The Unsung Singer: The Case for Jim Johnston for the 2012 WWE Hall of Fame

The year is 1987, and the head of the WWE music division, Jim Johnston, is given a new task. There is a new superstar debuting towards the end of the year.

He is terrible in the ring, he cannot cut a promo, or even complete a sentence, and he has the word “Dingo” in his wrestling name.

They’re changing the name from "dingo" to "ultimate;" now design an entrance theme.

Two and a half years later, that same performer won the WWF world championship at the grandest stage of them all, winning clean against the “unbeatable” Hulk Hogan. That athlete was The Ultimate Warrior, and the theme created is probably one of the most recognisable in history.

I can guarantee that the Ultimate Warrior would never have won the WWF Championship if the theme song did not mesh so perfectly with the character created.

I’ll give you another one. In the year 1992, one of the most charismatic and popular tag teams of all time are breaking up, and the younger of the pair is set to become a cocky heel, proclaiming himself to be the real talent of the team.

He would be managed by one of the greatest female managers of all time. The same man as had created the Warrior theme was given the task, along with the rest of the WWE writing staff, of composing the theme song for the highly touted, and promising young superstar.

The theme created utilized heavy guitar riffs, and contained lyrics, performed originally by the athlete’s valet, which boasted about the man strutting to the ring in accompaniment to it.

The superstar was “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels, and I am willing to be that there is no true fan of professional wrestling who does not know the words to the theme.

One final example. The year is 1996, and the winner of the King of the Ring has begun a process that would completely change the wrestling world.

He has changed from the intelligent heel character, the Ringmaster, and was well on the way to become the greatest anti-establishment anti-hero in the history of the industry.

That same man was yet again called upon to compose a theme that would accompany the next decade of hell being raised by the rising superstar. To this day, the tell tale sound of broken glass can raise an entire building to its feet, causing the fans to cheer until their voices leave them.

Jim Johnston has created the greatest themes ever seen in the history of professional wrestling. His compositions have been heard in the background of every great moment of the last 25 years.

His ability to move with the times, and to provide the sound of new generation after new generation, to become the sound of every new movement in the wrestling world, have ensured that he cannot be seen as anything other than a cultural genius.

For the man who provided the soundtrack for some of the most memorable moments, and greatest superstars in history, surely there is a place in the Hall of Fame.

Surely if there is a place for Vince McMahon Sr.’s limo driver, and for Pete Rose, then surely this year it is time to honour the man whose contribution to the business cannot be matched by many not named Vince, and whose ability to create the most perfect themes possible in many cases laid the foundations for the creation of the greatest characters ever to set foot in the squared circle.

It is not a case of “if”, it is a case of “when”, and now, in the time when the business is moving from the traditional themes, and towards the use of more and more band songs as themes, I believe that the time has come to award Jim Johnston with a place in the 2012 WWE Hall of Fame.