Former WWE Composer Jim Johnston Open to Make Music for Current Wrestlers

Jim Johnston's legendary three-decade run as WWE's composer for entrance themes came to an end back in 2017. And while he's kept busy with work elsewhere, he openly admitted in an interview with Chris Van Vliet this week that he still comes up with ideas for wrestling themes on a regular basis and would be open to making new themes if asked. Johnston confirmed that former Ring of Honor World Champion PCO reached out to him roughly a year after his WWE release, but that AEW never has.

"When you do something for so many years, human beings are very habitual. And you get in the habit of stuff, it doesn't just go away overnight. So while I get a million ideas, still to this day I'll be messing around and go, 'boy, that'd be a great theme idea.' That's really how it happens most of the time," he said. "So yeah [I'd do it]. I guess there are contractual problems, but it's also been surprising that some of the wrestlers haven't in touch who are signed to AEW or WWE and say, 'Hey, I don't, write it under an alias,' but I've got some good music."

Johnston noted in his final years with the company that wrestlers openly stated they hated the music they were being given, but weren't being given any options for alternatives.

Elsewhere in the interview he explained why he doesn't enjoy most of the themes from either of the major promotions nowadays.

"I think the music now in WWE and in AEW, sorry, this is mean, I think it's all really homogenous and mediocre and doesn't have anything to do with the characters," he said. "I think that's why there are less big stars. I don't think that there are no potential big stars [on] the rosters, hiding there. Before Steve Austin was Steve Austin he was The Ringmaster. And there are lots of stories like that, these people need the right storyline, right costuming and definitely the right music to lift them up. Particularly music, you're serving multiple masters in a way. It's entertainment for the audience, it's a big boot in the a— for the wrestler before they go out and to get them in that head space of their character and to get them jacked up to do a great performance.

"If you're in that situation where you're not really sure of your character, the storyline is sort of 'I'm supposed to hate this guy, but why do I hate him? I don't even know why I'm supposed to hate him!' and your music is just generic, 'wrestler guy' music, and you're supposed to go out there, be on top of the world and charm everybody — I think that's a big ask," he continued.