A Look Back at Heavy Metal in Pop Culture: The 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin Entrance Music
- Mike Johnston
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
By: Mike Johnston - Over the course of 32 years, Jim Johnston’s entrance songs shaped the sound of the WWE (formerly WWF). Of the over 10,000 songs he submitted, there are none more iconic than the "glass shatter".
Johnston’s ability to define a character with their music is perhaps most evident
with 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, who said he felt lost before Johnston’s song. In a 2026 interview with Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Austin spoke of his time before becoming “Stone Cold” and Johnston’s impact. “When I came into WWE I had this dreamy slow music. I’m like, ‘man, what the ****? How do you walk to the ring with any kind of swagger to this?’ I was lost. Finally, they want to redo my music, because I turned into 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, and I just hit Jim Johnston with, ‘Hey, man, I like “Bulls on Parade” from Rage Against the Machine…‘“
“Steve did not enter a room with subtlety…” Johnston told Sports Illustrated in 2018. “It needed to capture someone who entered a room and made you think ‘God only knows what happens next.'”
Even Johnston, notoriously critical of his own work, knew this one was perfect. “Right away I said ‘I get it. That’s Steve Austin.’ "I’ve always given him just the n'th amount of credit…” said Austin. “…Because, man, he made winners. And yeah, God dang if that ain’t one of the best entrance songs, or top three, I don’t know what is.”
Johnston’s music became an integral part of the companies impact on 90s pop
culture. His work on WWF: The Music, Volume 3 sold over a million copies, reaching platinum status in 1998.
In 2000, 'Stone Cold' debuted a reprised version of Johnston’s song. Performed by Disturbed, “I Won’t Do What You Tell Me” was masterfully edited. The band’s
addition offered depth to the song, and mainstream marketing opportunities. For all of their changes, the songs iconic pop and tune remained. The same can also be said about the version they released to Spotify last year.
In the case of the glass shatter, what’s broken does not need fixing.
…and THAT’S the bottom line.
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