WWE Pull John Cena Merchandise Amidst Legal Threats
Pabst Blue Ribbon versus The Cenation.
Yesterday, WWE's Twitter account announced the release of a new John Cena shirt to coincide with his Memorial Day return. Though the shirt is red, white, and blue to coincide with the U.S. holiday, the logo itself is undoubtedly familiar to American beer enthusiasts.
The font, slash, blue circle, and rectangular design are all clearly evocative of the logo of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. Commonly known as PBR, the beer has been brewed in the U.S. since 1844 and remains a popular - and famously affordable - staple at American bars and grocery stores. Cena, a well-known beer enthusiast, has been photographed wearing PBR merchandise.
Needless to say, Pabst Brewing Company was not thrilled with the similarities. Rather than contact WWE through private channels, though, Pabst used its official Twitter account to publicly call out John Cena and WWE, threatening legal action in a colorful way:
As of Saturday, the shirt was pulled from WWEShop.com. Though an official statement has not been issued, presumably the company will not be able to honor the orders placed during the small window of time in which the shirt was available.