The 411 Wrestling Top 5 2.25.09: Week 11 – Best Entrance Music

Hello everyone and welcome to 411 Wrestling’s Top 5 List. What we are going to is take a topic each week and all the writers here on 411 wrestling will have the ability to give us their Top 5 on said topic, plus up to three honorable mentions. At the end, based on where all these matches rank on people’s list, we will create the 411 Wrestling Top 5 list. The scoring is very similiar to the Wrestler of the Week as it looks like this:

#1 Choice – 5 points
#2 Choice – 4 points
#3 choice – 3 points
#4 Choice – 2 points
#5 Choice – 1 point
Honorable Mentions will break ties, but get no points.

Also, in the case of a tie, the most votes win, regardless of where it is listed in the individual Top 5. I will also use this rule in the event that one item is mentioned more often, but is one point behind. For example, one second place vote and two Honorable Mentions will defeat simply one first place vote.

So, on to this week’s topic…

THE TOP 5 WRESTLER THEME/ENTRANCE MUSIC

One may say that long after a singer has retired and he or she no longer writes a lyric, the music lives on and the legend never dies. For wrestlers, it is slightly different, but the message remains the same. Ric Flair has been retired for a year almost, but the sound of that opening bar still will bring a fan to his feet in sheer anticipation. A wrestler’s theme song is a part of the character, a part of who they are and what they stand for. You think Hulk Hogan could have been half as big as he was without “Real American” backing him up? The wrong theme song simply leads to half the reaction as the right one does and doesn’t give you that true “pop” on the opening lyric that makes or breaks a superstar. So to narrow it down to five… not easy. And to be honest, the next five after our Top 5 and Honorable Mention at the bottom were all within five points of making the list.

To quote Chris Lansdell, “I could have done you a top 50 and still felt like I was leaving something out…”

So what did our great group of writers select? Let’s find out…

Scott Rutherford

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Michael “P.S” Hayes – While this was a shitty song (“Badstreet USA”) sung by an even crappier singer (Hayes himself), P.S originated and popularized entrance music and having music tailor made for your character in one gigantic swoop. It all starts with him.

Demolition – Growing up on WWF wrestling with little or no contact with anything else, Demotions entrance was the heaviest most foreboding thing I ever heard. Truly unique to the young marks ears

The Rock – This will probably rank higher for most other people, but this was like the second phase of Steve Austin and how people would react to his music. I’ll leave it as an honorable mention with bonus points for the short-lived heel version from back in 2003.

5.Christian – With his surprise return to ECW I thought it only fitting that I mention his last theme used in the WWE before he jumped. As I will say time and again, music has to fit the character and “Open Your Eyes” just worked and was probably my favorite entrance of the last 5 years. Add to that the cocky heel persona and that glitter track suite he wore to the ring and the package was complete. While the revamped version he’s now using is okay, it’s not a patch on the bombastic and over-the-top original. Plus it was nice to here a chick singing an entrance for a male wrestler.

4.HHH – Hands up anyone who hasn’t tried the water spit in the shower?. “The Game” served as the perfect music for HHH and fits his character whether playing heel or face. From the first chord and Lemmy’s graveled words, crowds are usually on their feet. Motorhead playing this just only adds to the coolness.

3.Randy Savage – Music should always enhance a character and Savage’s use of “Pomp & Circumstance” may have been one of the most perfect fits of all time. With his glittering robes and his egocentric characters nature and hot valet, generic rock music would have tarnished his aura. Pomp gives him that extra attitude and worked well for him no matter which side of the heel/face divide he was on.

2.The New Age Outlaws – Jerry Lawler always got good heat when he used to walk to the ring insulting everyone in the front row along the way. Road Dogg of the NAO managed to take this and give it his own twist. “Oh, you didn’t know?” Anyone who didn’t get a kick out of these guys really didn’t know. This would be one of the perfect examples of a wrestling act being all sizzle and no steak as the entrance was so hot, crowds would invariable sit on their hands for the Outlaws matches because they were never that good. Nevertheless, have them come out today and I bet you everyone would pop like nuts after the first chord.

1.Steve Austin – Has there even been more perfect music for a wrestler? From the shattered glass intro and the menacingly simple chord progression you had the essence of the character summed up perfectly in the space of a few bars of music. What always added to the excitement was the crowd reaction. I will always remember RAW in late-’98 and Mick Foley is wrestling The Rock of the WWF Title and when Austin’s music hit the crowds reaction was borderline pandemonium. Even The Rock in his heyday never got that sort of reaction. Austin’s music always signaled that shit was about to go down and even today, he can out-pop anyone wrestler when it hits.

Aaron Hubbard

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Undertaker, “You’re Gonna Pay” – Purely sentimental, because it happens to be my favorite entrance music in history.

The Fabulous Freebirds – One of the first entrance entrance themes and history and totally awesome.

Mohammad Hassan – I don’t think this is a masterpiece, but the fact that everyone in the audience would boo from the first note of the theme tells you how effective it was.

5.Shawn Michaels – Written by Jimmy Hart and performed by the Heartbreak Kid himself, this music is extremely iconic. With a catchy beat and obnoxious lyrics, people couldn’t help but take notice of the flamboyant Shawn Michaels. Shawn has used this theme almost exclusively since 1993, and it’s almost as legandary as the man himself.

4.Hulk Hogan – Real American is either the greatest or worst tune ever devised. This anthem for both Hogan and “The Rock’n’Wrestling” era was originally written for the U.S. Express, but has become synonymous with the biggest star in the history of the business. The opening riff and tune is such a part of Hulk Hogan that it was modified to the awful “American Made”. To this day, when that first note plays, crowds will explode.

