Cody Rhodes has been unable to use his full wrestling name ever since he left WWE back in 2016. WWE still owned the trademark ownership of his name, so Rhodes opted to go by either just “Cody” or “The American Nightmare, Cody” while working on the independent scene, Ring of Honor, Impact Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling and AEW.Rhodes has made a number of attempts to retrieve certain trademarks that previously belonged to either him or his family but has hit a number of speed bumps over the past year. However, he might finally have some good news.
According to Heel By Nature, WWE filed a cancellation notice for the trademark to Rhodes’ name to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The company originally had the filing for 10 years along with a six-month grace period, but opted to not renew it in early 2019. Rhodes attempted to file for it in April on the day it initially expired, and WWE responded by trying to re-file the trademark a month later. Now that the company has forfeited the attempt, Rhodes has the opportunity to take the trademark.
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Rhodes has commented on his issues with trademarks in the past.
It’s not as sultry/scandalous as reported. It’s just business. They’ve seen the same data we have, and they know they can make big money off the brand(even though it’s not in their house). Trying to license me is flattering, but it doesn’t stop this train from moving. No grudge. https://t.co/7pkPtU1Cry
— Cody (@CodyRhodes) July 4, 2020
He’s also attempted to get the rights back to certain events and concepts that were created by his legendary father, Dusty Rhodes. He succeeded in certain aspects — getting Slamboree and Bunkhouse Stampede — but hasn’t succeeded in retrieving big events like The Great American Bash (which NXT revived earlier this year to compete with Fyter Fest) and Starrcade (which WWE uses as an annual house show).
“Starrcade and Great American Bash are Dusty’s. I would rather have those than a 100 Slamborees,” Rhodes said on an episode of AEW Unrestricted earlier this year.
Rhodes will defend his TNT Championship this Saturday at the Full Gear pay-per-view against Darby Allin. Check out the full card below:
- AEW World Championship: Jon Moxley vs. Eddie Kingston (I Quit Match)
- TNT Championship: Cody Rhodes vs. Darby Allin
- AEW World Tag Team Championship: FTR vs. The Young Bucks
- AEW Women’s World Championship: Hikaru Shida vs. Nyla Rose
- Chris Jericho vs. MJF
- Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara (The Elite Deletion Match)
- AEW World Championship Eliminator Tournament Finals: Kenny Omega vs. Hangman Page
- The Buy-In: Orange Cassidy vs. John Silver
