SHOW UP SHOW OUT, and OVERDELIVER: HOW I MADE SHELTON BENJAMIN’S AEW THEME SONG
So as I started working on this article about the making of one of my favorite commissions of all time, “Shining Forever,” the new AEW theme song for Shelton Benjamin, I wanted to get the man himself to give me a few thoughts on the track, and he didn’t disappoint.
Me: Hey Shelton, can you give me some thoughts on your theme music? Just a sentence or two to start off this article I’m writing. No need to fluff it up too much, just your thoughts.
SHELTON: Easily the best theme song I ever had. It’s an amazing feeling to make an entrance to music that generates confidence, excitement and pride within me in a way none of my previous themes have. This song defines me! Mega Ran don’t miss!!!!
Bruh, I didn’t expect all that. So now my head is 100 pounds heavier, making writing the rest of this a little difficult.
But let’s start from the beginning at the top of the list. It all started with a phone call. Not from Shelton, cause I didn’t know him like that before this – just a few handshakes at meet & greets. The call was from MVP. He said he had an idea he wanted to run by me.
“Shelton’s new theme music sounds like some epic Final Fantasy boss vibes.”
So my ears instantly perk up, as Final Fantasy is kinda my thing. “Word?” I respond. I need to hear this, but Im trying to contain my excitement because I don’t know if he’s just telling me that because it’s good, or if he wants me to be involved with it in any way.
MVP and I had been talking all week about our plans for meeting up in Phoenix for the “3MB” album release party (album out now, by the way), which MVP would host and perform at. The show went off without a hitch, you can even see some highlights from that here:
P continues. “I told Shelton it would be awesome if he got an amazing rapper to write some bars for it.”
Shelton said “I don’t have cool friends like you do.”
MVP’s response: “My friends are your friends! Let me call Mega Ran.”
So here we are, on a monday night, talking about how we can add some sprinkles to this new track and hopefully have it done by Wednesday.
“Would you be willing to drop some bars on the track?”
Now I have to maintain my excitement and keep it cool. I breathe.
I told MVP “Absolutely yes. And I won’t just deliver, I plan to overdeliver.”
As a fan of pro wrestling, you might think you have an idea how incredibly hectic and last minute things get put together for a live, weekly televised wrestling show, but you really have no idea. I got asked to join the team Monday night, got the track from Rukus Tuesday morning, wrote and recorded Wednesday and then it was mixed and put on TV that night. It moves that quickly.
Sometimes I just write and turn in my work hoping for the best, but for an athlete of Shelton’s magnitude, I wanted to make sure the song passes the test from the most important people involved, mainly Shelton; the talent, and Mikey Rukus, the producer. So I immediately hopped on WhatsApp with Shelton to chat about what he wanted to hear in his theme song and he had two thoughts that immediately jumped out. The subjects are as follows:
“Ain’t No Stoppin Me Now.”
“Tekken.”
First, “Ain’t No Stoppin Me Now,” The legendary title of Shelton’s WWE theme, composed by my GOAT Jim Johnston, is an extremely popular tune and catchphrase, so I assumed he wanted to recapture the spirit of the song that millions of folks around the world already associate with him.
So I listened to it with a fresh pair of 2024 ears and I knew that a carbon copy of this track would not work. Ironically at the same time, Mikey Rukus is in one text message thread with me saying:
“dude, I think it’d be super rad if you say “Ain’t No Stoppin Me Now” someplace on the song! Shelton will FLIP!”
I ran the idea by Shelton in our text conversation and he said almost the opposite.
“Nah I don’t think we need to do that.”
I laughed.
His reason wasn’t what you’d think – it wasn’t like he didn’t like the original song, he just wanted to steer clear of any potential legal issues, I mean you never know how litigious folks can be over a few words being put together in the same order. Fair point. Maybe I’d record it and just keep it in the session file, just in case. I do like to overdeliver.
Now onto point two: “Tekken, you say?” I asked Shelton.
I had already known of Shelton’s Tekken prowess thanks to episodes of Austin Creed’s “Up Up Down Down” show on YouTube. He’s a beast, especially nasty with Heihachi.
So to get him into the zone and to convince him that I was the right guy, I sent him a Tekken 8 cypher I’d just completed with some of the nerdcore homies.
In it, I play Jinpachi Mishima, Heihachi’s dad. I had a line in the cypher where I said “OG’s here to put you on notice” and Shelton must’ve stopped it right there, because he hit me immediately and said…
“THAT SOUNDS LIKE THE HURT SYNDICATE! WE NEED THAT LINE!”
Not a problem. I yoinked it from the track- it’s okay to bite my own lines – and knew that was gonna be the ending line of the first verse, the exclamation point of the verse. I had no idea how to start, but I had my ending.
The process of song creation for me really varies depending on who or what the song is for. If I’m writing a commission for someone, I want to gather as many words and catchphrases that they want in the song, and then I try to fill in the rest of the blanks around it by feeling my way around. But this time, the beat was so dominant, so booming and overpowering that I knew this needed a big chorus section. One that I could hear blasting in stadiums around the world. So I got to work on that first.