3.John Cena “Basic Thuganomics” – This song is unique because it is one of the few songs that was written by the wrestler and made into a theme. Cena’s “rapper” gimmick was the hottest thing on Smackdown! in 2003, and allowed him to elevate beyond being another generic Johnny Boots and Tights. The fact that Cena wrote and performed “Basic Thuganomics” went a long way to establishing that character, and wrestling would be very different today if Cena had not decided to use this theme.

2.Ric Flair – If you ask the general population, “Also sprach Zarathustra” is going to be the theme from 2001: A Space Oddyssey, but in wrestling, it’s Ric Flair’s theme. Composed by Richard Strauss 53 years before Ric Flair’s birth, the “Dawn” section of the composition was perfectly suited for “The Nature Boy”. As much as the robes, the ladies and the catchphrases, Flair’s use of this song was central to his over the top persona. This is an example of a perfect union of a character and a pre-existing piece.

1.Stone Cold Steve Austin – The main function of theme music is to provide an easy way to identify a wrestler, and trigger a predetermined response from the crowd. Pavlov would probably be very proud to see how effective Stone Cold’s music was at making crowds enter a frenzy. The shattering of the glass is probably the best example of “hooks” in wrestling theme music, and as soon as you heard that, you knew that a can of whoop ass was about to be open, and woe to anyone that stood in the way of the Texas Rattlesnake.

Chris Lansdell:

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Real American – Since the topic didn’t ask for Most Iconic Themes (this would be top 3), I’ll go with personal preference. And I should warn you, I have far FAR too much wrestling music on my MP3 player. Hogan’s theme is there not because it’s a great song (although it’s good), but because of the memories of childhood makring to the initial chords. Still gets the old goosebumps going 20+ years later.

Oblivion – 30 Seconds to Mars (Dangerous Angels Theme) – I love this song and it turned me on to 30STM, but it didn’t really fit the team and wasn’t used very much so it suffers in the ratings.

Voices – Rev Theory – Another song that turned me on to a band, but is also likely to make me buy the new WWE CD JUST for this song. They counsel me, they understand. They talk to me. Oh oh oh! When it’s been around for a little while longer I may have tired of it, but for now it’s good stuff.

5. Just Close Your Eyes – Waterproof Blonde/Remixed – Go! Yeah, I like the new version better. However the original is still pretty good and when combined with the orchestral bit at the beginning it really suited Christian’s character.

4. This Fire Burns (CM Punk’s WWE theme) – I’m going to cheat a bit here, since I love all 3 songs that CM Punk has used (Miseria Cantare, Cult of Personality and this) but I only have 8 spots! Consider this a group entry. What makes a good theme is a start that makes the crowd jump to their feet (providing the guy is over) and a good fit to the character. This song does all of that for Punk (as did the other 2) and has the added bonus of being one of the songs on my “Fire Me Up” playlist.

3. I Am (AJ Styles’ TNA Theme) – I know people who will sing this all day if they hear it once. It’s got that sort of a hook to it. Sure the lyrics are a bit cheesy (“Just try to win the belt every night”???) but the music itself is rousing, and AJ has built an entrance that synchs to it perfectly (PAY ATTENTION BATISTA). This is another group entry, as one of his old themes (Touched by V.A.S.T) is in my all-time top 5.

2. Enter Sandman – Metallica (Sandman’s ECW theme) – The epitome of fitting the song to the wrestler, a great track and an amazing entrance that really made the character more than his in-ring ability, his promos or anything else about him. WWE tried to get it, they were priced out of it, so they tried a generic track that in all fairness wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t Enter Sandman. The gimmick failed. Only misses number 1 because Lars is a douchebag.

1. Bad Street – The Freebirds (Fabulous Freebirds WCCW theme) – So bad it was good. They live in the last house on the right, but that only makes sense when you remember “the further down the street you went, the badder it got!” One of the first instances of a wrestler performing their theme music, Bad Street gets number 1 for the originality, the way it fit, the fact that it’s hilarious, and most of all the fact that a song by a group of heels actually got over.

John Meehan

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Bret Hart – “Hitman” – Confident and driving classic rock with a twinge of electricity, The Hitman’s WWF theme was the perfect fit for the Excellence of Exectution throughout virtually his entire run with the company.

“The Macho Man” Randy Savage – “Pomp and Circumstances” – While the rest of the world may know this as “that long and boring song they play in a loop at every graduation in history,” old-school WWF fans will always get a kick out of even the most boring of commencement ceremonies, smiling silently to themselves as they recall their favorite Macho Man memories.

Christian – “At Last” – When Christian (Cage) finally made the split from his onscreen-brother-and-longtime-teammate Edge just before the ill-fated WCW inVasion storyline of 2001, wrestling fans were treated to this over-the-top operatic ditty as our reward. Too short-lived to warrant higher mention, but a fun tune regardless.

5.The Ultimate Warrior – “Unstable” – High energy and electric, Jim Johnston’s “Unstable” was the tailor-made musical backdrop for one of the WWF’s most frenetic and colorful performers of all time. Regardless of what Warrior could (or couldn’t) do once he got in the ring, there’s simply no denying that this entrance theme was a classic, as it practically guaranteed that something exciting was about to take place.

4.Steve Austin – “Once you hear the glass, it’s your ass!” From the opening crash of glass breaking, Stone Cold’s entrance theme is both the embodiment of the Steve Austin character and indeed the epitome of the attitude era itself. Loud, violent and abrupt, the track was the perfect musical cue for the “anything can happen” WWF of the late 1990’s. Looking back, Austin’s themesong is just so firmly entrenched in the wrestling fans subconsious that it’s almost impossible to imagine the Monday Night Wars without it.

3. The Undertaker – “Graveyard Symphony” – Just how good is this song, you ask? Ten years from now, and wrestling audiences will *still* manage to freak out with excitement the second that the arena lights go down and the infamous GONG tone is sounded. Few performers’ gimmicks have ever been so beautifully captured in just one single note, and that is a testament to the quality of Jim Johnston’s Undertaker-inspired entrance theme.

