Musician Sues Cody Rhodes, WWE, and Fanatics Over American Nightmare Trademark – Wesley Eisold, a punk rock musician and lead singer of the band American Nightmare, has filed a lawsuit against Cody Runnels (Cody Rhodes), WWE, and WWE’s main merchandising partner, Fanatics. The suit, filed in federal court in California, includes claims of trademark infringement, breach of contract, and intentional interference with contractual relations.
Eisold’s band American Nightmare has been active since 1998, and he registered the trademark for the name in 2016 for use in music, clothing, and entertainment. In 2019, Cody Rhodes sought to register “The American Nightmare” for wrestling-related purposes, leading to a legal dispute with Eisold. The two parties eventually reached a settlement in 2021, which allowed Rhodes to use “American Nightmare” on his merchandise, provided that his name, likeness, or wrestling-related imagery was featured prominently and was at least 75% larger than the “American Nightmare” text. In exchange, Rhodes made a one-time payment of $30,000 to Eisold.
Eisold is now claiming that Rhodes, WWE, and Fanatics have violated the terms of this settlement. He alleges that many of the merchandise items sold through Fanatics heavily feature the “American Nightmare” phrase without sufficient references to Rhodes or wrestling imagery, thus breaching the agreement. One specific example highlighted in the lawsuit is the “Crown” T-shirt design, which uses the “American Nightmare” text without adequate references to Rhodes’ name or likeness.
Images from Eisold’s complaint. Right: “Crown” T-shirt design sold on WWE’s Fanatics shop; Left: An item sold by the American Nightmare band
The lawsuit also alleges that this has caused confusion among fans, with some tagging the band’s social media accounts in posts related to Rhodes’ merchandise. Eisold contends that this confusion has occurred at both wrestling events and American Nightmare concerts.
The lawsuit states that Eisold’s legal team reached out to Rhodes’ representatives in 2022 about the infringing merchandise but did not receive a response. Cease and desist letters were sent to both Fanatics and Rhodes in 2024, but the only response came from WWE, which redirected the issue to Fanatics.
Eisold is seeking damages of at least $150,000, along with treble damages of up to $300,000 for federal trademark infringement, as well as attorneys’ fees.
Requests for comments from WWE, Fanatics, Rhodes, and their legal teams have yet to receive responses.
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Musician Sues Cody Rhodes, WWE, and Fanatics Over American Nightmare Trademark
