According to WrestlingInc.com, Nathaniel Tatha-Nanandji, head of WCWA Wrestling, has filed a lawsuit in Arkansas against WWE, TKO, 2K Sports, 2K Games, and Take-Two Interactive. The lawsuit alleges copyright infringement concerning an audiovisual sequence used for the entrance of the Bloodline in the WWE 2K25 video game.
The report states that a talent working for WCWA requested footage of their work when they joined SmackDown in 2019. This situation reportedly raised awareness of WCWA's operations, leading to a WWE employee attending one of WCWA’s shows. The lawsuit claims that the WWE employee maintained contact with Tatha-Nanandji and monitored WCWA’s product.
According to the report, the copyrighted sequence in question, referred to as the “Tier 1 Audiovisual Sequence” in the lawsuit, was publicly displayed in 2021. In September of that year, WWE began using a "visually and narratively similar ritualized audiovisual sequence" for its Bloodline faction. The plaintiff asserts that they sent a formal notice to WWE regarding the infringement, but the defendants continued to use the sequence.
The lawsuit seeks a jury trial to determine any compensation for the alleged infringement. The defendants have been issued a summons but have yet to respond. The latest installment in the WWE 2K franchise, 2K25, was released on March 14th of last year.
