WWE, Cody Rhodes, and Fanatics secured an extension to respond to a trademark infringement lawsuit filed by musician Wesley Eisold. According to PWInsider, all three parties now have until April 7 to file their formal response.
Eisold, who fronts a band called American Nightmare, initiated legal action in 2024, claiming “trademark infringement, breach of contract, and intentional interference with contractual relations.” The musician has held a registered trademark for “American Nightmare” since 2016 for music-related activities and merchandise.
The dispute stems from a 2021 settlement between Rhodes and Eisold. As reported by POST Wrestling, Rhodes applied to register “The American Nightmare” trademark for wrestling activities in 2019, which Eisold opposed. Their 2021 agreement allowed Rhodes to use the name on merchandise under specific conditions.
Related content
In March 2019, Cody Rhodes applied to register the trademark “The American Nightmare” for wrestling-related activities. Eisold, who had registered a similar trademark earlier, opposed Rhodes’ applicant.
Advertising
The parties eventually agreed to a settlement in March 2021 to resolve the dispute, ultimately allowing Rhodes to register the trademark. At that time Rhodes was under contract to AEW. He later returned to WWE in 2022, where he continued to use the trademark.
Under the settlement terms, Rhodes was allowed to use “American Nightmare” on his merchandise under the condition that such items prominently used Rhodes’ name, likeness, or wrestling-related imagery in a size at least 75% larger than the “American Nightmare” text, according to the settlement agreement provided as an exhibit to Eisold’s complaint. In exchange, Rhodes agreed to a one-time payment to the musician of $30,000.
The core of Eisold’s current lawsuit alleges that merchandise sold by WWE and Fanatics violates this agreement. He claims some items fail to maintain the required 75% size differential between Rhodes’ imagery and the “American Nightmare” text, creating confusion among fans.
Eisold seeks damages of at least $150,000, with potential treble damages up to $300,000 related to federal trademark infringement. The granted extension gives the defendants additional time to formulate their legal response to these allegations.
