Steve Austin Reveals Which Song Was The Inspiration For His WWE Entrance Theme
When the sound of glass breaking filled arenas during the Attitude Era, you knew "Stone Cold" Steve Austin was going to stomp a mudhole in someone and walk it dry. His epic entrance music was the highlight of many nights on Raw and was often accompanied by the biggest pop of the night, but his iconic theme music didn't happen all at once.
Jim Johnston was responsible for creating some of the most memorable songs in the WWE History for the past thirty years. He envisioned themes and brought them to life accenting individual character traits that made each Superstar a unique force in the ring. Johnston was instrumental in so much of a character's personality as the WWE Universe took in a Superstar during their entrance. WWE announced Jim Johnston was released from his contract on November 30, 2017, ending his 32-year run with the company, but his lasting impression will never go away.
Steve Austin recently appeared on Talk Is Jericho where he discussed how his adrenaline-pumping anthem was created thanks to the incredible talents of Jim Johnston. Austin said he was previously coming out to a much slower song from his Ringmaster gimmick and he needed a change. This is when The Rattlesnake went to Johnston with a CD and an idea of how they could make his music fit the new and edgier Stone Cold gimmick.
"I went down to the studio and back in the day you know Chris I was pretty hands-on you gotta be," Steve Austin said to Chris Jericho. "So I walked in there and I had a CD and I hand it to Jim Johnston and go, 'it's called Bulls On Parade by Rage Against The Machine' and I played it.
"He got it," Austin continued, "and so I don't think my entrance music sounds anything like it but it was inspired by that and man I tell ya what the way he came up with that glass breaking I don't know how he came up with that idea when he looped in that siren, I don't know how or why he put that in a stroke of genius or luck or whatever it was that happened, magic?
"Sometimes things just happen the way they do. When I pitched him that song and we listened to it together and he came up with that and I give him all the credit in the world. I inspired him with their song... my idea, but his total creation [it's] a fluke dude because you've been around and you've seen reactions when that glass breaks. Yeah I had to get over to get those reactions. It's just the perfect music for the perfect setup for the perfect pop for any kind of dire situation or circumstance — goddamn that's when we need Stone Cold. So, music is important."
If you use any portion of the quotes in this article please credit Talk Is Jericho with a H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcription
Source: Talk Is Jericho