John Cena, WWE and TKO are among the defendants named in a new federal lawsuit involving the long-running use of Cena’s entrance theme, “The Time Is Now.”
As first reported by Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics, the suit was filed on Tuesday in the Southern District of New York. It alleges that Cena’s theme contains an unlicensed sample taken from a 1974 recording by Canadian bandleader Pete Schofield. The disputed portion is said to be the horn arrangement that opens the track and plays throughout the song.
The lawsuit has been brought by Schofield’s daughter, Kim, who claims ownership of the copyrights and states that the horn intro and outro were original additions created by her father for an instrumental cover of “The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia.” Schofield has since passed away.
In addition to Cena, WWE and TKO, the filing also names producer Jacob Brian Dutton, Pix Russ Music, and Cynthia Jo Russell, the widow of songwriter Bobby Russell. Federal rules give the defendants 21 days to respond after being served with the complaint, a period that may extend to sixty days if service is waived.
The suit claims that Schofield reached a written settlement with WWE in 2017 for a one-time payment of $50,000. She now argues that WWE withheld key information regarding the long-term use of the sample in order to secure that agreement. She is seeking to have the settlement voided and is requesting more than one hundred and fifty thousand dollars in damages.
Thurston’s report also highlights a 2003 video clip in which Dutton appears to demonstrate how he looped the Schofield recording to build the beat, holding a Schofield album cover while doing so.
How Long Has John Cena Used The “My Time Is Now” Entrance Music?
John Cena began using “My Time Is Now” in 2005, debuting the track as his entrance music shortly before winning the WWE Championship for the first time at WrestleMania 21. The song, performed by Cena himself, replaced his earlier “Basic Thuganomics” theme and quickly became one of the most recognisable entrance tracks in modern wrestling.
Cena has continued to use “My Time Is Now” throughout his main event run, his part-time returns and his later career farewell tour, giving him nearly two decades with the same theme, a level of consistency matched by very few WWE stars.
