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WWE has won a copyright lawsuit involving Roman Reigns and The Bloodline after a federal judge dismissed the case brought by WCWA Wrestling promoter Nathaniel Tatha-Nahandji. The lawsuit accused WWE, TKO Group Holdings and 2K Games of using a visual sequence that Tatha-Nahandji claimed he created for his WCWA faction, Tier 1.
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Tatha-Nahandji argued that the sequence was more than the simple act of raising one finger. His complaint described a coordinated presentation involving the faction’s formation, pauses, a leader cueing the other members, staggered arm raises, the positioning of performers, and specific camera angles. He claimed WWE later used the sequence for The Bloodline and that it also appeared in the WWE 2K video games.
The judge found that Tatha-Nahandji did have valid copyrights covering the audiovisual works containing the Tier 1 Sequence. However, the court ruled that the lawsuit did not establish the two elements needed to show direct copyright infringement: access to the copyrighted material and substantial similarity between the protected work and the alleged infringing material.
Explaining the substantial-similarity issue, the court pointed to differences in the timing, hierarchical positioning, camera angles, and cues in the Tier 1 footage. Judge David Clay Fowlkes also noted that the Tier 1 Sequence was not presented consistently across the plaintiff’s exhibits, while the WWE material was consistent. The ruling stated:
“The Court notes that the Tier 1 Sequence does not appear to be consistent across the Plaintiff’s exhibits as alleged in the Complaint. Defendants’ alleged infringing material is consistent in each iteration of the exhibits provided, and the Court finds that a reasonable person, reviewing the materials together, would only see the similarities amongst the Defendants’ clips but not the Plaintiff’s clips….In the Court’s opinion, the clips presented to establish substantial similarity have not met the standards required by the case law. For the foregoing reasons, the Court finds that the Plaintiff has failed to meet the requirements of access and substantial similarity as required for copyright infringement. As such, Plaintiff has failed to state a claim for direct copyright infringement.”
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WWE has won a lawsuit accusing the company of copying an indy faction’s presentation to create The Bloodline. Federal judge dismissed the case with prejudice, finding no evidence WWE had access to the footage or directly copied it, officially bringing the legal battle to an end. pic.twitter.com/9vil8vHXD5
— WrestleFeed (@WrestleFeedApp) September 23, 2026
Why The Judge Dismissed The Bloodline Copyright Case
Access was another key issue. Tatha-Nahandji alleged that an independent wrestler had provided footage to a WWE scout and that a WWE employee attended a WCWA event in March 2019 and remained in contact with him through 2021. He also pointed to WCWA material being available online. The court found that these allegations did not establish a reasonable possibility that WWE actually saw the copyrighted Tier 1 Sequence.
The judge also rejected the related claims for contributory and vicarious copyright infringement because those claims depended on establishing direct infringement in the first place. The court further found that the Tier 1 Sequence did not qualify as trade dress and that the complaint did not support the claims for unfair competition and unjust enrichment.
The case was dismissed with prejudice, and Judge Fowlkes determined that allowing another amended complaint would be impracticable. That means the lawsuit has been terminated at the district-court level, ending the case without the planned trial over the alleged similarities between the Tier 1 Sequence and The Bloodline’s presentation.
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This story was originally published September 23, 2026 at 12:14 PM.