10 Iconic Wrestling Themes You Never Knew Were Recycled

"I Won't Do What You Tell Me" is more than an entrance theme that perfectly encapsulates what makes a character work. It's an exercise in Pavlovian behaviorism. People continue to pop for that sickly crunch and driving guitar because it has been repeatedly demonstrated that those sounds often accompany whoop-ass can-openings. To this day, just the eponymous sound effect is enough to bring an entire arena of people to their feet. In one of their in-house documentaries, WWE claimed that Austin himself had significant influence on the birth of the song. He presented theme music guru Jim Johnston with a Rage Against the Machine tune, and the composer turned out "I Won't Do What You Tell Me" in a matter of hours.

That's not quite the whole truth. While Johnston may have come up with a finished product in no time flat, he had a shortcut: he reused the melody of Razor Ramon's theme, "Bad Boy." The Razor version used squealing tires rather than broken glass, a much more relaxed tempo, and, in a decision that no doubt delighted Christopher Walken, utilized a cowbell rather than a thrashing guitar. And that's not the only shortcut Johnston employed: both versions of the song are pretty clearly based on "Those Shoes" by the Eagles.