2.Hulk Hogan – “Real American” – Cheesy? No question. Dated? Without a doubt. But somehow, wrestling fans couldn’t help but go crazy for the tune, as Rick Derringer’s uper-patriotic “Real American” anthem was an ideal fit for WWF’s all-American superhero Hulk Hogan throughout the heyday of Hulkamania and beyond. Though diehard wrestling dorks will tell you that the track was originally composed for the U.S. Express tandem of Mike Rotunda and Barry Windham, casual fans and non-fans the world over will forever associate this iconic entrance theme with The Immortal Hulk Hogan.

1.Ric Flair – “Also sprach Zarathustra” – Though many other performers before and after Flair have made their way to the ring with a classically inspired musical score to lead the way, not one of these entrance themes can compare to the sounds of Richard Strauss’ masterpiece heralding the arrival of The Nature Boy. A limosuine riding, jet-flying, wheeling-dealing, kiss-stealing icon of the industry if there ever was one, a larger-than life wrestling character like Flair would simply be ashamed to make his entrance to anything less than something equally flashy and majestic. As such, this entrance theme wins out on sheer pageantry points alone.

Michael Melchor

HONORABLE MENTIONS

This is where I’ll put the newer stuff; the classics have the top spots locked…

“Voices” – Rev Theory (Randy Orton) – I think Orton’s older music (“Burn In My light – Mercy Drive) fits his overall character better, but there’s something a little too majestic about this new theme for me not to like it.

“Just Close Your Eyes” – Waterproof Blonde (Christian) – The newer version is okay, but it can’t touch this gem.

“Ain’t No Stoppin’ Me” – ? (Shelton Benjamin) – If Benjamin could break a little higher up the card (into the main event?), this music would be perfect as a declaration of dominance with a swagger all its own.

5.“I Am” – ? (AJ Styles) – That mid-tempo build into a straight swagger says it best. You know you’re about to see something phenomenal. That wasn’t a bad pun, but an indication of AJ’s talent and character – and how well this song encapsulates all of it.

4.“Glass Shatters” – Jim Johnston (“Stone Cold” Steve Austin) – A raucous piece of near-metal that told you what was about to happen. The glass breaks, that shuffle hits, and somebody’s about to catch a beatdown. Austin is arguably the most popular wrestler in history to date, and his anthem of ass-kickery had quite a bit to do with that.

3.“Badstreet” – Michael “P.S.” Hayes (The Freebirds) – Popular logic about this being #1 be damned, but we’ll get to that in a minute. “Badstreet” defined the Freebirds not only as a musical entity, but as a crew that would beat your ass down in a bar then leave with your chick. This may have been the first, but it set a standard for also letting you know about who you were going to see before they even popped out from the curtain.

2.“Iron Man” – ? (Road Warriors) – Obviously, Black Sabbath didn’t do this version; the key was too low. The song was played in a lower key – which made it worse for whoever was on the other end of the ass-whuppin’. Beyond that, the opening drums were the “glass breaking” long before Austin hit the scene; the pop that came from that and the march of death were as part of the Warriors’ mystique as their facepaint and spikes.

1.“Also Sprach Zarathustra” – Richard Strauss (Ric Flair) – The “WWHHOOOO!” being added in nowadays is an afterthought. If ever a piece of music defined a wrestler, “Also Sprach Zarathustra” let you know what Ric Flair was all about. The pomp, the circumstance, the regal air of someone on top of the world and ready to keep that position by any means necessary…it’s all there.

Shawn S. Lealos

HONORABLE MENTIONS

There are so many great songs, so I am skipping the ones by most current wrestlers, such as Chris Jericho and Randy Orton, and dipping into wrestling history. I know Hulk Hogan’s Real American probably deserves a spot, but I didn’t have the room.

The Fabulous Freebirds (Bad Street USA) – The Freebirds had what I consider three great theme songs (Freebird, Bad Street USA, The Boys are Back in Town), but I’m going with Bad Street USA here.

Rock n Roll Express (Rock n Roll is King) – “Listen everybody let me tell you ‘bout the rock n roll – Feel that rhythm and its really gonna thrill your soul – She said come along with me, to a land of make believe – She said rock n roll is king” Awesome entrance song!!!

The Road Warriors (Iron Man) – Nothing got my heart pumping more than when “I AM IRON MAN” blared out and the Road Warriors ran down full speed and killed someone.

5. Rob Van Dam (Walk) – I really grew to like his WWE theme song, but I really missed his original ECW song. With Pantera belting out the lyrics “Respect. Walk. Are you talkin’ to me?” Great entrance theme song for my favorite ECW wrestler.

4. Sandman (Enter Sandman) – This is not so much for the actual song than the experience of everyone in the ECW arena singing along as Sandman made his way through the crowd. No other entrance in wrestling is as unique as that one. It was a true crowd experience and was one of the many things that made ECW so fun to watch. From the start of the cords, the crowd was on their feet and the song will always be etched into my brain based on those ECW experiences.

3. Shawn Michaels (Sexy Boy) – My wife completely hates this song, probably because I sing right along with Shawn almost every time it plays. Taking a cue from the old school heals, The Freebirds, Shawn Michaels and Sensational Sherri recorded their own theme song, singing about what Shawn thought about himself. It was over the top and ridiculous, but also remains iconic and the song that defines the man. That it has remained his theme for over fifteen years says something about its standing in wrestling.

2. Randy Savage (Pomp & Circumstance) – No song seemed to fit a wrestler better than Pomp & Circumstance for The Macho Man. The arrogance of Savage, with his billowing robes and beautiful valet, was a perfect fit for the song. It must be said that when I attend a graduation ceremony and the song begins to play I just want to yell “OOOOOHHHHH YEAH!!!!!!!” – much to the horror of my wife.

