If you want to forget about Hogan’s recent sextape and racism scandals for a bit, you can count on ‘Real American’ to take you back to better times. Hogan’s been lucky enough to have a few iconic themes over his long career (including ‘Eye Of The Tiger’ during his AWA days, and his nWo theme during his WCW run), but this is undoubtedly the one that soundtracks his legacy. Composed by Johnston but performed by Rick Derringer, Hogan’s super-wholesome and ultra-patriotic theme song is the consummate distillation of his larger than life superhero character back in the 80s’ and early-90s’. What does it take to be a real American? His advice to all his little Hulkamaniacs was to, “say your prayers, take your vitamins and you will never go wrong." And if you still didn't get it, well, Hulk Hogan’s most famous theme spells it out for you. Yes, Michaels sang the chorus to his own theme song! You can’t get any more obnoxious than that. Johnston smartly turned up Michaels’ obnoxious persona to 11 with this theme, backed with the sound of ecstatic women and HBK singing the chorus himself. His Heartbreak Kid character, dynamic move-set and unparalleled ring psychology (as a slimy heel or face in peril) earned him his reputation the greatest technical wrestler ever. While others built their gimmicks around being a muscle-bound brute, Michaels played up his slender build and pretty boy looks. Shawn Michaels absolutely changed that mindset, and he used all his perceived hindrances to his advantage. People just weren’t interested in seeing average-sized guys apparently. It was only when Austin began taking creative control into his own hands by cutting those famed off-the-cuff 3:16 promos that Johnston finally understood where to go with Austin’s music.īack in the 80s’ up to the mid-90s’ the common sense notion backstage was that you couldn’t be a main-event level player if you weren’t a hulking giant. Though, as legend has it, this was actually his hardest to compose because Steve Austin’s original character, The Ringmaster, was so dull and generic. Out of everything Johnston’s ever written, Stone Cold’s theme is probably the one that encapsulates his subject the most - volatile, defiant and tough as nails. When you heard that glass shatter, you knew business was about to pick up (shouts out to Jim Ross). Not all of them have been entrance music, but undoubtedly, it's the seminal wrestler theme songs that he should be celebrated for. But since then, the prolific composer has created over 10,000 recordings, spanning all manner of genres, media and gimmicks. He’s been the company’s go-to guy for music since the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) days, and according to Johnston, the first thing ever assigned to him was the composition of WrestleMania 2’s promo theme. His name is Jim Johnston, and darn near every iconic theme song you’ve ever heard on WWE programming since 1985 was written by him.
But chances are most pro-wrestling fans don’t even know who’s been composing these songs for 30 years, and that’s a shame. The sound of breaking glass or an ominous gong instantly sets the tone, crystallizes a wrestler’s personality for the audience, and can even bring back memories of great matches or promos from decades past. Many of our favourite WWE characters (or Superstars as Vince McMahon insists we call them) can be defined by their entrance music, which is a testament to the compositional acuity of the guy who wrote those tunes. It's better this way too, because besides being invested in storylines and feuds, audiences now appreciate the acting, speaking and athletic ability of its performers on a much deeper level.Īnd a key part of the grand stage production that is pro-wrestling, whether it's the WWE of today or other promotions like WCW and ECW in the ‘90s, is most certainly the music. Kayfabe is long dead, we all know it's a work. Just because something is fictional doesn’t mean it isn’t worthy of attention. You know what else is fake: theater, film, novels and comic books. Every once in awhile though, you still get a lout ridiculing fans by proclaiming, “You know it’s fake right?” Well, duh. Especially these days, when we know enough about the industry to not be embarrassed by it. Whether it was a phase during your youth, or whether you’re still a mark today, all of us were pro-wrestling fans at one point or another - it’s okay to admit it.