Dec 20, 2019 3 min read

A well-known and longtime fixture in professional wrestling filed a federal suit against an online retailer, its Brownsville owner and an Altoona wrestler, claiming a T-shirt sold with his likeness on it violates federal trademark laws.

James “Jim” Cornette, whose involvement in wrestling stretches back several decades, asked a judge to bar Brownsville-based The Indy Connection from selling shirts that contain his image and the phrase “(Expletive) Jim Cornette.”

That phrase is at issue throughout the suit, which also contends the shop’s owner, William J. Molnar Jr., filed an application to trademark the phrase for use on clothing and registered a similar domain name.

The suit contended shirt sales were promoted on social media by Brandon Graver, an Altoona wrestler who uses the ring name G-Raver.

The shirts came about after a heated Twitter exchange between Graver and Cornette in late August, according to the suit.

By Sept. 12, the Cornette-based domain name was registered, and Molnar applied to trademark the phrase “(Expletive) Jim Cornette,” West Virginia attorney Robert P. Dunlap II alleged.

The suit contended the shirts, previously sold for $24.99 at The Indy Connection’s online store, use that phrase at the bottom. The front of the shirt features Cornette’s head with tattoo needles protruding from his forehead, his eyes covered with bloody Xs and his mouth gagged, Dunlap wrote.

After Cornette complained about the shirts to Shopify, which provides fulfillment services for online shops, Dunlap contended shirt sales went through the website using Cornette’s name, but customers were redirected to The Indy Connection.

The objection, according to the suit, is not the colorful language the shirt uses. The filing notes Cornette sells at least one item through his own online shop that includes similar language.

Instead, Dunlap wrote, the objection is to the unauthorized use of Cornette’s image and name, and the profit gained from it.

“(Cornette) is respected and has generated goodwill associated with his name,” Dunlap wrote.

The suit calls Cornette, of Louisville, Ky., “a professional wrestling living legend,” noting he has worked for numerous small and large professional wrestling organizations through his career, including WWE, WCW, and TNA (Total Nonstop Action) Wrestling.

In addition to seeking monetary damages, the filing asks a judge to issue an injunction barring The Indy Connection and Molnar from using his name or image. The suit also asked a judge to order the domain name be transferred to Cornette, and the trademark request for the phrase be withdrawn.

The shirts no longer appear to be for sale on The Indy Connection. They are, however, now for sale – by Cornette – on his own website.

“Never let it be said that we at Cornette’s Collectibles don’t cater to opposing viewpoints,” his website reads. “The infamous shirt that’s been the subject of internet controversy and courtroom action is now available here legally.”

He’s selling them for $22, and said he’s giving $5 from the sale of each shirt to WHAS Crusade for Children, a charity that helps children with special needs in Kentucky and Indiana.

Molnar and Graver could not immediately be reached for comment.