WWE has renewed its trademark for the name Cody Rhodes which means the AEW EVP will continue to go by just Cody on TV.
The business of trademarks and naming rights can be a tedious one for those involved, and in all honesty for everyone else in most cases. However, the emergence of AEW has brought with it some interesting battles. WWE using defunct WCW trademarks, seemingly for no other reason than to fire shots at certain people in AEW, or AEW grabbing trademarks WWE let lapse and then doing the same back to them.
However, the most fascinating, and somewhat confusing one of all so far has revolved around the name Cody Rhodes. Even though years have passed since Cody left WWE, the company for which he used to work for still owns the rights to his name. That's why he is referred to and introduced as just "Cody" whenever he appears on TV for AEW.
Cody thought 2020 might mark the end of this saga as WWE's trademark over his name came to an end earlier this year. That's why he filed for it himself back in April. However, WWE has foiled Cody's plan to claim back his own ring name at the umpteenth hour. News has emerged this weekend that back on May 15, 2020, WWE filed a late renewal for the name.
That file was successful as WWE cited the pandemic as the reason for their delay. The bigger question here though is why WWE wants to renew the trademark at all? Cody will likely never wrestle for WWE again at this point, and there is definitely no Cody Rhodes merch being sold at WWE Shop. It would seem that the only reason for renewing the trademark is so Cody can't have it.
If Cody is annoyed at WWE's attempts to frustrate him, he isn't showing it. In fact, he reacted to WWE's trademark renewal of his name on Twitter this weekend. "It’s not as sultry/scandalous as reported. It’s just business," Cody tweeted. Cody goes on to write that WWE knows it can make big money off his name. Maybe, but they currently don't sell anything with his name on. It's admirable of Cody to react this way, but it does feel like WWE's trademark renewal is fueled by pettiness, not business.