1. Ric Flair (Also sprach Zarathustra) – “Also sprach Zarathustra” was once known for its inclusion in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Now if you hear the song, fans and non fans alike will mostly think of Ric Flair. It’s the one song that brings everyone in an arena to their feet. The connection between 2001: A Space Odyssey and the king of Space Mountain must to be noticed too. WOOOOOOO!

Julian Bond

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Dude Love – First of all…for the record…this is definitely the hardest Top 5 I’ve done yet! So many to choose from. For this crazy choice, I wanted to pick Dude Love’s corny as all hell theme song because while many may call it stupid, it perfectly embodied all that was Mick Foley’s alter ego. This barely edged out A.J. Styles’ on here, but I just had to give a shout-out to one of the corniest but yet memorable entrance songs ever.

Rob Van Dam (ECW) – “Duh Duh Duh Duh…RE…Duh Duh Duh Duh…SPECT…are you talking to me?” The song “Walk” by the band Pantera that they blazed over the speakers in the ECW area when mainstay RVD came out to the crowd, to me, embodied everything awesome with watching ECW back in its heyday.

Randy Orton (“Voices”) – Man, this song has grown on everyone and their mama since its debut. Not only is it catchy as hell, but it seems like it’s the perfect song with the perfect lyrics that you truly believed Orton modeled his new persona solely off of it. Definitely a classic theme in the making.

5.Christian (WWE) – Christian has been known for having some well known theme songs in both WWE and TNA. But my favorite one is definitely his first. When Christian double-crossed his “brother” Edge and broke up their long-storied tag team, the night he came out to his own music for once was pure classic. To have his theme be an actual opera-based song with singers yelling about Christian’s liberation (“Christian…Christian…AT LAST…You’re On Your Own!!”), was not just f’n hilarious, but also very brilliant.

4.Bryan Danielson – The song “The Final Countdown” by the popular 80s band Europe. Used in countless sports events, random TV commercials, and hell, even wedding receptions (including my own). But when you see ROH wrestler Brian Danielson walk out to it in his entrance, he truly owns it. The song, as corny as it may be to some, sounds like an epic chorus for champions, and suits Danielson perfectly as he comes out, destroys someone in the ring, and leaves as great as he did coming in. It also is pretty crazy hearing everyone in the area ALWAYS singing along to the chorus…IT’S THE FINAL COUNDOWN!

3.The Rock – This to me was a tough as nails four way tie between the theme songs of Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, Shawn Michaels and The Rock. I wish I could include all, but I only wanted to list one. The moment that Stone Cold’s hits and people hear the glass break, they know it’s ass-whooping time. When you hear Triple H, you just know that “It’s Time To Play The Game”. And when one listens to the “oooooh”s and “aaaaah”s with Shawn Michaels'”Sexy Boy” theme, you have flashbacks of wathcing HBK back in the day, while also singing along. But when The Rock’s music starts with “Do you know smeeeeell…what The Rock…is cooking?”, it represents wrestling entertainment at its greatest. One can’t really actually explain it, but The Rock’s theme is one of the best because the moment you hear the song, you always felt that something electrifying (if that’s the right word) was going to go down in the ring. Definitely brings up some great wrestling memories every time I hear.

2.Undertaker (“Old School/Dead Man” Version) – This is a nuff’ said selection if you ask me. Literally the moment the lights go out and the gong hits, I can never name a person who remotely calls themselves a wrestling fan who doesn’t mark out a little for this. Funny question to ask…the Undertaker character (“dead man version”, no “American Bad Ass”) is no doubt one of the most infamous personas in wrestling history period…but how would it be if he never had this music? Would he be looked at the same or get the same crazy props he gets today? Maybe not. It could be said that without the perfect graveyard organs playing as his theme, the Undertaker character possibly wouldn’t have be as mega over as it still is today.

1.Ric Flair – Like the mentioned Bryan Danielson on my list, Ric Flair also uses a very well-known entrance song (“Also Sprach Zarathustra”) that has been featured in every type of medium possible (TV, movies, spoofs galore). But unlike Danielson, Flair without a shadow of a doubt OWNS this song. When I first saw him walk out to it, I was shocked because I didn’t know that any wrestler had the balls to come out to the epic song from “2001: A Space Odyssey”. But after awhile, the only thing I kept thinking of every time I heard that song outside of Flair’s entrance was “Hey, they’re using Flair’s song!!”. That’s pretty impressive if you convince a guy like me (and I’m sure I’m not the only one) to think of Flair first for a famous song instead of where the song came from to begin with.

Owain J. Brimfield

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Billy Gunn – he’s an ass man! I don’t know why, but I’ve always loved this one for its camp value.

Goldust – just awesome stuff combined with ‘Dust’s old-school ‘Hollywood’ entrance.

Gangrel – one of the creepiest wrestling entrances in memory, and a spooky theme to go with it.

5.Triple H – It really is all about the Game. I’m a firm believer that a classic entrance theme has to have that few seconds at the start that’s instantly recognisable and mark-out-able, and the five on this list all have that. For H’s there really is nothing more fitting than having that low distorted chord thrashed out and Lemmy going “tiiiyymmeee to play the gaaaaayyyyymmmee” – it fits the character perfectly and is a pretty kick-ass metal song in its own right.

4.New Age Outlaws – There isn’t a wrestling fan of my generation who couldn’t do all the words along to the classic intro of the Outlaws, and it pretty much epitomises the Attitude era – no nonsense, memorable and all about kicking butt, and it even outshone the classic DX theme. Your ass better call somebody indeed.

