Former WWE Theme Music Creator Jim Johnston Interview
Added 2025-02-26 23:44:06 +0000 UTCWatch: https://streamable.com/11pi1a
Comments
Thankful for your commentary at the end, this was a rough interview to get through, pretty negative experience, and I don't think the interviewer guided a particularly constructive or introspective experience. I think you might enjoy the WWE series Behind The Theme on YouTube that they uploaded about 9 years ago, where a much happier Jim Johnston would break down individual themes and how they were constructed. I think you get a lot of the same value of his insight without so much lashing out against the product
G_Rez
2025-04-07 22:32:28 +0000 UTCNot to defend Jim Johnston (love his music and the work he put in for 30+ years, hate the way he comes across as a wrestling critic in this interview despite not being a fan and not being in a position to judge the writing and character development of the talent) but the best example I can think of of "we gave this wimp the most badass song and it's a parody now" was in 2018 for a few weeks the tag team The B Team (Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel) had the best theme music in the company despite being comedy midcard heels, and it was so good that they had to change it to something much less badass during their tag title reign. Strongly recommend checking it out
G_Rez
2025-04-07 22:15:56 +0000 UTCTrue but the fact still remains. Same with today's top songs. Cody Rhodes is a perfect example.
Flynn Vicci
2025-02-27 18:04:44 +0000 UTCThe Monday Night Raw Sheamus and Pete Dunne had that donnybrook match, when Sheamus’s theme hit no joke I never noticed it was actually him coming out i actually thought it was the song for the set up for the DonnyBrook match.
WWE Jay Gaming
2025-02-27 16:54:06 +0000 UTCMost you mentioned here were from bands, maybe we would like more band themes, like Rheas etc :) or another 36mafia tune why not
Diruroru
2025-02-27 10:07:55 +0000 UTCTrue, if you watch the actual show you'll learn who has which song right. Maybe a lot of people don't watch the full show, but then don't complain about it at that point. I don't see it all, idk the themes, I skip them on ples, I don't know them, I don't complain lol
Diruroru
2025-02-27 10:00:10 +0000 UTCGood comments at the end from u two btw
Diruroru
2025-02-27 09:48:30 +0000 UTCAlso I think Jim did well to have so many different sounding themes for so many wrestlers, whereas sometimes these days a lot sound similar...with that said ALSO. Did test and Albert, APA, steve blackman etc all sound similar theme wise? Yeah kinda did actually. Correct me if Jim didn't write those ones . Same complaints different time, It seems
Diruroru
2025-02-27 09:46:41 +0000 UTCBtw I think Jim's said before, but it's weird he didn't mention that takers theme was Chopin's the funeral March, changed over time surely but still. Maybe he thought it was covered enough
Diruroru
2025-02-27 09:43:10 +0000 UTCThe ringmaster theme suited the ringmaster Steve Austin. Glass shatters suited stone cold Steve austin
Diruroru
2025-02-27 09:08:31 +0000 UTCAlso as a fun thing, one of the most popular themes of all time was written for nobody in particular, and it ended up making Bobby Roode so over that it basically became his whole character. It was at some point supposed to go to Nakamura: https://youtu.be/URNRTrpnT7g?si=nhfcBz8aUSHw36_A
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2025-02-27 08:27:43 +0000 UTCHim saying ALL new songs are bad is curious to me. He's not universally seen as the best/only good wrestling theme composer. CFO$'s themes were instantly praised from day one, and there was hardly any "bring back Jim Jonston" discourse at the time. Many didn't even notice he left. The concept of singing along to themes in elaborate fashion started under their tenure, due to how ear wormy their themes were (Nakamura, Sami Zayn, Bobby Roode etc.). As for def rebel, they've improved over their tenure and made some genuinely good themes for many top stars and even some midcarders (did this interview come out closer to 2020 or 2025?). For example, Roman, LA Knight, Jacob Fatu and many others. I'm still glad WWE isn’t planning on re-signing them, but there are some themes I'd be sad to see go. I don't have the "def rebel ruined my marriage" mentality, but right now, most themes don't really enhance my enjoyment of the show. They're largely just sort of "there" quality wise, not 1/10, but also not 10/10. So I just don't pay attention to the songs I don't care for. I hear them, but don't listen to them. I think that's largely where this "I don't recognize the songs" discourse comes from, even if people don't go to the root of their issue with it. It's not surprising you don't recognize songs you aren't listening to. That would be a superpower, wouldn't it? 😂
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2025-02-27 08:13:56 +0000 UTCImagine if they changed Stone Colds theme in like 1999 to some generic piano chords and took the glass shattering away. That would be an unforgiveable change in my opinion, but I understand some of the other changes where they feel like it needs a change. There's just some that you don't touch like Cody Rhodes or CM Punk's theme today for instance. I can already imagine if they changed the beginning of Cody Rhodes theme to say "What do you wanna talk about?". People would go insane over that.
