Jim Johnston is responsible for creating some of the most iconic entrance music in professional wrestling history, with many of his WWE themes becoming instantly identifiable within the opening few seconds.

During his lengthy run with WWE, Johnston composed music for a huge collection of legendary performers, including The Undertaker, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H and countless others. However, his approach was not necessarily about giving wrestlers the type of music they personally enjoyed.

Instead, Johnston focused on translating a wrestler's character and personality into music, believing an entrance theme needed to immediately tell the audience something about the person walking through the curtain.

Appearing on the All Access Entertainment podcast, Johnston revealed that he rarely consulted directly with WWE talent while developing their music. According to the veteran composer, wrestlers would often suggest music based on their personal listening habits rather than considering what would best represent their on-screen character.

Johnston also explained why he was generally against established wrestlers switching to commercially released songs, arguing that familiar music already carries memories and emotional associations for listeners that have nothing to do with the wrestler.

“There’s nothing more self-defeating, and it almost never works out, than to base a theme on a commercial song. I always thought it was a horrible idea when guys got big enough that they could convince Vince (McMahon) to let them use a commercial track. This is music and pure emotion. If suddenly your entrance theme is a theme where it was playing the first night a guy slept with his girl, his association is sleeping with his girlfriend, not with you. 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. That happens in the case with Undertaker or Stone Cold. People aren’t thinking about other songs or experiences; they are thinking about what Steve Austin is doing tonight or in the moment and excitement. If part of your mind and heart is over here, ‘Oh yeah, I remember that song.’ It’s dumb, I think,” he said.

For Johnston, themes such as The Undertaker's unmistakable funeral-inspired entrance or the sound of breaking glass introducing Steve Austin succeeded because the music became inseparable from the character. Rather than reminding fans of something outside wrestling, the opening notes or sounds immediately directed their attention towards the Superstar.

There have, of course, been several notable exceptions throughout wrestling history. The Hardyz famously used production music that became synonymous with the team, while Bob Holly was among those associated with pre-existing tracks. CM Punk has also become closely linked with licensed music during different stages of his career, most notably Living Colour's "Cult of Personality."

Licensed songs have continued to play a role in wrestling entrances, but Johnston's philosophy was built around creating something unique enough that audiences would associate the music with one wrestler and nothing else.

Johnston's WWE career stretched across more than three decades before his departure from the company in 2017. During the same interview, the legendary composer also discussed why he believes he is no longer working with WWE.