Woke activists attempt to take trademark of former WWE star for criticizing transgender ideology

Former WWE wrestler Val Venis has been targeted by pro-transgender activists for making remarks that men should not wrestle against women.

Venis, whose birth name is Sean Morley, has criticized popular wrestling organization All Elite Wrestling for its promotion of transgender activism. Morley has also spoken out against the organization over one of its employees, Nyla Rose, a man who believes he is a woman.

Rose was born Brandon Degroat and, according to multiple sources, later changed his name to Brandi once he started identifying as a woman. Degroat wrestles against other women in AEW as if he were a biological woman himself.

Among many comments, Venis has said "trans 'women' are not women. They are factually men who, for one reason or another, like to dress up like women."

'It goes further than that for liberals. They hate the person, not just the political positions the person holds.'

His commentary angered some wrestling fans who quickly went to work conducting pro-transgender activism in the name of the former pro wrestler.

According to RingsideNews, a musician named Matt Koon bought the domain ValVenis.com and directed the URL to pro-transgender activist websites.

Venis told Blaze News that he initially thought nothing of the domain purchase but took notice when it began pushing a particular ideology under his name.

"When he started to use that domain and publish it online as if it was something that I stand behind that's when it became an issue," the wrestler said.

At the same tine, a man named Thevy Dianingana — who uses the moniker HaangEmHiigh on X — even filed a pending trademark under the name Val Venis.

According to website Fightful, the trademark was filed under providing information about rights, events, and commentary about gay activism.

However, Venis explained that he has battled over his likeness and trademark before with the WWE (formerly WWF), which typically keeps hold of the image and likeness of its characters.

"[The activist] noticed that in 2007 the WWE attempted to trademark the name Val Venis," the 53-year-old stated. "At that point in time I had already been using it for eight years in commerce. Common law establishes that in order ... for them to get the trademark in their name, the WWE name, they would need my permission."

"The examining attorney at the trademark office wrote back and forth with the attorney at the WWE," the wrestler continued. "The examining attorney said 'you've got to get this guy's signature, he's been using [the name] for eight years.'"

Venis then said the WWE exhausted all its appeals and eventually abandoned its attempts to gain ownership of the name without his signature.

The activists are going to "run into the same issue," Venis said with confidence.

The wrestler posted a formal warning on X, asking Koon to cease the use of the domain and hand it over.

"Disagreeing with my political positions is one thing; deliberately attempting to damage my reputation and usurp 𝐌𝐘 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒 is a grave matter and will be met with the full extent of legal action," Venis wrote.

Venis seemed perplexed at the activists' inability to debate issues without turning to alleged attacks on his likeness and said their beliefs go much further than a political disagreement.

"It goes further than that for liberals. They hate the person, not just the political positions the person holds, but the person themselves. They hated me so much," Venis said.

For AEW, Venis has called for the wrestling organization to stop promoting gender ideology on young fans. Specifically, he has called out star wrestler Cody Rhodes, who has been instrumental in the organization's success.

Rhodes has promoted transgender activism and even posed with a young fan holding a transgender flag.

'Anything they argue is based on feeling and emotion.'

Venis went on to say that he would be willing to take a look at any evidence that the activists were presenting on the issue of transgender women (men) participating in women's sports. However, they seem unwilling to do so.

"I'm willing to change my position if the facts dictate that ... but these people don't come with any facts whatsoever. Anything they argue is based on feeling and emotion, [when] you ask any rational questions, instead of engaging and answering questions ... they don't want anything to do that."

"They immediately call you a transphobe," he concluded.

Blaze News asked Koon about the Val Venis domain and which views of Venis he specifically disagreed with. He did not directly address those topics:

"There is no conflict with Val Venis," Koon said. "There also is no conflict with Mickey Mouse, or any other fictional character."

Blaze News has reached out to Dianingana for comment, and this article will be updated with any applicable responses.

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