The greatest WWE entrance music themes of all time
To celebrate NXT UK heading to Download Festival our writers picked their favourite WWE songs
The superstars of WWE NXT UK are in action at Download Festival this weekend.
Walter, Pete Dunne, Toni Storm, Tyler Bate and co. will compete in a special arena set up at Donington Park.
The TV tapings mark the fourth year in a row WWE talents have graced the legendary event in Leicestershire.
WWE and music have gone hand in hand since Vince McMahon coined the 'Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection' of the 1980s.
Now entrance songs are as much a part of a superstar's character as their name, appearance and moves between the ropes.
To celebrate NXT UK heading to Download, we asked Mirror Sport wrestling writers to name their favourite WWE themes.
Neil Docking
5. Undisputed ERA - Undisputed
I was sorely tempted to pick the finest main roster song today, Baron Corbin's I Bring the Darkness (End of Days), the epic final effort of WWE's legendary in-house composer Jim Johnston. But just like Vince McMahon replaced Johnston with songwriting duo CFO$ (John Alicastro and Michael Lauri), The Lone Wolf has lost out to fresher talent from NXT on my list.
CFO$' habit of looping their songs over and over isn't to everyone's tastes, but The Undisputed Era's Undisputed is the coolest track in all of WWE today. With the feel of WCW's classic NWO theme meets Rage Against The Machine, whether you're in the car or walking to work, it's near impossible to listen to without swaggering along like you're Kyle O'Reilly playing air guitar with your tag team title belt.
4. Hardy Boyz - Loaded
Featuring pounding drums and scorching guitar, Matt and Jeff Hardy's iconic theme Loaded, which sounds a lot like Guns N' Roses' classic hit You Could Be Mine, was not actually created by WWE. In the 1990s, the then-WWF often used stock music when a theme was needed quickly for a new wrestler. Loaded was actually recorded by little known musician Zack Tempest for production music company Extreme Music and appeared on the magnificently-titled album The Unleashed Beast Of Rock Destruction.
The song is available to anyone to license, meaning WWE fans' ears may have pricked up over the years when it's been used on various adverts, MTV Cribs and even Top Gear. Personally I prefer to think of Team Extreme's daredevil exploits with tables, ladders and chairs rather than Jeremy Clarkson and his pals driving a makeshift tank down a high street! And for me it will always be my create a wrestler song of choice on the greatest ever WWE video game, the N64's No Mercy.
3. Triple H - My Time
"One, two... is this on?" Long before he was the boss of NXT, or the King of Kings who convinced Lemmy of Motorhead to soundtrack his WWE career, Triple H was the rebellious upstart partnered on and off screen with D-Generation X comrade Chyna. Chris Warren, whose band recorded DX's entrance music, joined Jim Johnston in the studio to sing vocals on a track that was perfect for the rising star and his musclebound henchwoman.
The lyrics speak of breaking rules and defying authority, which is amusing given he went on to become 'The Authority' in WWE, but this brilliant song with its swirling synths accompanied The Game as he developed into the top heel in the business. As for the unforgettable line "who's sleeping with who?", well that became all the more prophetic when he left Chyna for Vince McMahon's daughter Stephanie and the The McMahon-Helmsley Era began.
2. Batista - I Walk Alone
Powerhouse wrestler Batista deserved a juggernaut of a song to match his smash mouth style and Tennessee rock band Saliva’s gloriously overblown track I Walk Alone was just perfect for The Animal. It made for one of the most epic entrances in all of WWE, as Josey Scott’s opening roar signalled it was time for Big Dave to crouch down and mimic a machine gun while fireworks exploded in the air above him.
It's a monstrous track with a sweet guitar solo midway through, but if you really want to know why this song is so brilliant, look no further than The New Day’s Xavier Woods singing the classic line “I walk for miles inside this pit of danger!” to Tyler Breeze on an episode of UpUpDownDown and explaining its greatness.
1. CM Punk - This Fire Burns
There's no doubt Living Colour's Cult Of Personality suited the charismatic Pipebomb era CM Punk down to a tee. However, the song This Fire Burns propelled his early career and will forever be associated with him skipping around the ring with world titles after cashing in Money in the Bank contracts on Jeff Hardy and Edge. One of the heaviest entrance themes in WWE history, the track by Massachusetts metalcore act Killswitch Engage was first used for Randy Orton, but Vince McMahon didn't think it was right for his Legend Killer persona.
Thankfully it was given to Punk, a misfit who might not have even had a WWE career but for the support of Paul Heyman. Opening with a bloodcurdling scream, the lyrics sum up everything about a wrestler who defied all expectations, refusing to be held down or written off and never losing his passion to make it to the top. The glorious breakdown sees Jesse Leach repeatedly yell: "I will not be denied" Neither would Punk.
Morgan Richards
5. Lita - LoveFuryPassionEnergy
Not many WWE themes have ever been as badass as this. A true testament to the late nineties and early 2000s scene of alternative emo music, the song fitted Lita perfectly and let everyone know she wasn't your typical 'girly girl', in a time where female wrestler's themes were quite bland. When the riff began and her eyes came onto the screen, you knew she was ready to make an impact. With the lyrics of "f*** your rules man" and high energy, LoveFuryPassionEnergy is the best song to ever accompany a woman in WWE. Groovy, heavy and heartfelt, all in one.
4. CM Punk - Cult of Personality
Even though most CM Punk fans might argue his earlier WWE theme of This Fire Burns by Killswitch Engage was the more famous track, for me Living Colour provided the bigger big match feel and sent shivers down your spine that the 'Best in the World' was about to make headlines. With a title like Cult of Personality, you couldn't fit Phil Brooks better as a person. The song's high energy and guitar riffs made everyone know "it's clobberin' time".
