There’s certain things you hear in entrance themes that help you just know what’s coming. Whether it’s the gong that signals the Undertaker, the shattering of glass for Stone Cold Steve Austin, or the car crash that signals the arrival of Mick Foley, you just know.
And then there’s the slow build up before two words that let you know something big is about to happen – no chance.
“No Chance In Hell” is one of the most iconic theme songs in WWE history, written by WWE’s long time composer Jim Johnston. Despite leaving the company in 2017, his fingerprints remain in several WWE theme songs. Whether it’s the aforementioned Undertaker theme, the still familiar themes for Randy Orton, Triple H, and a handful of others are still used that he composed. While speaking with VICE, Johnston talked about the iconic theme for Mr. McMahon and how he developed the theme.
“When I was writing Vince’s No ‘Chance In Hell’ entrance theme, I had been really upset with him about something at work. I found myself thinking: ‘You’ve got no chance against this guy!’ He’s got the power, the money, and in terms of pro-wrestling, he was pretty much the only game in town. I had written the guitar groove much earlier, and I found myself singing ‘No Chance…No Chance’ over that groove. Rather than a song about one man, I wanted it to be about ’The Man’.
The song is about the work system that imprisons us all. It’s got a thrust of someone who’s kind of like marching like they’re the kind of ‘big I am’. What I loved about Vince was how he liked to be surprised. He let me take risks and if I surprised him with something and it was good then he would be delighted. But if it wasn’t good then boy he would tell you about it! I will always class him as a friend. We were creating something entirely new as the business Vince had bought from his dad didn’t have any music for the wrestlers. Our work together radically changed things and made it so much more theatrical. I’ll always be proud of that.”
Johnston left the company, but he’s still making music for wrestlers. Ring of Honor star PCO has a theme written by Johnston and while Johnston says he’s sometimes struggled to find work due to Hollywood people not taking pro wrestling seriously, Johnston is very proud of the music he’s made for the company.
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