3.The Four Horsemen – Impossibly epic; when those hooves started galloping out of the speakers you knew the Horsemen were on their way, and boy did they make a big deal out of it. I’m a sucker for this type of melodic guitar track anyway, but combined with the greatest stable in wrestling history you have a recipe for purest win.

2.Stone Cold Steve Austin – Almost reminisicent of Jaws in a way, a simple but menacing melody that just lets you know some pure ass-kickery is on the way. Of course, it wouldn’t be half as effective without the smashing glass at the start, which is an absolute touch of genius and probably contributed to more immediate pops than any other wrestling theme of the 90s.

1.The Undertaker – I’m calling a tie for number one, but I figure I’m allowed since they both belong to the same wrestler. Never has one man suffered such a dichotomy of entrance music in his career, from the dross of the American Bad Ass days, to the musical opuses (opi?) that were ‘Taker’s ‘Darker Side’ theme and the legendary ‘gong’ entrance. If you can play this music to anyone who’s ever watched wrestling and the hairs on their neck don’t immediately go up, they’re not a true wrestling fan

Jarrod Westerfeld

HONORABLE MENTIONS

“Also Sprach Zarathustra” – Richard Strauss (Ric Flair) – I thought about this one for a while, and while I’m more into the Pomp and Circumstance that Macho Man landmarked as his own, Flair’s grand persona makes this song seem that much more memorable.

“Survive If I Let You” – Harry Slash and the Slashtones (Taz) – To put it bluntly, this is one bad ass song that simply follows one melody throughout the whole way. This added such an element to the persona of Taz and it’s a shame that the song never carried over with him to the WWF, instead being replaced by a poor substitute produced by Jim Johnston.

“Badstreet, USA” – Michael P.S. Hayes? (Fabulous Freebirds) – Quite possibly the best concept for its time, a wrestling act doing their own entrance music. It’s also a really cool song that truly fits the Freebirds whole bad ass attitude.

5.“Ikari No Jyushin (Raging Jushin)” – Yumi Hiroki (Jushin “Thunder” Liger) – The true life superhero of the wrestling world is fortunate enough to have a song that plays as the theme to the anime of the same name as the wrestler. It’s highly recognizable and very catchy pop beat makes it something that stands out over the usual hard rocking “ass-kicking” themes that flood the scene today, and it certainly has withstood the test of time running for almost 2 full decades now.

4.“Miseria Cantare (The Beginning)” – AFI (CM Punk) – Few entrance songs capture the kind of anticipation and longing dread that The Undertaker’s theme has long since embodied. This song comes close despite being so short, but it’s an anthem that chants out a repetitive message of “one of us” that really lures in a crowd. The rhythmic beat that was often stomped and clapped along to via the guardrail covering would be that longing anticipation for the uncovering of one of ROH’s most recognized and regarded wrestlers ever. While Punk may not have been the most threatening wrestler in the company, this theme certainly added an aura of dread just because of what he represents: a hard working, always fighting smart-ass.

3.“Great Muta Concerto” – ??? (Great Muta) – A production set that rivals The Undertaker’s theme productions. Starting off with an ominous start with thunder, evil laughter and Japanese wind instruments, it eventually kicks into gear that could rival some of the best Final Fantasy tunes imaginable. This ride of a song goes through both highs and lows as if reflecting the tale of Muta and his many transformations, ending on heartbeats as if to say that this story only holds an end when the heart stops. It’s a truly fun experience and really seems to match Muta’s essence, the unpredictable and uncontrollable warrior that he has always been.

2.“Coast (Four Horsemen Theme)” – ??? (Four Horsemen/Arn Anderson) – The first time I recall hearing this song it sent chills up my spine. Before even knowing the history of the Horsemen and what they represented, this song seemed to tell a story of triumph, history, sorrow and tragedy all in the guitar. While there are several tunes that the group came out to, it’s the final rendition that the WWE has placed in the Horsemen DVD and used upon the entry of Dillon, Windham, Blanchard and Arn the night of Ric Flair’s farewell (March 31st) that resonates as the tune of the Horsemen, and Anderson. It’s this tune that plays out a weeping guitar that simply touches enough chords to really tell a story, and it’s this tune that I place upon my top 5.

1.“The Darkest Side” – Jim Johnston? (The Undetaker) – It’s hard to argue against this track for the simple fact that it is what a wrestling theme should be; it’s dark, it’s broody, it captures all that the wrestler who accompanies this music is. You don’t even have to be that big a fan of this man’s work to appreciate the music that has followed this character for almost 20 full years. The theme just does that good a job of suspending your disbelief as you forget all about the silliness of a man claiming to be the undead and holds magical powers to summon lightning inside of a 15,000 seat arena. If this song doesn’t do the trick for you then you’ve obviously taken up the wrong hobby.

Ryan Byers

HONORABLE MENTIONS

La Parka – “Thriller” by Michael Jackson – Anybody who saw La Parka in WCW knows that the skeleton man has a good deal of charisma and can cut a rug. Combine that with the classic Michael Jackson tune that he’s used for years in Mexico and a couple of dancing zombies, and you’ve got yourselves a recipe for win.

Tokyo Magnum – “Mr. Egoist” – This song fuses Japanese rock music, rap, and techno. Reading that sentence makes it sound like the biggest steaming pile of crap that’s ever existed, but the theme winds up being fairly catchy and fits the character it is introducing almost perfectly.

Bryan Danielson/Sara Del Rey – “The Final Countdown” by Europe – When a wrestler can garner heel heat just by telling the audio guy to cut the music before its vocals kick in, it has to be something special.

5.Aja Kong – “Jungle Emperor” – Most readers probably won’t recognize note one of this song, but if you take the time to acquaint yourself with both the music and Aja Kong’s style, you will soon come to learn that it’s damn near perfect. It also features one of the cheesiest yet most memorable hooks in the history of wrestling-related music: “God made the devil just for fun, but when he wanted the real thing he made . . . AJA KONG~!” Yeah, try explaining that one when it blares out from your earbuds in the middle of the public library.

