Ropes N Riffs - Wrestling Entrance Themes, Wrestling and Music Stories

Legendary composer Jim Johnston is the creative genius behind some of the most iconic entrance themes in professional wrestling history, crafting unforgettable music for Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker, The Rock, D-Generation X, Triple H, and hundreds more. Jim Johnston sits down with host John Kiernan on Ropes N Riffs to discuss how a chance meeting at a sushi bar led to his start in WWE,...

Today's exclusive interview is with Frankie Kazarian, one of the most innovative wrestlers in the last many years. With Bound For Glory right around the corner, we spoke with Kazarian about what Bound For Glory means to him, TNA Wrestling, and his favorite moments. Why has Kazarian been hanging around Avery Styles? What are some lessons he's teaching the young son of AJ Styles? We also talk to Kaz...

Sirena Linton, fresh off of her most recent TNA Xplosion four way match, sits down with me to talk about a range of topics such as her time in WWE on WWE LFG, her transition from gymnastics to WWE, how her first ever matches were in WWE, how she came into being a metalhead, and her recent debut match for TNA Xplosion. We also talk about the story behind her new entrance theme "Spicy" (composed by...

Big Trouble Ben Bishop's been lighting it up like a skyscraper across the wrestling landscape and on social media. So of course Ropes N Riffs has to get the rub from Ben Bishop. On today's episode, Ben Bishop's safe from Tribal Keith as he talks about his entrance theme written by Suplex Sound. We talk all about his favorite entrance themes in wrestling, his emotional My Sacrifice video he made af...

Shane Taylor. One of my favorite wrestlers to write a theme for. Shane Taylor and Shane Taylor Promotions has been changing the game in AEW, Ring Of Honor, and anyone that's crazy enough to bring Shane's brand of violence to their ring. On this episode, Shane Taylor shares insights on wrestling entrance themes and the evolution of his themes over the years. We talk about his career journey, and th...

Join me as WOW Women of Wrestling tag team champions Miami Sweet Heat aka The Carlson Twins share their journey in women's wrestling, their experiences with WOW, and their insights on growth, community, and staying at the top of their game. Laurie and Lindsey Carlson talk all about how they got started with Women of Wrestling and what they thought when they first heard their entrance theme that I...

One of the things about doing this show that I absolutely love is being able to sit down with wrestlers that I've worked with and talk about the behind-the-scenes of putting an entrance theme together. On today's episode, we're doing just that with Smart Mark Sterling. You're absolutely familiar with his work from AEW and Ring of Honor as well as his show the Major Wrestling Figure Podcast with Br...

One of my dream guests and biggest compositional inspirations, Bear McCreary, joins us on this episode. Bear's newest record The Singularity: Ekleipsis has just released. We talk all about the collaborations with him, Serj Tankian of System of a Down, Meshuggah, Claudio Sanchez of Coheed and Cambria, and the process of writing the follow up to 2024's The Singularity. We also get into the heart of...

Mike Santana has made his debut in NXT after Tony D'Angelo's retention of the NXT Championship against Naraku. When you heard Santana's entrance theme, you heard today's guest, Blass 89. On today's episode, I speak with rapper Blass 89 about his relationship with Mike Santana, including working on his entrance theme and the emotional story behind the lyrics production, and a story about perseveran...

Coming out of the Wicked Garden match against The Righteous in TNA Wrestling, Jeff Hardy has graced us with a conversation about how he's recuperating after such a vicious match! Jeff Hardy talks about his various themes over the years from the iconic Hardy Boyz entrance theme Loaded to his TNA entrance themes. Did you know Jeff Hardy wrote many of his TNA entrance themes from Modest to Obsolete a...

He can slap a tornado and dry up a sea, sometimes he's BROKEN, but today...TNA Wrestling's Matt Hardy is hanging with us on Ropes and Riffs In our interview, Matt Hardy shares insights into his iconic entrance themes, the creative process behind them, and how music has played a pivotal role in his wrestling career. From 'Loaded' to 'Live for the Moment' and 'Moonlight Sonata,' discover how Hardy's...

From the ashes of The High Crusade comes GRPPLNG, the musical brain child of Motor City Machine Guns Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley, Chris Plumb, Adam Cline, and Adam Tatro. GRPPLNG's debut EP, "H's All Around," comes out May 18th and features four new original songs about heartache, happenstance, hubris, and hope. On today's episode, Chris Plumb and I talk all about the new record, the themes behin...

