Former WWE Composer Jim Johnston Blasts WWE’s Current Entrance Themes

Jim Johnston worked as WWE‘s composer for more than 30 years, crafting the most iconic entrance themes of the Attitude, Ruthless Aggression and Reality Eras. Johnston was eventually phased out of the company and replaced by the producing duo CFO$, but they were dropped last year due to issues regardng royalties and the pair’s publisher. WWE is now using Def Rebel as their musical production company and the results have been mixed based on fan reactions.

Johnston was recently interviewed by Lucha Libre Online and demolished the current product’s music.

“While I told you before this interview that I don’t do trash talking, but the closest I’ll get to being critical, is that, absolutely, I want to slap Vince upside the head,” Johnston said [h/t Sportskeeda] “The music is so bad! These days it’s just sound effects and noises and stuff. It doesn’t have anything to do with the characters and the storylines anymore. That’s the essence of this business… And that’s currently lost. I don’t get it.”

“I hate to say this, but there’s a certain satisfaction that the music (in WWE) now is so bad. Because it makes me feel better about what I did contribute. It does make me feel bad for a bunch of the wrestlers, because without good music you can’t become a big star. I don’t believe it’s possible. The music is just like a score in a movie, it’s what leads the fans’ emotions. It’s a very visceral, very deeply emotional connection. That’s always what I went for, now that’s what’s missing.”

You can listen to Johnston’s full interview here.

Johnston discussed his departure from WWE back in 2019 during an interview on Total Engagement With Matt Koon.

“I was getting cut out,” Johnston said. “That was by design. Not necessarily Vince’s (McMahon’s) design, but other folks. It’s his company, he can do whatever the hell he wants with it. It isn’t like he owes me a job. I knew this was coming to an end and particularly maybe for the last year, I knew the writing was on the wall.

“This guy has pushed me out, but you know I was so discouraged by it all and I wasn’t doing what I want to do, which is to write great music and I am a worker,” he continued. “I don’t want a job where I don’t have to work. There wasn’t ever a millisecond where I thought, ‘Wow, isn’t this great? I’m really not doing that much music, but they’re continuing to pay me! Oh my God, what a great deal!’ It was awful. I hate that. I hated that feeling. I’ve got handcuffs on, I can’t contribute and I eventually told Vince that as well. I said, ‘this is not right.’ I also told him at the time, ‘hey, if you’re unhappy with me, fire me. Fire me right now. You can fire me right now. I’m taking the pressure off. Go ahead. Fire me.”