4.Jushin Liger – “Akira No Jushin” – Jushin Liger’s wrestling character was literally ripped straight from a cartoon series. Given that fact, what better intro music could there be for him than the theme song from the television program itself? The song, much like the wrestler, is everything that a cartoon superhero should be: flashy, majestic, and slightly over the top. Just a few bars of “Akira No Jushin” inspires images of a powerful individual with abilities well beyond those of normal men, and that is exactly what crowds should be envisioning when they think of their favorite wrestler.

3.The Roadwarriors – “Iron Man” – They eventually turned in to the cartoonish Legion of Doom in the WWF and the past-their-prime tag team on Monday Nitro, but in their heyday, the Roadwarriors were men who could inspire fear in the hearts in even most the cynical of the few “smart” fans who existed at the time. The grating guitars of “Iron Man” were there to set the stage, with the opening riff invoking all things demonic and destructive. It was the song that the Roadies should have used all throughout their careers if silly things like rights fees did not exist, which made it all the more infuriating when VINCE FREAKING RUSSO of all people decided that a version of “Iron Man” fit his character perfectly when he became an on-air talent (and I use that word loosely) in WCW.

2.The Sandman – “Enter Sandman” by Metallica – The marriage of hard rock and pro wrestling has never been executed more masterfully. In most instances, songs are selected as entrance music because they fit the particular performer. That was the beginning of the Sandman’s relationship with his classic entrance theme, as it was no doubt selected because it came with his name built right in. However, that is not where the relationship stopped. The Sandman slowly yet surely started to build his entire ring entrance around the song, and it got to the point that the man just walking to the ring became a bigger attraction than any of his matches or any of his interviews. People just wanted to rock out to this song with the Sandman, to the point that there was a huge outcry by fans when he was no longer allowed to use it in WWE’s verion of ECW. That sort of connection to the show is exactly what should be inspired in an audience, whether it’s in wrestling or in heavy metal.

1.Ric Flair – “Also Sprach Zarathustra” by Richard Strauss – Timeless. There is no other word that a long-time wrestling fan can use to describe the image of Ric Flair walking down the aisle in one of his trademark sequined robes while the strains of the theme from “2001: Space Odyssey” plays in the background. Flair is a guy who, though always talented, was never used to his fullest by the promotions in which he competed. However, no matter how badly he was mistreated and no matter how deeply he was buried, there was always that one serendipitous image . . . the one thing that we could lock in on and remember what Flair was before the writing crews decided that he wasn’t all that he was cracked up to be. Now that the Nature Boy is done as an in-ring performer, that image remains as a fond reminder of perhaps the greatest in-ring performer of our generation.

Andy Clark

HONORABLE MENTIONS

“Goldust” – One of the cooler entrances for a midcarder and one that is always fun for a bit when he returns to WWE for the nth time.

“Badstreet USA”– The heyday of The Freebirds was unfortunately before my time, but I can still appreciate a classic. If anything the moment was great when Michael Hayes sang along to the song during his entrance for the Gimmick Battle Royal.

“The Final Countdown”– This choice would be much higher if Bryan Danielson had more of a mainstream career, but as is he has (or now I guess it’s had) the best entrance in all of indy wrestling.

5.nWo – 4 Lyfe! Come on, the nWo music was cool. The cool video, the catchy porno music, and quips in the background, and for a while the antics that accompanied it were pretty fun too. When the screen got funky you knew that you weren’t in for some lame Glacier or Faces of Fear match, you had the New World Order coming out, and who knows what would happen then.

4.Enter Sandman – This is actually probably better for nostalgia purposes because I would imagine it got old during the days ECW ran shows regularly, but its still cool. Talk about being able to make a wrestler’s entrance into an event. Regardless of what The Sandman actually brought to the table you were guaranteed to at least entertain the fans for a good five minutes as Metallica blared through the arena.

3.“Viva la Raza”– An entrance song that was enhanced by the energy that it’s wrestler brought to it. The lowrider, the pop from the crowd, and that mischevous Eddie grin all made this entrance a classic. While the song was somewhat bastardized in the wake of Eddie’s death, it’s still fun to think of those great moments (like Eddie WWE Championship celebration) with the “Lie, Cheat, Steal” song providing the soundtrack.

2.“If Ya Smell”/”Hollywood” – Yeah, this one’s a copout because I couldn’t make up my mind. The Rock’s typical fast paced, heavy drummed song is just too awesome to pass up. Likewise his 2003 Hollywood heel turn music is equally as awesome (“…is cookin’…”) so I really couldn’t make up my mind. No matter as I doubt anyone will split hairs about two great, great entrance songs.

1.Glass Shatters (Disturbed) – So “I Won’t Do What You Tell Me to Do” is a great song, no doubt, but the real best Stone Cold Steve Austin theme is his shortly lived Disturbed anthem that he had during his 2001 comeback. That song was just too perfect and I still have fond memories of the backbeat of that song slowly pumping as Austin readied himself to strike The Rock with the WWE Championship belt following their WrestleMania X-Seven match. Great song and I was thrilled to hear it as the background music in the new Stone Cold Hall of Fame graphic.

Samuel Berman

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Note: I did this as a 411blog entry once upon a time, but some of my rankings have shifted. For funsies, and to keep with my usual Independent focus, I’m going to, umm, focus on Independent entrances for this.

“Kryptonite” by 3 Doors Down – Chris Hero – Hero’s had a bunch of great themes over the years, but this one, used during much of his IWA Mid-South run was the best of them.

“Cult of Personality” by Living Colour” – CM Punk – CM Punk’s heel title run during the famed Summer of Punk was accompanied by a temporary move to this fabulous choice of entrance music.

