A new federal lawsuit filed in New York targets WWE, TKO, John Cena, producer Jake One, and others over the iconic horn sample used in Cena’s entrance theme, “The Time Is Now.” The complaint, brought by Kim Schofield, claims the horns were copied from a 1974 instrumental arrangement created by her late father, Canadian bandleader Pete Schofield. She says those horn parts were original additions not found in the Bobby Russell composition, the track was based on.
Producer Jake One has publicly acknowledged sampling the Schofield recording when creating Cena’s 2003 theme. The family says they only learned of this in 2015 and later settled with WWE in 2017 for $50,000. Schofield now wants that settlement voided, alleging WWE withheld key information especially about the song’s long-term commercial use and an upcoming Toyota ad campaign that premiered two days after the deal.
The lawsuit argues that WWE downplayed the theme’s value, rejected the family’s request for credit, and later violated the settlement by releasing a 2019 version of the theme with an imitation of the horns under a different title (“The Champ Is Here”). Schofield claims WWE also failed to give proper credit to “PS Records” as reportedly required.
In 2024–2025, Schofield registered copyrights for both the horn arrangement and the full 1974 recording, which the Russell estate is challenging as an unauthorized derivative work.
Schofield is seeking over $150,000 in damages and official invalidation of the 2017 agreement. WWE, TKO, and other defendants have not yet responded to the complaint.