With the upcoming Double or Nothing pay-per-view, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) has officially run shows for six full years, not including the precursor All In show in the fall of 2018. Among its core team is Mikey Rukus, the in-house composer of the wrestlers’ entrance themes, save for the odd licensed music or even a royalty-free theme (looking at you, MJF).
Recently, Rukus released a clip from a demo for the organization’s original theme song “Dynamite.” As he explains in the tweet, he sent the clip to one of the executive vice presidents of the company, which garnered a reply of “this is the one.”
Trying to make room on my phone so I can do this update and I stumbled upon an old demo of the original #AEWDynamite Theme.
— RUKUS (@MikeyRukus) May 4, 2025
This was August of 2019. I remember sending this file to the entire team and one of our EVPs (😉) said “this is the one”.
And everyone agreed. 🙏🏽❤️ pic.twitter.com/Vt6ss2DhZb
The clip ended up relatively close to what ended up airing on television and being used over the first two years and change of Dynamite, as you can hear below with the full version:
Rukus has explored his creative process in making several themes on his socials, and it is clear that he understands the importance of music in pro wrestling. It is key to the performers’ presentation, the crowd control, and creating moments that last a lifetime. He is a nu metal Jim Johnston for the modern era, and has more than earned his keep.
