Triple H’s wrestling career has been accompanied by some of the most recognizable entrance music in WWE history, from the aggressive grandeur of “The Game” to the regal intensity of “King of Kings.” Before either of those songs became firmly attached to his main-event identity, however, there was “My Time,” the theme that captured a crucial turning point for the future WWE executive in 1999.
Jim Johnston, the composer behind a vast collection of WWE’s most memorable themes, recently reflected on the creation of “My Time” and explained that its central idea came from an unexpected backstage exchange involving Triple H and Chyna. Johnston also revealed that the unusual electronic sound that immediately introduces the track was not meticulously planned in advance. Instead, it emerged from experimentation in the studio.
The story offers a revealing look at the way Johnston approached wrestling music during his long run with WWE. Themes were not simply background tracks intended to fill an arena before a match. In Johnston’s process, a successful entrance song needed to communicate a performer’s character, momentum, attitude, and place within a constantly changing story. “My Time” became an especially fitting example because it arrived as Triple H was ascending into a larger position on WWE television.
An Accidental Sound That Became Part of the Identity
The opening of “My Time” remains distinctive. Before the song settles into its driving rhythm and forceful vocal declaration, it begins with an unusual, warped synth effect. That sound immediately creates tension and gives the theme an edge that separates it from more straightforward rock-based entrance music of the era.
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Johnston said the effect came from a Korg synthesizer and was created by accident while he was working on the track. Rather than treating unexpected results as mistakes to be discarded, he embraced the moment and recognized that the strange sound added something valuable to the song.
“That weird sound in the intro was a Korg synth of some variety… purely accidental,” Johnston said.
He explained that he was using the instrument’s modulation wheel in an extreme manner in time with the rhythm. The result was the distinctive opening texture heard on the finished theme. It was not a case of trying to precisely replicate an existing sound or follow a conventional formula. Johnston’s willingness to test ideas freely led to an accident that became a memorable creative choice.
Johnston said that working alone was an important part of allowing that type of experimentation. He noted that he might have been embarrassed to attempt certain unusual ideas if another person had been in the room. For him, creative freedom meant being willing to make strange choices, because sometimes the results that initially seem most unconventional are the ones that ultimately work best.
That approach was particularly valuable in professional wrestling, where entrance music must often establish an impression almost instantly. A wrestler’s entrance is a compressed piece of storytelling: the first notes need to tell the audience who is coming, what emotional response is expected, and why the moment matters. The unorthodox beginning of “My Time” made it instantly identifiable before its lyrics and beat even fully arrived.
Chyna’s Words Supplied the Key Lyric
While the sonic opening came through studio experimentation, the core concept behind the song came from Chyna. Johnston recalled hearing Triple H and Chyna talking backstage at a time when both were navigating transitions in their careers and were also in a relationship.
In Johnston’s recollection, Chyna was encouraging Triple H and assuring him that things would work out. During that conversation, she told him, “You know, it’s your time.” The phrase immediately struck Johnston as the right foundation for a new Triple H entrance theme.
“I was like, ‘It’s my time… that’s Triple H’s new theme,’” Johnston recalled.
The simplicity of the phrase was a major part of its strength. “My Time” conveyed confidence, ambition, and a sense of arrival. It suited a performer who was no longer merely seeking an opportunity but asserting that his opportunity had arrived. In the environment of WWE’s late 1990s programming, where character development was often built around attitude and strong declarations of identity, the lyric provided Triple H with a concise and powerful statement.
Johnston described the song as meaningful to him specifically because of that moment with Chyna. Her comment was not delivered as a songwriting pitch. It came naturally in a personal and reassuring conversation. Yet Johnston recognized that everyday words can carry extraordinary creative potential when they fit the right character and moment.
He stressed the importance of staying open and curious as an artist, explaining that useful clues and ideas can emerge from the world around a creator at any time. For Johnston, Chyna’s remark was one of those moments: a small piece of real conversation that clicked immediately and grew into a theme closely associated with one of WWE’s biggest stars.
A Theme for Triple H’s Evolution
“My Time” occupies an important spot in the musical history of Triple H’s WWE career. The character would later become heavily linked with Motörhead’s “The Game,” a song that reinforced his persona as a ruthless top-level competitor, and “King of Kings,” which matched the authority and grandeur of later stages of his career. But “My Time” reflected a different chapter.
It was a theme centered on ascent. The message was direct: Triple H believed the spotlight belonged to him. That mindset aligned naturally with an era in which he was becoming an increasingly central figure on WWE programming. The song projected determination and self-belief without requiring a lengthy explanation from the character. The entrance itself delivered the point.
The theme’s construction also demonstrates why Johnston’s work became so important to WWE’s presentation. The strongest wrestling themes can be recognized in seconds, but they also function as extensions of the people using them. “My Time” was not simply music associated with Triple H because it played before he walked out. Its title, lyric, pace, and opening sound all supported the persona audiences were seeing on screen.
That connection is why fans can remember multiple Triple H themes so vividly despite each being connected to a different period. “The Game” and “King of Kings” became synonymous with later versions of the character, while “My Time” remains a signature of his 1999 presentation. Each track carried a different emotional color, but each worked because it identified a specific version of Triple H.
The Lasting Significance of Chyna’s Contribution
Johnston’s recollection also adds another meaningful detail to the legacy of Chyna, a major figure in WWE history whose work and presence helped reshape perceptions of what a performer could be in the company. In this case, her contribution was not in the form of an in-ring moment or a scripted promo. It was a supportive statement made backstage that sparked an immediate creative connection for Johnston.
There is no suggestion that Chyna sat down to write “My Time” or that the phrase was intended as a formal title. The significance lies in the instinct Johnston had when he heard it. He understood that “it’s your time” could be transformed into a declaration uniquely suited to Triple H, and he built from there.
It is also a reminder that the creative history of wrestling is often shaped by moments beyond the ring. A theme song can begin with a producer’s musical experiment, a wrestler’s personality, a storyline direction, or, as in this instance, an encouraging conversation between two people at a pivotal stage of their lives and careers.
For Johnston, the lesson was clear: artists need to pay attention when inspiration appears. The accidental Korg synth effect and Chyna’s spontaneous phrase came from very different places, but both became essential pieces of “My Time.” One gave the record its unforgettable introduction. The other gave it its title, message, and emotional center.
More than two decades after the song helped soundtrack Triple H’s rise, Johnston’s account reinforces why “My Time” still stands out. It was built from experimentation, observation, and a sharp understanding of a performer on the verge of something bigger. The end result was a WWE entrance theme that did exactly what the best wrestling music should do: it announced a character’s identity before he ever reached the ring.
Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.