“The Realist Killaz” by 2Pac feat. 50-Cent – Low Ki – The gunshots and dark beats let whoever’s in the ring already know that they’re about to be in trouble.

5.“Blueprint 2 [Instrumental]” by Jay-Z – Eddie Kingston – The rolling beat works well with Kingston’s overall badass personality. Whether he’s slowly stalking his way to the ring or rushing through the curtains and down to battle, this music sets the perfect pace. Kingston’s snarl seems made to be seen with this playing in the background.

4.“The Final Countdown” by Europe – “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson – I’m not sure that current ROH fans could pick a more iconic entrance than that of the American Dragon. Amazingly, this entrance has transitioned with Danielson through two major turns, once irritating fans and now serving as an anthem for their hero. The most enjoyable development along the way has been Danielson’s occasional pre-bell beatdown of an opponent, only to have him pop-up just in time to shout the song’s title words along with the audience.

3.“Gimme Back My Bullets” by Lynyrd Skynyrd – Jay & Mark Briscoe – Knowing the Briscoes’ reputations, is it any surprise that their entrance music includes the line “I drank enough whiskey to float a battleship around…”? I thought not. I love Kevin Steen & El Generico’s use of The Bouncing Souls’ “Ole”, but have to concede that this is the class of the current tag team music landscape.

2.“We Are the Champions” by Queen – The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) – My favorite single entrance ever in Independent wrestling was Hero & Castagnoli climbing through the crowd to challenge for the ROH World Tag Team Titles at Glory By Honor V, Night 2. This is undeniably the cockiest choice possible for entrance music, and worked perfectly for the Kings during their ‘we’re collecting all the belts’ phase in 2006 that saw them simultaneously hold the ROH World Tag Team Titles, CZW World Tag Team Titles, and CHIKARA Campeonatos de Parejas. Their CHIKARA stablemates Gran Akuma & Icarus use of Orgy’s “Blue Monday” to signal their arrival as Team F.I.S.T. deserves note as well.

1.“Miseria Cantare (The Beginning)” by AFI – CM Punk – I can’t go with anything else here because Punk’s entrance was one of the first things that made me take real notice of how great an Independent wrestler’s theme could be. From the long intro, to the pounding beat, to the crowd chanting the chorus, to the fact that the song was so often played in its entirety, Punk’s entrance remains the best of the Independent scene, even years after he has moved on to a successful career in World Wrestling Entertainment.

Jeremy Thomas

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Randy Orton – “Voices” – It’s funny, because when it first came out I absolutely hated it. Now, I love this song and it helps me get jazzed every time Orton comes out to the ring.

Shawn Michaels – “Sexy Boy” – My all-time favorite wrestler has one of my all-time favorite entrance themes. It fits his old arrogant character so perfectly, and I’m with Shawn, I rock right along with it every time.

Sandman – “Enter Sandman” – A classic metal song for one of the heart and soul players in ECW. This was just a perfect fit for both the perosn and the promotion, and it created one of the great entrances of the ’90’s.

5.The Rock – “Know Your Role” – Brilliant little piece of work. The only lyrics are the Rock himself, spouting off his catch phrases. Few themes can get a crowd as pumped as “CAN YOU SMEEEEEELL! *Bump bump* What the Rock! *Bump bump* Is Cooking?” All the Rock’s themes since have been variations of this song, and it’s the most memorable for me of the Attitude Era.

4.Hulk Hogan – “Real American” – It’s a strong list of music when Hogan’s classic song has to chart as low as #4. “Real American” is a song that I actually still love, probably because of all the good memories from my youth. Yes, it’s cheesy and probably not one of the musically best songs, but it’s just fun, uber-face rock that you can’t help but get pumped when you hear. Hell, it got Patterson and Brisco pops when they came out to it. That says something.

3.Randy Savage – “Pomp & Circumstance” – All of the entrance themes on here are pretty epic in my not-so-humble opinion, but the Macho Man’s theme is the one that everyone, everywhere knows. Sure, that’s thanks to “Pomp” being used as THE graduation theme, but that doesn’t change the fact that it worked beautifully for Savage and has led to more than one person–hell, more than one person that I’ve personally witnessed–coming out at their graduation and doing the point out at the crowd thing and generally act like Savage. That’s awesome.

2.The Undertaker – “Rest in Peace” – Taker’s always had some pretty awesome theme music, but the classic version (which is also, more or less, the current one) is the best and most memorable. I loved “You’re Gonna Pay/Dead Man” and “Dark Side” and all the others. But nothing is quite like “Bong……Bong…..” and then the funereal music starting up. Great stuff.

1.Ric Flair – “Also sprach Zarathustra” – The theme to end all themes. Flair’s entrance music is classic, enduring, and will forever be associated with the Nature Boy no matter what great movie it was part of. In the “Rock And Wrestling” attitude that has persisted through to today, Flair’s theme is something entirely different and instantly recognizable, and strongly stands as the greatest entrance theme of all-time.

Larry Csonka

HONORABLE MENTIONS

The Four Horsemen: – This one is a hard list to pick, and I will be leaving out some good ones, a LOT of good ones. But at the end of the day I am going with great themes AND my favorites. Anyway, the sound of the horses the awesome guitar…magic.

Bryan Danielson and Sara Del Rey: The Final Countdown – *DA DAAAA DA DAAAA DAT* …IT’S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!”

Shane Douglas: Perfect Strangers – One of my all time favorites, and it fit Shane Douglas perfectly. That’s my jam.

5. Hulk Hogan: Real American – Whether Hulk Hogan is your favorite, or whether you love to hate him, Real American was an anthem during Hogan’s big heyday with the WWF. The video is absolutely hilarious, but I can’t help but to nod my head along with the tune. Damn you Hulk Hogan!