3. Triple H - The Game
It's all about The Game. One of the most iconic entrances in WWE history. Can you ever imagine a WrestleMania card without Motorhead blasting in front of thousands of people? It wouldn't seem right. A metal-heads favourite, Lemmy and co provided a headbanging anthem that introduced many young wrestling fans to that genre of music. The vocal tones, sinister laugh and rhythm made every fan wait for that perfect opportunity to spray their water out as a kid.
2. The Undisputed Era - Undisputed
Boom! Without a doubt the best current theme song in WWE today and the best effort to date from the company's in-house musicians CFO$. Try and find a wrestling fan who isn't obsessed with this track… I dare you. The ultimate song to strut to the club, feel extra cool cruising in your car or just plain out rock out to.
From Kyle O'Reilly's air guitar championship and Adam Cole syncing his entrance up, this hit has helped create an Undisputed Era online and makes you feel super cool listening to it. The simplicity of the track makes it even greater as there's no use of main vocals, just well timed screams and grunts. In my opinion this is just as, if not more iconic than NWO's Jimi Hendrix guitar theme. A true masterclass.
1. Edge - Metalingus
"You think you know me?" When I think of my favourite wrestling themes, this one is always my number one. Why it might not be as popular to others, the raw emotion of Alter Bridge frontman Myles Kennedy's vocals was always associated with main events and 'oh my god' moments from the Rated-R Superstar. If it was a Money In The Bank cash-in or a classic ultimate opportunist smash-and-grab raid, this was the soundtrack to many years of WWE programming. The track itself is some of the band's best work and a hidden gem for wrestling fans. Only in recent years have Alter Bridge made it a mainstay in their live setlist, after being bombarded with messages from fans. You didn't get more of a big match feel than Edge walking out in his trench coat and bouncing on the ropes. On this day I see clearly that Metalingus is the best WWE entrance theme of all time.
Matt Lawless
5. Hulk Hogan - Real American
"When it comes crashing down and it hurts inside!" Hulk Hogan's legendary theme is always guaranteed to create a huge pop when it sounds out in any arena. The Hulkster's entrance music is a bona fide anthem. "Fight for what's right, fight for your life!"
4. Dude Love - Dude Love
Vintage Attitude Era this. An absolute Bee Gees-esque classic accompanied 'Mrs Foley’s baby boy' to the ring during his 1998 feud with Steve Austin - which he lost, and as a result was 'fired' by Vince McMahon the next night on Raw. Brodus Clay's imitation 'Somebody Call My Mama' is almost on a par.
3. Undisputed Era - Undisputed
Boom! Adam Cole (Bay Bay!) is arguably one of the best wrestlers on the planet right now and generates a reception like few other WWE superstars.
It's largely thanks to this brilliant theme song, befitting of the best stable in all of sports entertainment: The Undisputed Era.
2. The Undertaker - Ministry of Darkness
The Undertaker's entrance is perhaps the most symbolic of any WWE superstar of all-time. But this sinister, twist was his best reincarnation of his classic theme. The Ministry are often overlooked but they provided one of the best factions in the history of WWE.
1. 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin - I Won't Do What You Tell Me
As soon as the glass shattered, you knew business was about to pick up. An iconic entrance theme for the greatest wrestler to ever grace the WWE, 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin.
And that’s the bottom line, because Lawless 3:16 said so!
Matty Paddock
5. CM Punk – Cult of Personality
Barely the only theme to make it into my countdown that didn't originate in the Attitude Era – but it so very nearly could have done. At the time, WWE played CM Punk's return angle perfectly, the anti-establishment figure who made a comeback having seen his demands satisfied, Triple H noting on an episode of Raw that he'd gone to extra trouble and expense just to have the Living Colour hit played, as the 'Best in the World' made his entrance. It was fully believable, when in the modern day, so much isn't. A good, thunderous effort.
4. D-Generation X - Are You Ready?
Shawn Michaels once said to Triple H after returning to WWE having been "excommunicated" from their legendary faction: "I was DX before DX was cool!" and I always think of that when I hear this entrance theme.
Back in 1997 when it was first used, WWE had never seen the kind of edgy, close-to-the-knuckle stuff that these degenerates would get up to. The group has been remade and relaunched countless times, but the music remains a throwback to when they were at their best.
3. Mr McMahon - No Chance in Hell
This one is less about the music, perhaps, and more about the overall entrance. Mr McMahon's patented power walk of the late 1990s to early 2000s was comically epic and the No Chance in Hell theme – originally the song for the 1999 Royal Rumble – was again the perfect fit. Now, fans who love to welcome McMahon back on his rare cameos on television love to belt it out with gusto. Good fun.
2. The Undertaker - (Original) Graveyard Symphony
I was about seven-years-old when I first saw The Undertaker. I'll admit it – back then he was a little scary. He barely spoke, he moved at a menacingly slow pace and his long hair, covering his face, complete with black hat and grey trim was, ultimately, the perfect combination.
While the respect and admiration remain as high as ever now, back then it was all about mystique for The Phenom, which now sadly isn't the case. His original Graveyard Symphony theme was simple but chilling.
1. 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin - I Won't Do What You Tell Me
The Attitude Era coincided with my early teens and, as with most teenage lads, the rebellious, sweary and all-around chaotic nature of 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin's character was a hit. His glass-shatter theme triggered huge, huge ovations at the time business was at a peak. The track itself is so simple but, then again, the best are. Hearing it again on occasions now just brings back so many memories. As Jim Ross would always say – when you heard the glass break, business was about to pick up!
This year Download Festival, from Friday, June 14 to Sunday, June 16, is headlined by rock and metal giants Def Leppard, Slipknot and Tool.
Tickets including day tickets are available now from downloadfestival.co.uk/tickets
