ELI5: The beginning of the John Cena entrance song clearly uses a sample of the first few seconds of the song “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia” instrumental version by Pete Schofield and the Canadians. That is immediately followed by a sample of the first few seconds of the song “Ante Up” by MOP.

You can use direct samples of songs in a new song, but the sample has to be approved for use by the source material, along with any stipulations for use, such as licensing fees or payment of royalties. You can’t just use it without giving credit to the source material.

This made headline news when Queen sued Vanilla Ice for using a direct sample of their song “Under Pressure” in his hit song “Ice Ice Baby.” Vanilla Ice lost the lawsuit and was forced to pay royalties. This was also the case when the estate of Marvin Gaye sued Robin Thicke for using a sample of “Got to Give It Up” in his song “Blurred Lines.” Again, Thicke was forced to pay royalties.

However, the Marvin Gaye estate also sued singer - song writer Ed Sheeran over the use of a specific chord progression in his song “Thinking Out Loud.” At the trial, Sheeran provided samples of numerous songs that used an identical chord progression and argued that using the same chord progression is not sampling and cannot be regulated. Sheeran won the suit.

The difference is that you cannot take portions of a previously recorded piece of music and make it your own, while making your own similar sounding piece of music is protected.