Cody Rhodes might finally be going by his full name on All Elite Wrestling television in the near future. When the former WWE midcard left the company in 2016, WWE infamously prevented him from appearing on the independent wrestling scene by his full name since they owned the trademark. Rhodes managed to get around it by being introduced alongside his wife Brandi Rhodes, but eventually settled on being referred to as “The American Nightmare, Cody” in Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling before launching AEW. The wildly popular babyface claimed back in October that he could use his full name if he wanted, but he went ahead and made it official back on April 13 when he filed for “Cody Rhodes” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
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Part of the filing was described as “Entertainment in the nature of wrestling contests; Entertainment services, namely, live appearances by a professional wrestling and sports entertainment personality; Entertainment services, namely, personal appearances by a professional wrestler and sports entertainment personality; Entertainment services, namely, wrestling exhibits and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer; Providing wrestling news and information via a global computer network; Providing online interviews featuring a professional wrestler and sports entertainer in the field of professional wrestling and sports entertainment for entertainment purposes.”
Whether or not Rhodes decides to use his last name going forward is entirely up to him.
“The reason I don’t use it is because I got so used to being ‘The American Nightmare Cody’ in Japan. I love that. I love the idea of trying my damndest to get a single name over,” Rhodes said back in October. “I got the rub off Dusty and my family long enough. I don’t mind not using it.”
Rhodes’ trademark filings have given WWE a few headaches in recent months. Back in early 2019 he filed for various WCW releated trademarks WWE had let lapse, including “Bash at the Beach” (which AEW turned into a two-week event earlier this year), “Battlebowl” and “Bunkhouse Stampede.” He later explained all of those filings were made so Rhodes could get Dusty Rhodes’ intellectual creations back in the hands of his family.
In February he explained that the two trademarks he wants back more than any else are “Starrcade” and “The Great American Bash.”
Starrcade and Great American Bash are Dusty’s. I would rather have those than a 100 Slamborees,” Rhodes said on AEW Unrestricted.
