Nintendo sent a ‘kind’ cease-and-desist to Cody Rhodes

Nintendo sent a cease-and-desist notice to WWE champion Cody Rhodes over his use of the Triforce logo on his ring boots. On his podcast, Rhodes described the letter as polite and said the company was not aggressively pursuing him.

The notice came up during an episode of What Do You Wanna Talk About? while Rhodes and fellow wrestler Kit Wilson discussed video games. Rhodes showed a Triforce tattoo on his finger and recounted receiving the legal note, telling listeners, “I also got a cease and desist from Nintendo.” He added that the company “was very kind, they weren’t coming after anybody.”

Rhodes previously entered arenas wearing boots bearing the Triforce emblem. He explained he used the symbol because its three parts — power, courage and wisdom — aligned with themes he associates with professional wrestling, describing Zelda as the wise figure, Link as courage and Ganon as power.

On the podcast he praised entries in the Zelda series, including Twilight Princess and Wind Waker, and summed up his enthusiasm with the remark, “I live for that s***, dog.” Rhodes is also set to appear as Guile in the upcoming Street Fighter movie.

Rhodes framed the legal notice as a routine trademark-protection action rather than a personal attack. After receiving the letter he moved on to getting a Triforce tattoo and continues to reference the games that inspired his ring gear.