WWE composer says Randy Orton "hates" his theme music
Former WWE composer Jim Johnston has said Randy Orton apparently "hates" his WWE theme music.
In an interview with Lucha Libre Online's Michael Morales Torres, Johnston revealed he heard through the grapevine that The Viper was not a fan of his theme song.
The pair were discussing times when wrestlers had voiced their displeasure at their own music. While Orton never spoke with Johnston regarding his music, the composer noted he believed the rumor to be true.
"I never spoke to him directly, but apparently, Randy Orton said he hated his theme. I don’t know if he still does and I don’t even know why, but apparently, that was true. I never spoke with him about it."
This may come as a shock to some, as Randy Orton's "Voices" theme is considered one of the best in WWE. The theme has been an integral part of Orton's character for many years now.
Yokozuna requested his WWE music to be changed
According to Johnston, Randy Orton is not the only WWE Superstar who was not impressed with his own theme. Johnston also revealed that former WWE Champion Yokozuna was one of the few wrestlers who approached him directly to change his music.
Surprisingly, Yokozuna wanted his theme song to change from his sumo wrestler-inspired track to something in a completely different genre of music altogether.
"I didn’t deal directly with the wrestlers… I remember Yoko (Yokozuna), he called me, managed to get me on the phone, and said he wanted to change his music from the Japanese sumo wrestler stuff. Now I’m trapped on the phone with the guy. So I said “Well, what are you thinking?” He said “Well, I’d like some hip hop.” I said “Yoko, you’re a sumo wrestler! You’re not a hip hop guy.” But from his perspective, and I don’t mean to be mean here, he was like “But I live in LA?” So it made perfect sense to him… So in general I didn’t get involved with the talent."
Jim Johnston is responsible for penning some of the most iconic WWE themes of all time, including songs for legends like The Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, and many more. He was released from WWE in 2017.