The Revival Receive Cease-And-Desist Over "Fear The Revolt"
Some legal wrangling has come up...
May 17, 2020
Former WWE tag team The Revival have received a 10-page cease-and-desist order, regarding what Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood's name will be going forward, according to a report from Mike Johnson of PWInsider.
The cease-and-desist is dated May 10, and regards Wheeler and Harwood's trademark of the phrase, "Fear The Revolt".
The order comes from North Carolina-based independent wrestlers Caleb Konley (Mason Burnett) and Zane Riley, who have been using the name "The Revolt" for the previous five years. The two reportedly tried to reach out to Wheeler and Harwood regarding their trademark, according to the order.
The cease-and-desist reads, in part, "The Revolt are well-known in the independent professional wrestling circuit and are the current PWX World Tag Team Champions. Mr. Burnett and Mr. Riley sell a range of Revolt-branded merchandise including t-shirts, hats, and DVDs, as shown in Exhibit B. The Revolt has been their passion for years and they have literally put their blood and sweat into building The Revolt brand and connecting with their fans."
Michael Dockins, the attorney for Harwood and Wheeler, notes that going forward, the two will be known simply as "FTR", saying, “Our clients do not intend and have never intended to call themselves FEAR THE REVOLT. They have at all times and in every way made it clear that their tag team name would be FTR, and that FTR can and would mean different things depending on their storyline and creative. They are not responsible for and cannot be held responsible for dirt sheets and others incorrectly attributing to them a name other than the name they have chosen, FTR. In fact, when your client reached out to my clients “as friends” to resolve this matter they were informed that the tag team name is, was, and will be FTR and not REVOLT or THE REVOLT or FEAR THE REVOLT.”