How WCW Used Nirvana As DDP Theme Song Without Getting Sued

Pro wrestling entrance music can make or break a talent. Sometimes a wrestler is best-known for their entrance music, as the right song can put that extra cherry on top of a presentation. There is also a pesky copyright issue to deal with in a lot of instances.

WCW featured DDP for the longest time as he used Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit as his primary riff. This puzzled pro wrestling fans for years as to why WCW never got sued by whoever owns Nirvana’s music.

During a conversation with Chris Van Vliet, DDP was asked how he was never sued by Nirvana for using their song. DDP stated that it all started with Jimmy Hart, because he went to him to help out with his WCW theme song.

DDP was asked by the famous pro wrestling manager what kind of music he liked at the time. Diamond Dallas Page was really digging Nirvana at the time, so that’s what he told Hart.

Jimmy Hart then arranged a song where he “flipped the beat,” by changing a chord around. DDP went on to say that he was “bummed out when WWE changed my music,” because that aspect of his presentation went away.

WWE changed DDP’s music on Peacock and all showings, because they were afraid of being sued. Courtney Love actually owns the rights to that song, and DDP claims that Dave Grohl didn’t even know he was using it.

We will have to see what happens in the future with DDP’s old WCW entrance music. Odds are, WWE will tuck that away as far as they can to avoid litigation over a sound-alike entrance song from decades ago.

What’s your take on WWE changing DDP’s classic WCW entrance music? Sound off in the comments to let us know what you’re thinking!

Transcription by Ringside News