Thelegal fight over the American Nightmare brand is clearly far from over, as it appears that musician Wesley Eisold has filed a motion to push back the deadline for his lawsuit against WWE, Cody Rhodes, and Fanatics.
According to PWInsider, a new motion was filed on September 12 in the ongoing lawsuit against WWE, Cody Rhodes, and Fanatics by Boston-area hardcore punk singer Wesley Eisol, who claims he owns the rights to the American Nightmare trademark. The case is being handled in the United States Court, Central District of California (Western Division, Los Angeles).
Eisol has asked the court to extend the deadline for his response to WWE, Rhodes, and Fanatics motion to dismiss the case. Hes requesting that his response deadline be moved to November 14. If the court grants this extension, the defendants would then have until December 5 to file their reply.
The court would then hear the motion to dismiss on December 19. As of now, no decision has been made on Eisols request for the extension.
This lawsuit is about a 2021 deal between musician Wesley Eisol and wrestler Cody Rhodes. In that deal, Eisol let Rhodes use but not register the name American Nightmare for clothing. The agreement had strict rules: any merch had to clearly show Rhodes name, face, or obvious wrestling images covering at least 75% of the design.
Eisol says WWE and Fanatics broke the deal by selling shirts and other merch that dont follow those rules. The lawsuit claims a lot of items only say American Nightmare without Codys name, picture, or big wrestling graphics, or show them so small they barely count.
Eisol also says this has caused confusion among fans. Some of Eisols music fans accidentally buy Codys merch, and some wrestling fans mistakenly buy Eisols band merch. There are even cases where people mix both designs together by accident.
Because of this Eisol is asking for a jury trial, $900,000 in damages, and a court order to stop WWE, Fanatics, and Rhodes from selling any merch that breaks the deal.
This is important for Cody Rhodes because American Nightmare is a big part of his brand in WWE, so the result of this case could have a big impact on his merchandise and image.
This latest motion shows the case is far from finished. If the new deadlines are approved, the lawsuit could stretch into late 2025, leaving Cody Rhodes, WWE, and Fanatics dealing with months of legal uncertainty over one of wrestlings most famous trademarks. So well have to see what will happen in the end.
Do you think Wesley Eisold has a strong case against WWE, Cody Rhodes, and Fanatics?
Should WWE have been more careful in handling the American Nightmare merchandising deal?
Share your thoughts and predictions in the comments below!
