Jim Johnston believes WWE and AEW have plenty of talented wrestlers. He just doesn’t believe either company is turning them into megastars.
The legendary former WWE composer didn’t mince words while appearing on False Finish, arguing that today’s wrestling has become too generic—and he believes entrance music is a huge reason why there isn’t another Steve Austin or The Rock leading the industry.
Johnston made it clear he wasn’t trying to bury either company or claim the talent isn’t there. In his eyes, the problem is that too many wrestlers feel interchangeable because everything around them sounds and feels the same.
“I felt a great responsibility, like part of these guys’ careers and successes were in my hands. The music now in WWE and in AEW—and I’m sorry if this is mean—it’s all really homogeneous and really mediocre, and it doesn’t have anything to do with the characters. I don’t think there are no potential big stars on the roster hiding there. Before Steve Austin was Steve Austin, he was The Ringmaster, and there were lots of stories like that. These people need the right storyline, the right costuming, and definitely the right music to lift them up.”
Johnston then explained what he believes wrestling entrance music is actually supposed to accomplish. For him, a great theme wasn’t just something catchy—it instantly told fans who was about to walk through the curtain.
“One of the things I always wanted was that if somebody was in the kitchen getting a beer and they heard the first second of the music, they knew exactly who was coming out. You didn’t have to wait until they walked onto the stage. The music should tell you who that person is. That’s the job of the music. Music is one of the most powerful emotional communicators there is. It should reinforce the character. It should make you feel who this person is before they even appear. If the music doesn’t do that, it’s missing its purpose.”
Johnston didn’t stop there. He said modern wrestling themes have become so generic that fans can no longer identify wrestlers by hearing just a few seconds of their music—a complete contrast to the era he helped shape. That, Johnston believes, has had a much bigger impact than people realize.
“It just sounds like noise to me and all the themes just sound generic. It used to be… you could be making dinner in the kitchen with the TV in the other room and you’d know who was coming out. You could almost follow the program from the other room. Now, I just don’t think it’s like that at all. For some reason, the powers that be have forgotten their roots of how powerful music is in creating stars. And I further believe that’s why they’re not creating either WWE or AEW… they’re not creating big stars anymore. There are no new Steve Austins. There are no Rocks around now. And it’s because everyone’s sort of in this layer of generic.”
