AEW music composer Mikey Rukus commented on comparisons to former WWE music composer Jim Johnston in an interview with Uproxx.com.
“You have to get to a point to where it’s like, I’m not trying to be this person. I’m just trying to tell the best stories that I can. And then later on, when people look back at the library of work I’ve done, then they can use that to compare and contrast. I got rid of that mentality of feeling like I was in somebody’s shadow a long time ago. And I want to say maybe it was with the Sting thing, a lot changed for me personally in how I approach things after that night. And again, I felt like I was home. I have cemented my own individuality. Now I can move forward and just focus on telling the best stories possible. And being innovative and just learn as much as I can continuously.”
Rukus also discussed his goals for 2024:
“I really want to focus on the expansion of our music base. Not just the actual music that you hear on wrestling programming, but being able to hear it in different mediums, whether it be sporting events, television ad campaigns, things like that. I want to be able to impact education. I want young people to be inspired by the music that we create, I want to be able to inspire people that way and, and just really really hit at the heart of what storytelling is in an audio format.”
