Jim Johnston spent decades creating WWE entrance themes that became permanently attached to the wrestlers who used them, and he believes using an already-famous song can actually work against that entire purpose.
While speaking on the All Access Entertainment Podcast, Johnston explained that he usually avoided sitting down with wrestlers to ask what they wanted for their entrance music. According to Johnston, that often wasn’t helpful because wrestlers would simply point toward whatever music they personally listened to.
“It’s really not helpful because the vast majority of the wrestlers, amazingly, don’t really get it in the sense that their suggestions are always what they listen to in the car. You know, like, ‘Something Metallica. I like Metallica. You know, this Metallica song, something just like that.’”
Johnston said that approach misses what entrance music is supposed to accomplish. Instead of giving someone a track that already has an identity and history attached to it, he wanted to create something that immediately belonged to that wrestler. That is why Johnston was never a fan of established stars convincing Vince McMahon to let them use commercial music.
“There’s nothing more kind of self-defeating, and it almost never works out, that you base a theme on a commercial song. And I always thought it was just a horrible idea when guys got big enough that they could convince Vince to let them use a commercial track.”
Johnston’s reasoning comes down to emotional association. If fans already have memories tied to a popular song, then part of their attention is going somewhere other than the wrestler making the entrance.
“Because this is music. This is pure emotion. And if suddenly your entrance theme is a theme where, you know, it was playing the first night a guy slept with his girl, his association is sleeping with his girlfriend, not with you. And when you come out, you want people to only be thinking of you. That is the only thing in the universe you want them to be feeling is you.”
Johnston pointed to The Undertaker and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin as examples of what he believes entrance music should do. Their music became so connected to their characters that hearing the opening sound immediately made the audience think about the wrestler and what was about to happen.
“And I think that happens again, like in a case like Undertaker or Stone Cold. People aren’t thinking about other songs or other experiences. They’re thinking about, you know, what is up Austin’s sleeve tonight, and just taking in the moment and the excitement of it.”
He said a commercial song can pull fans away from that moment because they already have their own relationship with the music.
“But if part of your mind, and more importantly your heart, is kind of being over here, it’s like, ‘Oh yeah, I remember that song.’ That’s just dumb, I think.”
Johnston’s philosophy helped create themes where a single gong, glass shatter or opening note could identify a WWE Superstar before they ever walked through the curtain. For him, entrance music wasn’t something playing behind a wrestler — it was supposed to become part of who that wrestler was.
Do you agree with Jim Johnston that wrestlers are better off with original entrance themes instead of famous commercial songs? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.