4. The Road Warriors: Iron Man – When I was a young wrestling fan, I was legit freaked out when the Road Warriors spiked dusty Rhodes in the eye, they were that bad ass. I al so remember as a young lad hearing the beginning of IRON MAN as two jabronies stood in the ring, and shit was about to be on and be on big time! Some music sets the tone perfectly, and this was one of them. As for the video, well, close enough. Sabbath live is always good.

3. The Sandman: Enter Sandman – If you were a fan of ECW, THIS was THE entrance in wrestling. What Sandman lacked as a wrestler he more than made up for in entrance and character. I hate to throw around big words, but the Sandman Entrance is ICONIC. Anytime you can get an entire arena of fans to not only pop huge, but to sing along for the ENTIRE entrance, that is an all time great entrance theme.

2. Ric Flair: Also Sprach Zarathustra – While there are many things people associate with Ric Flair, the entrance music HAS to be one of them. Some music goes with a guy well, some is bad, but something like this was PERFECT. I never thought of it as the music from 2001: A Space Odyssey, I always thought, as a kid, that the movie stole it from Flair! It had to make my list.

1. The Fabulous FUCKING Freebirds: Badstreet USA – For my money, my favorite and the best entrance music EVER was Badstreet USA. It was PERFFECT for the Freebirds in every way, and Michael PS Hayes not only made the song, he WAS the song. I mark out every time I hear it.

Robert S. Leighty Jr

HONORABLE MENTIONS

My Time (HHH) – I prefer the old HHH theme to the current one he has been using.

Voices (Randy Orton) – Song has been stuck in my head for weeks and in time it should crack the top 5.

nWo Theme – The peak of WCW’s reign and this the song that was heard more than any other.

5.Glass Shatters (Steve Austin) – This song is the first thing I hear when thinking about WrestleMania X-7. Just hearing this song repeated over and over while a bloody Steve Austin shakes hands with Vince McMahon makes me smile. I was disheartened when they went away from this song and back to the current theme for Austin.

4.Break Down the Walls (Chris Jericho) – From his debut in the WWF this song was used for Chris Jericho, and should remain his theme forever. They tried to change it with King of the World, but that was horrible. Just a tremendous song, and like the rest of this list a song that will get stuck in my head from time to time.

3.Enter Sandman (The Sandman) – Great song, and made all the better when 2000 fans are singing along in a bingo hall. This is kind of a cheat since the song preceded the wrestler, but still works, and made for the greatest entrance in ECW History.

2.Metalingus(Edge) – My favorite theme in pro wrestling today and it has been for years. So much better than the old Rob Zombie song they gave Edge, and any other music he has had. I just worry that he has had the song for a while now that they might change it soon.

1.Real American (Hulk Hogan) – I grew up with this song, and as cheesy as it is, nothing takes me back to my mark days like this song. The opening guitar riff is enough to get me out of my set, and the song is basically a soundtrack to my earliest memories of pro-wrestling.

Michael Bauer

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Austin “Glass Shatters” – Definitly no more iconic sound than the shattering glass during the Attitude Era. Not one of my favorites, but it deserves mention.

Ric Flair “Also Sprach Zarathustra” – Ric Flair has perhaps the most iconic theme song ever. Like Austin, it’s not one of my favorites.

Christian “Just Close Your Eyes” – Honestly, this theme song always had me grooving when I heard it.

5.Randy Orton “Voices” – My favorite current theme and right now there is no one chord that gets the crowd into hatred riot mode faster. This could easily be a Top 3 one in the future, especially if it sticks for a while. It also fits way too well into the recent Randy Orton “disease” that has come up since he won the Royal Rumble and the theme actually came first.

4.The Four Horsemen – I only wish I had the opportunity to hear this theme song more as it was mostly used before my time as a wrestling fan. But nobody can deny the galloping and the western style was a perfect fit for the Horsemen.

3.nWo Wolfpack – As much as people say that the original nWo theme was the better of the two, I always prefered the Wolfpack theme. For me, there was nothing cooler than the howl of the wolf and the hip hop beat as Konnan came bouncin out to the stage.

2.Bryan Danielson “Final Countdown” – Ok, I’m an Indy guy, we all know that. But none of the music really sticks with me except for Final Countdown. Bryan Danielson has been the icon of Ring of Honor for the past three years, even for a year before Samoa Joe left. And Europe’s one real hit has seemingly become the anthem of the icon. It sucks that they need a new theme for television, because his entrance is simply not the same without him going to the post and the whole crowd screaming “IT’S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!!!”

1.Undertaker (Any version that is anything like the current one) – No theme song has lasted as long as has had as much of an impact than the first GONG to signal the arrival of the Dead Man. For nearly 20 years now, that one sound echoing through an arena has brought more people to their feet and created more anticipation than anything in wrestling. For those who have never been inside the arena for the feel and the sound, it is a one of a kind experience.

So with all said and done (and after hours of MP3’s played out), here is the 411 Wrestling’s Overall Top 5 Wrestler Theme/Entrance Music.

HONORABLE MENTION.With 14 Points (1 1st place vote, 1 2nd place vote, 2 4th place votes, 1 5th place vote, and 1 Honorable Mention)…

5.With 13 Points and 2 More Votes (2 1st place votes, 1 3rd place vote, and 5 Honorable Mentions)…

4.With 19 Points (2 2nd place votes, 2 3rd place votes, 2 4th place votes, and 1 Honorable Mention)…

3.With 23 Points (3 1st place votes, 1 2nd place vote, 2 4th place votes, and 1 Honorable Mention)…

2.With 26 Points (3 1st place votes, 2 2nd place votes, and 1 3rd place vote)…

1.And With 38 Points (6 1st place votes, 2 2nd place votes, and 2 Honorable Mentions)…