WWE, TKO & John Cena Sued For Copyright Infringement Regarding Entrance Music

Just when you thought John Cena’s final chapter couldn’t get any more dramatic, a federal lawsuit drops that sounds more like a wrestling storyline than a real-life legal dispute. With Cena’s retirement match just around the corner, WWE, its parent company TKO, and Cena himself have been slapped with a lawsuit over the iconic horns in his “The Time Is Now” theme song. Turns out the horns that get stadiums hyped might have been lifted without proper permission. And now, someone’s coming to collect.

The Heart of the Cena Theme Lawsuit

The legal challenge comes from Kim Schofield, the daughter of the late Canadian bandleader Pete Schofield. She claims the intro and outro of Cena’s theme were sampled directly from her father’s 1974 instrumental cover of “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia.”. Schofield’s lawsuit argues that her father added those powerful horn arrangements, making them his original work.

According to court documents, producer“Jake One” (Jacob Brian Dutton) allegedly sampled these very horns back in 2003 to create the backbone of Cena’s legendary track. So, for years, while fans were chanting “John Cena Sucks!” to the tune of those horns, the Schofield family was apparently in the dark, completely unaware their musical DNA was part of a global phenomenon.

A Settlement, a Toyota, and a Whole Lot of Drama

This isn’t the first time the issue has come up. The Schofield family reportedly discovered the alleged sample in 2015 and settled with WWE in 2017 for a one-time payment of $50,000. Case closed, right? Not so fast.

Schofield now claims that WWE pulled a fast one during negotiations. She alleges the company downplayed the song’s value and, more importantly, failed to disclose a major national ad campaign with Toyota featuring the theme. To add insult to injury, that ad campaign reportedly aired just two days after the settlement was signed. Talk about bad timing.

Schofield is now asking the court to void the original agreement, arguing she was induced to sign it by incomplete information. It’s a classic “You Can’t See Me” move, but this time, it’s playing out in a federal court.

The Copyright Tug-of-War

Kim Schofield registered two copyrights in 2024 and 2025. One for the horn arrangement and the other for the full 1974 sound recording. However, the estate of Bobby Russell, the original composer of “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia,” has challenged these registrations. They argue that Schofield’s arrangement is an unauthorized derivative work.

It’s a legal mess. On one hand, you have the Schofields claiming originality for the horns. On the other hand, the Russell estate is questioning their right to do so. Meanwhile, WWE, TKO, and Cena are caught in the middle of a battle over a song that has defined a generation of wrestling. Schofield seeks to invalidate the 2017 settlement and is seeking damages exceeding $150,000.

The Biggest Questions From This Lawsuit

This whole situation raises some pretty entertaining questions. Did WWE knowingly lowball the Schofields while a major Toyota deal was in the works? Or is this an opportunistic lawsuit timed perfectly with Cena’s highly-publicized retirement? It has all the makings of a great wrestling angle: betrayal, money, and a fight over legacy.

Final Thoughts

As of now, none of the defendants, including WWE and Cena, have formally responded to the lawsuit. They have a limited time to do so once served. One thing’s for sure: this legal drama adds an unexpected, and frankly, fascinating, layer to the end of John Cena’s legendary career. His time might be now, but the time to pay the piper or at least the horn player’s daughter might be coming soon.