American Nightmare frontman Wesley Eisold is suing WWE, Cody Rhodes, and Fanatics

Wesley Eisold, lead vocalist of American Nightmare, has filed a lawsuit against WWE wrestler Cody Rhodes, along with WWE itself and Fanatics, the merchandise company selling the offending items. 

The legal action took place on September 4th in a California court, as per Postwrestling.com. The dispute stemmed from Cody Rhodes adopting the in-ring nickname "The American Nightmare" after his departure from WWE in 2016. This name is an homage to his late father, Dusty Rhodes, who was known as "The American Dream." 

Wesley Eisold holds a trademark for "American Nightmare", registered in 2016 for music, clothing, and entertainment services. The complaint states:

Fans of WWE and wrestling continue to frequently tag the American Nightmare in Facebook and social media posts. To date, fans of both Runnels and American Nightmare purchase the Runnels clothes. Fans attending American Nightmare concerts and other events—including in California and specifically this judicial district—wear both the Runnels clothes and the Eisold clothes.

The legal dispute traces back to March 2019 when Cody Rhodes sought to trademark "The American Nightmare" for wrestling-related activities, a move contested by Wesley Eisold. After a settlement was reached in March 2021, allowing Rhodes to register the trademark under specific conditions, Cody Rhodes continued to use the trademark upon returning to WWE in 2022. The settlement terms mandated that "American Nightmare" could only be used on merchandise with Rhodes' name, likeness, or wrestling imagery at least 75% larger than the text. 

Wesley Eisold now alleges that Rhodes, WWE, and Fanatics have breached the agreement by selling merchandise not meeting these conditions. The dispute highlights merchandise items, such as the "Crown" T-shirt design, lacking adequate references to Rhodes or wrestling imagery, leading to confusion among fans of American Nightmare and WWE. Attempts to address this issue through legal channels have seen limited responses from parties representing Eisold. 

Shortly after the legal action was made public, the account of Eisold lead band Cold Cave shared:

Listen you fucking dolts. 
I already own the name. 
Doesn't matter who you like. 
They licensed it from me. 
Then violated that agreement