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NewsJim Johnston Reveals The Inspiration Behind Vince McMahon’s Entrance Music, More

Jim Johnston Reveals The Inspiration Behind Vince McMahon’s Entrance Music, More

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During a recent interview with Vice, former WWE music composer Jim Johnston commented on the inspiration behind Vince McMahon and The Undertaker’s entrance music, and more. You can check out some highlights from the interview below:

On creating the Undertaker’s theme music: “I wanted it to sound like a funeral with the church bells and the organ, and for the music to go deeper than just the shallow nature of pure aggression that sits at the core of a lot of wrestling music. There’s tragedy and sadness and all these different elements that touch on the mysterious back story of The Undertaker’s character. I played the organ in a cinematic way and it was kind of an ode to Phantom of the Opera or a climactic scene in a classic horror movie.

“There’s definitely a sadness that underpins my playing, and I think that came from me tapping into the one scar I consistently carried with me through my life; that classic dilemma of being the middle child and feeling invisible. Honestly, I always saw [writing this song] just as much as a psychological undertaking as a musical one. Most people are intrigued yet conflicted by things like death and the afterlife. These are really complex subjects. The Undertaker is a wrestling character who makes it okay for kids to think about these things and to face them. The music is a pure extension of all that.”

On the inspiration behind Vince McMahon’s “No Chance In Hell” theme music: “When I was writing Vince’s No ‘Chance In Hell’ entrance theme, I had been really upset with him about something at work. I found myself thinking: ‘You’ve got no chance against this guy!’ He’s got the power, the money, and in terms of pro-wrestling, he was pretty much the only game in town. I had written the guitar groove much earlier, and I found myself singing ‘No Chance…No Chance’ over that groove. Rather than a song about one man, I wanted it to be about ’The Man’.

“The song is about the work system that imprisons us all. It’s got a thrust of someone who’s kind of like marching like they’re the kind of ‘big I am’. What I loved about Vince was how he liked to be surprised. He let me take risks and if I surprised him with something and it was good then he would be delighted. But if it wasn’t good then boy he would tell you about it! I will always class him as a friend. We were creating something entirely new as the business Vince had bought from his dad didn’t have any music for the wrestlers. Our work together radically changed things and made it so much more theatrical. I’ll always be proud of that.”

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