WWE Receives Cease & Desist Letters on Austin Theory from Indie Wrestlers

[Dale]

WWE has received two Cease & Desist letters over WWE United States Champion Austin Theory.

Theory bills himself as “The Now,” but this is also the name that New York indie veterans Vik Dalishus (Rob Begely) and Hale Collins (Dale Chapman) have used for their tag team going back more than 15 years. They are still active and have been seen on NWA programming in recent months.

Dalishus and Collins were surprised to see Theory using “The Now” on a recent WWE RAW episode. They say they have had the name trademarked since 2006 and are now trying to get WWE to stop using their intellectual property, according to The Hudson Valley Post.

“After shock goes away, we decided to reach out. We consulted with some friends who knew about the situation professionally and we were guided to an awesome lawyer named Mike Dockins, ‘The Gimmick Attorney’, who specializes in trademarks,” Dalishus said.

Dalishus and Collins confirmed that they have sent two Cease & Desist letters to WWE. One letter was acknowledged.

“We have sent two cease and desist letters to WWE, they acknowledged one, and said they would look into it. Looking into it doesn’t stop it from being on TV,” Dalishus said.

It was noted that a lawsuit is the likely step for Dalishus and Collins.

“Our next step is a lawsuit for trademark infringement and creating confusion in the marketplace,” Dalishus added.

Dalishus tweeted during this week’s RAW segment with Theory and his WrestleMania 39 opponent, John Cena.

“It’s weird that @JohnCena time is Now, and @_Theory1 is the Now, but neither one of them actually #LIVE in #theNOW …because, ya know…trademarks. @WWE #WWERaw,” he wrote.

One fan responded and told Dalishus to “stop trying to get some clout out of that…sue them and be happy when you win.”

Dalishus responded and implied that he was tweeting to help his case for a potential lawsuit.

He wrote back, “Thanks for the Advice. Can you tell me more about your experience suing billion dollar companies and garnering the necessary attention to accomplish such? All ears.”

WWE did not respond to a request for comment on the original article.​

 

[Chris]

Feel like it's too common of a phrase to matter myself. Seen these guys a couple times in NWA, but other than that this is the most I've heard of them in forever too

 

[Dale]

Gonna offer to sign em to NXT to make it go away, then cut them after a few months

 

[Deezy]

The Now is good for the John Cena angle.....unleash Jerry McDevitt.

 

[Cwalker]

This is a little shaky. I feel like most heels have referred to themselves as The Now at some point or another.

I can’t see this reaching legal litigation

 

[Wiseman]

This is a little shaky. I feel like most heels have referred to themselves as The Now at some point or another.

I can’t see this reaching legal litigation

I guess it would depend if WWE tried to market t-shirts and stuff with that on it. *shrugs*

 

[Chris]

I guess it would depend if WWE tried to market t-shirts and stuff with that on it. *shrugs*

They might be worried that if they don't get ahead of it, they might be hit with a cease and desist for a name they've been using forever too. For me personally tho, I think both should be fair use as the phrase is so common anyway

 

[Wiseman]

They might be worried that if they don't get ahead of it, they might be hit with a cease and desist for a name they've been using forever too. For me personally tho, I think both should be fair use as the phrase is so common anyway

True on the first point. And if that's what is good with fair use it gets into murky waters I think. I mean "The Game" I'm use WWE has trademarked and probably would do the same thing to anyone else using it in wrestling, even though I think it's as common as "the now".

 

[Dale]

Dunno if they sell these or any other merch though.​

 

[Dale]

Thought this was pretty amusing given what's going on here

​

 

[Deezy]

Probably nnpt even going to be a story in a few days like the SATs and that jobber group who stole their shit.