Flynn Vicci
2025-02-27 06:24:10 +0000 UTCThere's some theme songs today that I like and some I don't like and there's some that have grown on me, but I can obviously tell the difference between the themes. The only time I'd consider that an actual criticism was like in 2017-2019 era when they were expirementing with themes constantly and only the top four or five guys really had a theme that you'd remember at that time.
Flynn Vicci
2025-02-27 06:05:48 +0000 UTCYeah that’s a very good point. I think I just have different priorities than most when it comes to entrance themes. Because personally I have no problem with the intro sounds. But I also recognize I’m in the minority on that one.
Drew Or Die
2025-02-27 05:57:50 +0000 UTCI feel like if you prioritize "instantly recognizable" you force the artist do exactly what people complain about and add intro sounds to the start of every theme.
Dport
2025-02-27 05:45:14 +0000 UTCMaybe I just have horrible memory, but I 100% agree about not being able to recognize whose theme it is. I watch every episode of Raw and Smackdown. But still, during this year's rumble, out of the 60 entrants into both rumbles, I was able to instantly recognize maybe 10-15 themes. Most of the upper card and main event scenes I recognize, but when it comes to the mid and under card they all sound so similar to me with a few exceptions.
Drew Or Die
2025-02-27 05:30:16 +0000 UTCIf you watch weekly, I cant imagine you’re not recognizing what theme goes with who. I love Jim’s themes tho! Literally the playlist of my childhood.
Kam
2025-02-27 04:45:16 +0000 UTC2004-2011 themes were the best. You had the themes of Batista, Triple H, Edge, Randy Orton (both of his), CM Punk (both themes), John Cena, Shawn Michaels, Kurt Angle, Mark Henry, Rey Mysterio (his first theme, not the later one), Kane, The Undertaker, Chris Jericho, Booker T, Chris Benoit, Shelton Benjamin, DX, and even the women/Divas had great themes back then too despite them not really being given much of a spotlight. Literally everyone had a banger from the main eventers to the mid-carders. Even the nexus, a faction full of jobbers, randomly had a banger of a theme song once. There's plenty wwe is better at now then they were back then (better matches overall), but I don't believe that theme songs is one of them.
Flynn Vicci
2025-02-27 04:22:32 +0000 UTCI’m honestly somewhere in the middle. Growing up with Jim’s themes, I do believe he is the goat when it comes to wrestling themes. Is that partly nostalgia? Maybe sometimes, but I’ll own it lol. With the argument with def rebel, I don’t think they’re awful by any means. But I guess when suddenly new artists come in and you hear a few bad or subpar themes it can sway you into the mindset of “I miss the glory days, this band are so crap etc” Overall I think the songs were better back when Jim was scoring, but that doesn’t mean because something isn’t quite as good, it isn’t good or have any merit at all. Also as a side note, if anyone from WWE happens to be on this Patreon, just get this man in the Hall Of Fame already, please 🙏
Josh Tiley
2025-02-27 02:06:59 +0000 UTCI mean it's not like he said something terrible lol It was just odd. No worries, he didn't randomly drop a slur or something lol
Dport
2025-02-27 00:05:46 +0000 UTCIm worried to see what he said, I just hope the comments can stay civilized. Unfortunately I don't that's going to happen.
Leo Dyson
2025-02-26 23:50:56 +0000 UTCFor what it's worth. I like Jim. I love his work. He just says some odd stuff here lol
Dport
2025-02-26 23:47:17 +0000 UTCAfter watching the Raw stream, oh no.
Leo Dyson
2025-02-26 23:45:26 +0000 UTC
