Square Enix sound designer and composer Masayoshi Soken speaks on crafting Kenny Omega's new theme song.
Masayoshi Soken has composed music for baseball video games, Mario, sports games, and the Final Fantasy series. Kenny Omega revealed that Soken had worked on a new theme song for him ahead of his return to wrestling at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 19.
Now, Soken is describing the experience in a new interview with ESPN.
"There's a story behind each wrestler, regardless of whether they win or lose, and there is a story before and after their matches," Soken says. "In the ring, you see a magnificent battle, but in order for them to make it spectacular, they work incredibly hard behind the scenes, unseen by us. The more I research those different backgrounds, [the more] I am amazed at professional wrestlers. At the same time, just taking a look at one of their matches ringside with that knowledge in mind, the appeal is explosive, and something I cannot describe in words just bursts out."
As a wrestling fan himself, Soken wanted to convey the excitement of chanting wrestler's name in the theme song.
"I'm sure any wrestling fan would understand, but it's such an exciting experience to chant the wrestler's name with their theme," he says. "As a wrestling fan, I wanted to incorporate that element somehow, and so I asked permission from Kenny to put that in."
Fans can check out the full theme song embedded in the video at the top of this page.
As for Kenny Omega's return to wrestling, the match he had against Gabe Kidd was so strong that it brought Hiroshi Tanahashi to tears. Learn more here.