I had a melody first based on the string melody line that plays toward the end of the song (I don’t think you guys get to hear that far into it), but when I needed the words, I didn’t have to go any further than to Shelton’s wrestling career.
For over 20 years, Shelton Benjamin has been simultaneously one of the most underrated but undoubtedly one of the most talented and accomplished wrestlers to ever step foot into a ring. Speed, technique, power– he’s got it all. Jim Ross said he’s the “one who got away;” the guy who had it all but for whatever reason had never made it to the top, no fault of his own…The man who just worked hard and executed. That’s what went into the chorus.
Been grinding forever
I been trying forever…
Now I’m shining forever
Cause I’m on another level…
Now we’re cooking. From there, the music just took over and charged up the next 16 bars. We wanted hurt, we wanted pain;, but we also wanted it known that Shelton had waited long enough for his spot, and it was time to collect.The Hurt Syndicate’s M.O is that it’s all about business– not friendships. They come dressed like it’s time to do business, and they’re no nonsense in the ring and out. That had to come through. No time for smiling or funny punchlines.
Somewhere during the session it hits me that I’m writing a song for one of my all-time favorites – for a guy who I used to stay up late in wrestling chat rooms online defending –arguing that he should be champion…and now we’re chatting about Tekken and music choices. Life is wild, y’all.
Back to the session. I’ve always been told by my songwriting friends that any complex lyrical technical stuff should be in the verse; and the chorus should be something that anyone can sing along to; that’s why it’s called a hook. So I just barred out on the verses, thinking people were gonna skip them anyway:
Design pain like an architect
collecting accolades that’s hard to get
Polished vet nowhere near ready to call it yet
Brolic? yes, here to collect checks and tarnish reps
When I step, you getting pressed
saying it’s all in jest
Now who asked for all these multi-syllabic rhymes in a wrestling song?
No one. And that’s fair. I just wanted to have fun. I honestly didn;t think anyone would listen past 45 seconds, so I might as well pop myself.
I sent Shelton a demo version of the lyrics and he loved it, so I got to work with recording. I’m honestly surprised at how quickly the song came together but when the magic happens, I don’t fight it.The legend Quincy Jones (RIP) said when you’re in the studio, you just shut up and let God do his work, so that’s what I do. I don’t force it. But I do get a little scared when it comes as fast as this one did. As an English major I always believe that the first draft is trash, so I’m having a hard time trusting myself on this song that’s coming together in record time.
Shelton mentioned that he wanted a quote from Heihachi Mishima, and that his favorite one was “I’ll snap you like a twig.” So instantly I start seeing the words and syllable counts running in front of my eyes like that Zach Galifianakis meme. Five syllable? No problem.
Nah, cause I ain’t chatting with these kids,
I been a master in this biz,
know I’ll snap you like a twig
KEEP GOING!! !
Non factor what you is
Bring disaster and it’s quick
Prefer action over chatter
if i catch you this is it!
IT’S OVER 9000!!!!
My fingers are on fire– I can barely type fast enough to get the words that are coming out of my mouth on the page.
I sent the song to Mikey Rukus who also is loving it, so we’re continuing to cook. Me and my engineer Felix are like Walter White and Jesse and the studio is like an RV. I was so in the zone that I didn’t even touch the Hawaiian food I ordered on UberEats.
After the first verse, I wanted more. The adrenaline was flowing. I didn’t want to stop there. Mikey only asked for one verse but I just like to do a little more. Mostly, I just dislike when these great wrestling themes fade out too soon– or worse, loop around to the beginning again after one verse – the word of the day: overdeliver. If they don’t like it, they can always delete it. You can’t make more out of nothing, so you have to have something to work with.
By the time the 2 hour session was up that Wednesday morning, we had a full song that I loved. We played it over and over again,and then it was time to zip up and send the files off to Mikey Rukus to mix. But there was one thing missing.
So after I finished the entire song I told Felix, my engineer, “wait I forgot something,” and I went back into the vocal booth to record one more thing at the beginning of the song.
An ad-lib…
“Ain’t No Stopping Me Now!”
It was a total troll move, I didn’t expect it to stay in the song at all. I had a smile on my face when I cut it. I always believe in giving the producer more than they need to work with for the song… ya know, overdeliver.
Print it, zip it, ship it!
Off to Rukus it went, and he got started on mixing right away. He sent me a 7 minute extended mix that I played almost non-stop. I even drove around playing it for my 3 year old who loves it (he says “play Daddy’s new song” because it’s not on Spotify yet). It’s a hit in house Ran for sure.
Mikey hit me back with the affirmative. “Mixed and sent”
We are a go.
As hyped as I was to turn the song in, nothing could’ve prepared me for the electricity in Shelton’s entrance when he debuted the song on AEW Dynamite on October 16, 2024. The graphics. The lighting. That pop. He looked like a million bucks, and the song sounded GOOD out of those speakers. I’m just honored to be a small part of a legendary athlete’s return to greatness. I can’t wait to see what’s next for Shelton.
Hope you enjoyed this little trip inside the rapper’s studio. I look forward to giving you more of these as I hopefully get the opportunity to make more songs for wrestlers and games that I love.
Peace!
Ran
