10 Best WWE Theme Songs Not Written By Jim Johnston
2. Living Colour - Cult Of Personality (CM Punk)
It's rare that a WWE Superstar comes to choose their own theme music as part of contract negotiations, but as Vince McMahon himself put it, CM Punk had him "by the balls".
During the very real contract negotiations between Punk and WWE after the famed 'pipebomb' promo, Punk was offered the earth, moon, and sun by WWE to keep him around. It can be assumed that Punk's use of Cult of Personality, a hit song from 1988, were part of those negotiations.
The process of using a licensed piece of music for a theme song isn't as straightforward as it may seem. Not only does WWE have to pay for use of a song up front, the company continues to pay an ongoing rights fee for every appearance. In the case of CM Punk, still with a fist clasped around McMahon's infamous grapefruits, the Second City Saint required the perfect theme song to reflect his character or the deal could pretty much be forgotten.
Knowing full well WWE's reluctance to use licensed tracks, Jim Cornette publicly stated that he could tell just how much stock WWE had invested in Punk not by his WWE Championship victory, but by his new theme song.
The decision proved to be fruitful for both Punk and WWE, who lined their pockets over three very successful Punk-driven years before his departure in 2014.