Lizzy Rain has been lighting up WWE NXT since her debut with her Heavy Metal, never say die attitude and in ring style! After a successful debut against Nikkita Lyons, The Maiden of Metal is going to be tearing it up against Zaria and Nikkita Lyons with her tag partner Tatum Paxley. In our interview, we talk with the former Rayne Leverkusen, now Lizzy Rain, about becoming the flag bearer for metal...

D-Von Dudley of The Dudley Boyz and Team 3D. Reverend D-Von. Whatever you wanna call him, one word will always stand out: legend. D-Von Dudley is a wrestler who is synonymous with so many companies and the most decorated tag teams in all of professional wrestling, so it's only fitting that he's had a myriad of awesome entrance themes over his career. We talk all about the entrance themes he's had...

Atreyu just dropped their latest record, The End Is Not The End, which is thirteen tracks of the sonic brutality and creativity that you've come to know and love with them. Travis Miguel (a fellow Balaguer Guitars endorsee with some sick custom guitars!) and I had the opportunity to sit down a few days before the record came out to talk all about the creation of the record, his favorite tracks fro...

In today's episode, we explore the fascinating intersection of professional wrestling and fashion through McKenzie Mitchell's brand new book, "Threads of Triumph", out April 7th 2026 and discover how wrestling gear shapes identity and storytelling in the ring. In the world of professional wrestling, the gear worn by wrestlers is often as iconic as the athletes themselves. From the flamboyant robes...

Mike Santana, TNA World Heavyweight Champion, hangs with John Kiernan before his title defense at TNA Rebellion against Eddie Edwards for the TNA World Championship! We talk about why Eddie Edwards is in for the fight of his life, how his entrance theme Realest of The Real embodies the story of his life, what some of his favorite TNA Wrestling entrance themes are, and the importance of a solid ent...

In the world of professional wrestling, creating a compelling character is as crucial as mastering the in-ring techniques. In this episode, we dive into the story of Sidney Bateman and his evolution into the character Soleil, exploring the passion and creativity that shaped this unique persona. We also talk about his new entrance theme and how Zaheer, myself (John Kiernan) and him made it come tog...

Nili Brosh is one of today's premier guitarists with a brand new record out called Eventide. Performing with the likes of Danny Elfman, Dethklok, and Cirque De Soleil, as well as being the guitarist on the X-Men 97 theme, Nili's your favorite guitarist's favorite guitarist! In our conversation, we talk all about the creation of her newest record Eventide, the process of working on the record, and...

Brendan Vink to Duke Hudson in Chase U in NXT to Duke Hanson, Australia's own has had some awesome entrance themes over the years. The man once known as Elliot Sexton talks to me about how music has impacted his life, working with Downstait on his newest theme Brand New Duke, and one of his favorite themes he's ever had in Hangman, as well as how Chase U's and walking out with a stable has a diffe...

You just heard him on My Shadow Knows Tommaso Ciampa AEW Entrance Theme , you've heard him for years on The Big Show entrance theme Crank It Up and Paul Wight's AEW theme, and you've probably even heard his amazing covers of popular songs in various styles. On this episode, I talk with Joe Altier, the man behind the Big Show's entrance themes over the years. We talk all about how he got involved w...

Drew McIntyre Broken Dreams. You hear those words and you immediately think of one of WWE's most iconic themes of all time. Now you get to hear the full story behind the theme with the band behind the music. Shaman's Harvest vocalist Nathan Hunt hangs out with me, John Kiernan (your resident wrestling entrance theme song composer) to talk all about the behind the scenes of writing Broken Dreams wi...

Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Anderson, Ken Anderson. You know him by many names. Whatever you know him by, he's a great dude with some awesome stories about wrestling, his awesome entrance themes in his time in WWE and TNA, and his favorite themes in pro wrestling. We also talk about what Vince McMahon's vision of entrance themes was, as well as talk about the songs that represent the heart an soul of Ken And...

Hi everyone! My guests on today's episode are the unbelievably creative and spiffing chaps in The Ex-Bombers! You may know some of their work from their work on The Jim Cornette Experience's theme, as well as Jeremiah Plunkett's theme in NWA wrestling. We talk all about their process in working on these themes, as well as talk about their own original music and their wild instruments like an 8 str...

Shinsuke Nakamura's theme, The Rising Sun. One of wrestling's most iconic modern themes in WWE. In 2016, I recorded a cover of The Rising Sun on guitar (before I ever got into writing entrance themes) and it connected me with wrestling fans and other composers and musicians in the industry like It Lives, It Breathes and many more. The Rising Sun means a lot to me for what it meant to me as a fan o...