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View Full Version : John Cena On WWE Owning The Trademark On His Name, ‘Pabst Blue Ribbon’ Controversy



Kemo
01-26-2017, 05:31 PM
John Cena recently spoke with ESPN about the business side of WWE, including his own personal brand and last year’s controversy surrounding a WWE t-shirt that featured a logo closely resembling that of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.

Cena revealed that WWE owns the trademark his name and shed some light on the reasoning behind that. “I see it as a joint venture,” he said. “They give me a platform to showcase my brand in nearly 200 countries across the universe.”

“We’ve become a global cultural phenomenon where people all over the world receive our product and are instantaneously aware of our story lines. There’s actually a ton of room for individuality and for personally pushing for expansion of what I can be. Dwayne (The Rock) was a pioneer in that space.”

Shortly after WWE Shop unveiled Cena’s ‘Pabst logo’ t-shirt back in May 2016, the company threatened legal action against WWE.

A message to @JohnCena & the @WWE: We have a chokehold called the Cease & Desist. Pretty sure we see you? pic.twitter.com/AKWjUEXiUj

— Pabst Blue Ribbon (@PabstBlueRibbon) May 27, 2016

The shirt was pulled before eventually going back on sale – a sign that WWE may have struck a licensing agreement with the beer company.

You can't C(ease and Desist) ME! New shirt available on @WWEShop! https://t.co/4s7j3MS7jI pic.twitter.com/k3a566zwPf

— John Cena (@JohnCena) June 19, 2016

In speaking with ESPN about the situation, Cena said"

“We were well within our rights in terms of parody necessary, but we quickly turned around and changed the design within hours. It was pretty much social media suicide for them. What’s funny is the brewery ultimately realized our power and actively reached out to establish an open relationship.”

Cena always kicks out at 2… https://t.co/8pnhLp2T3K

— Pabst Blue Ribbon (@PabstBlueRibbon) June 19, 2016