The "other" 5 Greatest Wrestling Entrance Songs

Bill Simmons had an article last week over on Grantland about how the wrestling entrance song is a lost art and how some guys like CM Punk are making them matter again.

He was referencing the last WWE PPV called "Money in the Bank" which had an epic entrance from CM Punk (see below). The PPV was actually the first WWE event that I had watched in close to two years. The reason for this is that the product just hasn't been that good lately. They've taken a more PG friendly like approach (aka. no blood) and the story lines have been terrible. This event happened to have a great storyline as it was Punk's last night in the company and threatened to walk off with the WWE title if he won the match (which he did BTW).

I have to say the event was great and everything about the main event from the build up to the actual match reminded me why I'm a wrestling fan to begin with. There was one thing that bothered me during the event though, I noticed that a lot of the wrestlers entrance music selections were terrible.

In the article Simmons says that the following things are needed for a great entrance song:
1. You need a hook. You should be able to tell who it as after about a second and a half.
2. Entrance music shouldn't cripple a wrestlers gimmick.
3. The music shouldn't peak right away, it should build to something.
4. Don't be afraid to change a wrestler's music.

He made a list of the top 12 songs from 1997-2011 and I have to say that his list is pretty dead on. It covers pretty much everyone from The Rock to Stone Cold and all the way up to Chris Jericho who happens to be number one on the list. Hell, even Al Snow makes an appearance.

I noticed that there was some great entrance music that didn't even get an honorable mention. So in honor of the Grantland article here's my list of the "other" 5 greatest wrestling entrance songs from 1997-2011.

#5. Tazz (If You Dare)

(music starts at about 2:20)

I was going to just put up a copy of Tazz's entrance video but he might have one of the worst video's of all time. Basically it flashes the number 13 (to represent how long it took him to get to the WWE) then it shows him standing like he's posing for a mug shot. The video wasn't great but I thought his music was fantastic with it's heart monitor beep opening. This is how you hook them in. Tazz ended up having a relatively short wrestling career in WWE before moving to the broadcast booth. The video above was from is WWE debut in January 2000 at the Royal Rumble (one of my all-time favorite PPV's). 

#4. Christian (At Last)

Go to YouTube and type in "Christian entrance music". After you go through some video's with names like "I Love God" you'll come across about eleven different theme's for the current World Heavyweight Champion. He's had a lot of music but this was his best from around 2003. This was also around the time that he was starting to become more of a singles competitor after teaming up with Edge for so long. But listen to that song though, it has probably one of the weirdest chorus lines that you'll ever hear.

#3. Cactus Jack Theme

The hardcore legend Mick Foley (aka. Cactus Jack) has had a few different theme songs over the years. When he was in ECW he used "Born to be Wild" but when he was re-introduced in the WWF in early 1998 they gave him this guitar heavy song. I personally love it because when you hear the music you know that someone is about to get fucked up. If for some strange reason I ever have to get into a fight I'm going to tape up my fists and come out to this song.

p.s This entrance video cracks me up with it having to show Cactus Jack piledrive Triple H through a table like 5 times.

#2. Triple H (My Time)

Triple H's current theme (The Game) by Motorhead is great and you've probably head it if you've ever been to any sporting event in North America. He got this theme in the early 2000's after the whole DX thing had been run into the ground. In this we get a great intro and it builds to someone yelling "maaaa tiiiiiime". This clip makes me laugh because this was during the time when the McMahon's had to be involved in pretty much every main event. But this song was very fitting for Triple H at the time as he was starting to become the number one guy in the WWE.

#1. nWo Theme

This is one of my all-time favorite entrance songs and I have to say that I'm a little surprised Simmons didn't put it on his list. This song represents one of the most exciting and innovative era's in professional wrestling. The video above was from the nWo's brief and terrible run in the WWE during 2002. The clips from WCW were great as it normally involved people throwing garbage at them and either Hall or Nash picking up a Cruiserweight and throwing them around the ring like a rag doll. It's hard not to love a song that sounds like it came from a porno.