Just days before John Cenas retirement match airs on Saturday Nights Main Event, a federal lawsuit has been filed accusing WWE, TKO, Cena, and others of ripping off a copyrighted horn arrangement to create one of wrestlings most iconic entrance themes: The Time Is Now.
Filed Tuesday in the Southern District of New York, the complaint was submitted by Kim Schofield, daughter of Canadian bandleader Pete Schofield, whose 1974 instrumental cover of The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia is at the center of the dispute. She claims the horns used in Cenas theme were lifted directly from her late fathers arrangementwithout a proper license.
According to documents obtained by Post Wrestling, the complaint states that the original Bobby Russell composition didnt include those horns, which Pete Schofield allegedly added himself. Kim argues those original horn parts, especially the intro and outro, are the sampled elements that producer Jake One (Jacob Brian Dutton) used to build Cenas track.
According to the suit, the family didnt learn about the alleged sampling until 2015, when a reporter contacted them. Two years later, they settled with WWE for $50,000, but Kim Schofield now claims that agreement should be thrown out because WWE withheld information about the long-term use of the trackincluding its use in a Toyota national ad campaign that aired just two days after the deal was signed.
Schofield claims WWE downplayed the tracks value and even rejected her request for writing credit, allegedly calling the ask greedy and opportunistic.
Also named in the lawsuit are music publisher Pix-Russ Music and Cynthia Jo Russell, the widow of Bobby Russell. Pix-Russ and the Russell estate are accused of challenging Schofields copyright claim on grounds that her fathers version was an unauthorized derivative work. Schofield counters that the Russell estate accepted royalties related to the hornsan alleged acknowledgment of their originality.
In addition to invalidating the previous WWE settlement, Schofield is also seeking damages exceeding $150,000. She also claims WWE breached the original settlement by releasing a 2019 version of Cenas theme under the name The Champ Is Here, which allegedly contained a re-recorded imitation of the same horn arrangement.
Schofield registered two copyrights in 2024 and 2025: one for the musical arrangement (intro/outro) and one for the 1974 recording. Both are confirmed to appear on the U.S. Copyright Offices website.
At the time of filing, no defendant had responded to the complaint. The suit notes that under federal rules, defendants typically have 21 days to respond once servedor 60 days if they agree to waive service.
Do you think Kim Schofield has a case? Should WWE have disclosed the Toyota campaign before settling? Drop your take in the commentswe want to hear what you think about this legal battle over one of wrestlings most famous theme songs.
