Former WWE Music ComposerĀ Jim Johnston who wrote the themes for Undertaker, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, D-Generation X and many others recently took part in an interview with Newsweek to discuss his departure from the company after being let go after 30 years with the company, which as had been rumored wasn't on the best of terms.
He commented on his last few years with the company which he described as being "filled with a lot of politics"Ā
āMy last few years with WWE were sadly filled with a lot of politics. It was disappointing because I didnāt think I could contribute in the way I would have preferred. It was probably best Iām no longer there.
I was not happy with where things were going musically in the company and I wasnāt contributing in the way I wanted to. So when Vince [McMahon] gave me the leaving orders, that was probably the best thing for us both.ā
On the subject of where WWE has taken theirĀ music with current producers CFO$:
āIām not working with them so I donāt know what their directives are. All I can react to is what Iām hearing. Iām sure theyāre talented guys. But whatās being produced just feels too homogenous. Itās just music that plays, it doesnāt feel like each guy is really themed. All the women have a dance music kind of thing. And itās lots and lots of loud sound effects.
What makes me the worst is not anything that happened to me, or any negativity towards those composers...I feel bad for the talent trying to build careers for themselves when I just donāt feel theyāre being served well enough to become stars. Before āStone Coldā was āStone Coldā he was The Ringmaster. The Ringmasterās theme was something I wrote for him. The music can make such a difference in the person and how they perform. That same guy who was dead-in-the-water as The Ringmaster, a couple of tweaks, different music, different attitude, and he becomes one of the most popular people in the history of the genre.
Iām wondering who is working currently at WWE who is an absolute superstar but, who, because theyāre wrapped in a homogenous piece of clothing, theyāre stuck and canāt break out? I would hope they would try to really brand each guy and each woman as an individual.ā
You can read the full interview with Johnson here.