Cody Rhodes’ Theme Song-Producing Band Guitarist Shares Work Experience with Former WWE Music Genius Jim Johnston

Downstait guitarist and one of the men behind Cody Rhodes' theme song has opened up on his personal experience with Jim Johnston.

Cody Rhodes’ Theme Song-Producing Band Guitarist Shares Work Experience with Former WWE Music Genius Jim Johnston

Jim Johnston and Cody Rhodes [via- The Sportster and WWE]

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

One would often hear these days how terribly WWE entrance themes have degraded over the past few years, thanks to the company’s current music composers, Def Rebel. The fans have been clamoring for the return of WWE’s OG music genius Jim Johnston for a long time now. While that’s a discussion for another day, let’s dive into how he used to treat collaborations.

Justin Call, who’s the guitarist for Downstait, the Rock band that produced Cody Rhodes‘ current theme song, ‘Kingdom,’ recently opened up on his work experience with Johnston. On the Ropes n Riffs podcast, Call explained that Johnston’s process typically began with a rough demo, a basic instrumental structure paired with simple programmed drums and a single-take vocal recording.

This early version served as a creative foundation that Downstait would then develop into a complete, polished track. While the work was officially a “for hire” arrangement, Johnston gave the band significant creative freedom. The lyrics were fixed, as they were essential to capturing the identity and personality of each WWE character, but the musical arrangement was largely open to interpretation.

Johnston guided the band by sharing insights into the wrestler’s persona. For instance, whether the character was intense, cerebral, or unhinged, allowing Downstait to shape the sound to match that vision. It couldn’t be more apparent that the former WWE music composer was compatible with leaving some room for tweaks, wherever necessary.

For the unversed, the long-used theme song for The Miz, named ‘I Came To Play’ was composed by Johnston but performed by Downstait in what was the product of their collaboration. The A-Lister’s battle hymn is still, to this date, one of the most recognizable theme songs in current-day WWE. It’s nothing but a testament to the genius of its composer, Mr. Johnston.

Downstait guitarist reveals the inspiration behind Cody Rhodes’ theme song

In the same interview as above, Downstait guitarist Justin Call disclosed the thought process that went into making Kingdom, which happens to be the present theme song of Cody Rhodes. Call said that Rhodes wanted the messaging behind his battle hymn to be somewhat similar to ‘Throne’ by Bring Me the Horizon. ‘The American Nightmare’ insisted on the alignment of lyrics for Kingdom in that way.

Cody Rhodes
Cody Rhodes (via- Wrestling Inc)

When the lyrical aspect of the song got sorted out and the band was coming up with what the music would be like, Call recalled wanting it to sound like ‘Decode’ by Paramore. Therefore, the drumming of Rhodes’s entrance music is inspired by Decode. ‘The Prodigal Son’ has been using Kingdom since after his WWE release in early 2016.

Rhodes has used it during his stints on the independent circuit in promotions like Evolve, NJPW, and even Ring of Honor. He retained the song in All Elite Wrestling until he was a part of that organization. However, after he quit the company in 2022 and was heavily rumored for a move to WWE, some feared that his entire presentation and the ‘American Nightmare’ gimmick would be scrapped.

However, the 40-year-old negotiated with the company in a way that made sure there would be no tweaks with the identity that transformed him into the wrestler he’d become by that point. Rhodes specifically asked to keep his music intact as well. When it hit the speakers at WrestleMania 38, the AT&T Stadium went nuts. ‘The QB1’ defeated Seth Rollins in a statement-making performance that night.

What could be next for Cody Rhodes after the Drew McIntyre feud?

While Cody Rhodes is fresh off a feud with Drew McIntyre that is seemingly done after Saturday Night’s Main Event, the fans will have to wait until tonight’s SmackDown to know if it’s actually the case. ‘The Scottish Psychopath’ could still blame the incompetence of the match referee for his failure to keep their feud going.

Cody Rhodes at SNME
Cody Rhodes at SNME (via WWE)

However, the fans have lost interest in seeing McIntyre being consistently screwed over by WWE when it comes to high-profile world title matches. With Survivor Series just about three weeks away, WWE could establish a new number one contender for Rhodes’ Undisputed title. Last week on SmackDown, the ex-AEW EVP had a confrontation with Sami Zayn.

This could be an intriguing feud for the world title, as both men have enough history to tell a compelling story. The fact that Rhodes and Zayn are babyfaces would make their on-screen dynamics even more interesting. The former ‘Honorary Uce’ recently lost the United States title to Ilja Dragunov after a memorable 49-day reign.

Also Read: