The Randy Orton Tattoos Lawsuit With 2K Games, Explained
Elijah King
Updated on September 25, 2026
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WWE’s 2K games have had a very turbulent history. Despite some early successes, it seemed for a while that these games got worse and worse with every new edition, to the point where one of their games was just completely broken, with a hiatus needed before a new version came out. It isn’t just the overall quality of these games which has caused some controversy, but there was also a lawsuit filed due to Randy Orton’s appearance in the games and the inclusion of his tattoos on his character model. Some fans may be unaware of all this and what the exact details are behind the lawsuit.
Randy Orton’s Tattoo Artist Sued WWE And 2K Games For The Use Of Her Designs
Randy Orton is one of the most recognizable WWE wrestlers of all time, and fans will be familiar with the fact that he is covered in tattoos. Tattoo artist Catherine Alexander was the person behind some of the designs inked on Orton’s body, working on him throughout the 2000s. Included on Orton’s body is artwork in the form of doves, skulls, a rose, bible verses, and more, and they are all the work of Alexander. In 2018, Alexander decided to sue WWE, Take-Two Interactive Software, 2K Games, Visual Concepts Entertainment, Yuke’s, and more, for their use of her tattoos on Orton’s character model within their games.
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Prior to her lawsuit, Alexander had filed trademarks on these designs, and promptly began to sue WWE for infringing copyright on these unique designs. Alexander claimed that despite these being showcased on Orton’s body, she is the owner of those designs, with WWE and 2K recreating them for use in video games without permission or payment. This led to a four-year battle between the two sides over the use of these tattoos, one which was finally settled in 2022.
WWE & 2K Games Lost The Lawsuit, But The Pay-Out Was Small
There was a history between the two sides on this issue, as Alexander had previously made contact with WWE over their use of her designs when selling things such as merchandise, among other things, though she rejected an offer of a measly $450 dollars for the use of these designs. This interaction was all the way back in 2009, with the sides failing to come to any sort of agreement. Regardless, WWE continued on their way of selling Orton’s image, tattoos included.
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When it came down to the jury at the end of this four year journey, PWInsider noted that there were several conclusions made, both with pros and cons for Alexander. There was an agreement that WWE did use the tattoo designs outside of fair use, so Alexander was correct for pursuing the case from a legal perspective. Alexander was also handed about $4,600 from this case, which doesn’t seem like a lot when considering the legal fees and years of fight and strain for this lawsuit.
The reason for this low sum all came down to the fact that WWE didn’t really benefit from using the designs and made no extra money from doing so, therefore there was a cap on what Alexander was realistically owed. Although it is good to see lifelike models of WWE superstars in games, there is going to be essentially no one who is buying the game to see Orton’s tattoos, and certainly no one who wouldn’t buy the game because a few of his tattoos are missing. For this reason, WWE’s lack of profit from using the tattoos led to an unsatisfying sum for Alexander.
The Randy Orton Tattoo Lawsuit Could Change The Gaming Industry
The future of sporting video games which feature real-life individuals, such as other 2K games and EA Sports games, among others, will likely have kept a keen eye on the case and what the ramifications could be if other tattoo artists take aim at these companies for using their designs and property. NBA 2K did go through a similar scenario, as explained by the BBC, getting sued for the use of tattoos on the likes of Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, though their use of tattoos was deemed as “fair”.
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It isn’t really clear what will happen going forwards, and whether tattoo artists with regular wrestling or sporting customers will risk causing a public scene, as it may risk their business, and whether the gaming companies will take the same risks. Some eyes will point towards AEW’s upcoming video game as a potentially telling release, as the likes of Brody King and Malakai Black are covered head to toe in tattoos, so it will be interesting to see if THQ comes up against the same issues, or if they took a chance of asking tattoo artists for permission. Either way, this could be a turning point for video games and artists getting rightful payment, or it could simply be a one-off.
