Mikey Rukus Talks About Making Theme Music For AEW

Mikey Rukus, music producer for All Elite Wrestling, took part in a Reddit AMA (‘Ask Me Anything’ over the weekend). Rukus is responsible for some of the most recognizable themes in AEW.

His credits include the opening themes for AEW Dynamite, Double or Nothing and Revolution, as well as talent such as the Inner Circle, Best Friends, Broken Matt Hardy, the Dark Order, Lucha Bros, PAC, Jake Hager, Bret Hart, Jake Roberts and many more.

Theme music is a vital component of the presentation of talent and events. Hearing the first few seconds of the music for Dynamite or Best Friends sets the mood and connects you to emotions the company and performers are looking to impart.

Here are some highlights of what Rukus said about:

Rukus explained that he was given the guideline that the Dynamite theme had to grab viewers in the first 20 seconds, then segue to ‘background’ music once the frame cuts to the live arena and pans the crowd.

“I was told that we had 20 seconds to get our point across for an opening graphic, then the shot would go to the live arena, So there needed to be the right type of tempo to say the right thing and then repeat it to drive it home within that 20 second window. The rest of the song was built around that.”

He continued, “[His band] No One Hero went into the studio and recorded it quickly, and it was mixed/produced by Bill Leverty, guitarist of the legendary rock band Firehouse.”

You can listen to the finished product here: