo meets the original terms, due to the tattoo being well-known and a registered trademark.