AEW News: Cody Can Use the Name “Cody Rhodes” Again

There’s some good news for the current AEW TNT Champion Cody, who is also an Executive Vice President in the company. He can now legally use the name “Cody Rhodes” again so it’s likely that he will do that as soon as this Saturday at Full Gear when he defends the TNT Championship against Darby Allin.

Cody Rhodes was his wrestling name in WWE and he follows the legacy of his father Dusty Rhodes along with his brother Dustin Rhodes. Cody’s wife Brandi has been able to use the name Brandi Rhodes because she was Eden Stiles in WWE, which means she wouldn’t be able to use that name in AEW – not that she would want to. Cody’s real name is Cody Runnels in case you’re wondering.

The reason Cody can use the Cody Rhodes name is because WWE dropped their claim on the Cody Rhodes name, according to PWInsider. Cody agreed to abandon his trademark applications for Slamboree, The Match Beyond, Superbrawl, Bunkhouse Stampede and Battlebowl, which are all show names that his father Dusty came up with in the 1980s. Since WWE bought WCW in 2001, they owned the rights to those names even though they don’t use them.

It appears as though WWE and Cody came to an agreement where he would stop trying to claim trademark names of shows while they agreed to let him use the name Cody Rhodes.

After AEW Dynamite last night, Cody informed the crowd that he got his full name back. Here’s a clip of that with Cody saying “it feels really good to be Cody Rhodes again.” Of course, it wasn’t easy for him to say it because the fans were chanting “Cody Rhodes” for him as he tried to say it.

Analysis: I’m glad he can use the name Cody Rhodes again. I can remember reading in the past that he could have always used the name if he wanted, but I guess that wasn’t true. I’m sure it means a lot to Cody that he can use the name that his father made famous and carry on that family legacy. Plus, I am so used to writing “Cody Rhodes” anyway that it makes life easier on me too. I’m happy about this.