By CHUCK SAMPLES ISL Correspondent KANSAS CITY — Well, the All Star Game may have been a bust. OK, scratch that — it was about as exciting as an empty hamster wheel — but that shouldn’t detract from a wonderful stretch of activities in Kansas City. And an important one for a long-suffering region. Imagine, […]
Author: Cliff
No. 1: Hulk Hogan’s theme (Real American, Rick Derringer, 1984) This song totally captured Hulkamania. “I am a Real American! Fight for the rights of every man!” The song has stood the test of time, with new generations appreciating it as well as older ones. Its popularity was most recently was revived in 2011, when […]
No. 2: New World Order theme (Rockhouse, Frank Shelley, 1996) OK, so it has a little bit of ’70s in it. OK a LOT of ’70s. That just makes it even more impressive. It was over the top, and it had to be for Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. Anything less just wouldn’t […]
No. 3: Goldberg’s theme (Invasion, Christian Poulet and Jean-Yves Rigo, 1997) This theme was perfect. It had no words, which was ideal because Goldberg didn’t need any. Even better, the “Goldberg” chant was the only word that could be heard with the powerful music. The theme sounded as though it should have accompanied the march of an invading army during biblical times, just […]
No. 4: Edge’s theme (Metalingus, Alter Bridge, 2004) This one grew on me over time. I like the incorporation of the “You think you know me” line, straight from his tag-team theme music with Christian, at the beginning of this one. Edge gets credit for making it as a singles star, one of the smallest guys […]
No. 5: DX Theme (Break it Down, The Chris Warren Band, 1998) The notorious group of Triple H, Shawn Michaels and the New Age Outlaws were a dominant force. A forgotten fact: Rick Rude was an original member. One of the highlights of this theme is Warren’s voice at the beginning, delivering what essentially described […]
No. 6: Evolution’s theme (Line in the Sand, Motorhead, 2004) Evolution was bigger than life and so was this theme song, created for the group of Ric Flair, Triple H, Randy Orton and Batista, plus Orton as an individual. It had a unique combination of grandiosity and earthiness that matched the group’s swagger. All four guys […]
No. 7: C.M. Punk (Cult of Personality, Living Colour, 1988) I remember this song from my high school days, not as a wrestling theme. The adjusted WWE version’s opening guitar riff is excellent. Punk is unique, as is the particular style Living Colour brought to the game — a furious fusion of funk and metal. Added note: the […]
No. 8: Ultimate Warrior (Warrior Wildfire, Jim Johnston, 1987) This was one of the old-school themes that intended to set a mood. Boy, did it ever. The song spawned guitar-induced heavy metal craziness from the very beginning, right during the height of hair-band mania. The wrestler matched the music’s intensity. People forget that Warrior was so […]
No. 9: Harlem Heat (Rap Sheet, Rene De Wael and Didier Leglise, 1993) This is the only theme on my list that involves a tag team, though Demolition’s music almost made it. Harlem Heat’s music had a pulse that took over an arena. When you heard it, you knew two brothas from tha ‘hood was about to […]
By CLIFF BRUNT ISL Editor This is the second of my professional wrestling lists – my 10 favorite wrestling entrance theme songs. Because everyone’s tastes are different, your list might be much different than mine. That’s OK – I just want to start conversation and take you down memory lane. Theme songs set the tone for what’s […]
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