How important is an entrance theme song to a character?

[D-Will316]

I am a music lover so this is something that I'm invested in. Personally I think it's very important. All the greats have that special entrance intro that gets peoples immediate attention. Austin's glass shattering, Rock's "If ya smell!", Undertaker's gong, you get the jist. I think every superstar should have a theme song that just 100% represents there character. WWE does a good job with this but in TNA some of the talents theme's just make no impression of me like Bobby Lashley's. Who in your opinion needs an upgrade in entrance music? For me it'd be Cody Rhodes, his current one just isn't not doing it for me, although i did like his two previous variations of his song.

Honorable mentions:
Daniel Bryan (although I guess it suits him)
Christian
Kofi Kingston (although I guess it suits him)
Nearly everybody in TNA

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

WWE are usually pretty good at abiding by that 3 second rule for the opening of a wrestlers' entrance music but they do occasionally create some horrible themes. I agree that Kofi should have some different music, considering that he has probably been billed from Ghana longer than he was originally billed from Jamaica, yet his theme still has that Caribbean-esque vibe. Plus I always thought it said "I hear Jim Shelton."

Thankfully he's not someone I see anymore but Ryder's entrance music was horrible and seemed to have 2 introductions. The whole mention of the radio was just ridiculous for someone with an internet gimmick.

The one theme I would love to hear in the WWE again is McIntyre's theme. It may not be as iconic as some of the greats and Drew may never sniff another championship again but as a fellow Scot I was happy to see Drew get a decent introduction to WWE.

 

[Catacomb]

to me it depends on the wrestler, guys like scott hall, kevin nash could walk out to any song and it wouldnt matter, however i couldnt imagine warrior or austin walking out to any other song

 

[Torgo]

Yeah I agree, the music really makes the wrestler. You can't think the Rock without this: [YOUTUBE]http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcIYOgcCcnM[/YOUTUBE]

Nor can you think Stone Cold without this: [YOUTUBE]http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_cQQzLQqYTQ[/YOUTUBE]

Yeah these guys were great, but their music really completed everything. Music is the cornerstone of a wrestler.

 

[Mongoose McQueen]

To me a theme song for a wrestler should represent their character/who they are. Often, theme songs in Wrestling have connections to their personality or gimmick or even past gimmicks. Take John Cena for example, a guy with a rap theme song yet he plays a superhuman, never back down, all American type of character. The theme does not always fit with the present day character but it often has represents who they are as a whole.

I maybe sound like I am spewing weird stuff here but I think most people will get what I mean. Brock Lesnar is a prime example of a guy with a perfect theme song to match his real life personality. He's The Beast so what type of song does a Beast have? no lyrics no doubt.

 

[JJ15776]

It's important to the point that each wrestler needs a song that is easily identifiable. It doesn't have to be anything special so much as it just has to be unique. Which is TNA's problem. Sometimes it can take a second to figure out whose music is playing, and that second is vital to the proper crowd reaction. That's more important than having a good song or a song that fits the character, IMO.

To that end, look at a Randy Savage. That's a ridiculous entrance music. If he hadn't used it and somebody came in today with that, everybody would think he needed a change. But it was unique, immediately identifiable, and everybody knew it was Macho Man. Once a song becomes tied to the wrestler like that, nothing else matters.

I wouldn't mind a new song for Kofi Kingston, if they decided to get behind him with another strong push. That's the only time I would really advocate for a change of songs. If a guy has stalled out and needs a change. Especially if it involves a face/heel turn.

 

[thebowtiekiller]

I think it can play a huge part in making a character great or at least memorable its usually the first thing that signals someones about to come to the ring and i think it should represent what they are about and wwe have come up with some classics over the years but some wrestlers at the moment could really do with a better theme not many seem to actually leave an impression on me the shield is a good example the intro to there song is good but the rest is just generic heavy metal and very forgettable.also i agree tna could do with improving there theme songs hiring a better music guy would certainly do them some favours.

on a side note i also thought wcw came up with some good themes even though a couple where obvious rip offs of famous songs lol.

 

[enviousdominous]

The WWE deserves props for, as far as I know, being the most prolific pro-wrestling company in regard to composing their own music. A performer is identified partly by that music, and if they jump to a different company they usually have to leave their catchy music behind.

I like things to be original, which is why I hate Kurt Angle's TNA theme. Lunatic Fringe by Red Rider is one of my favorite songs, and Kurt's theme is a weird remix of it. An American Hero gimmick is serenaded to the ring by a song about the dangers of a resurgence of anti-Semitism.

I think that Daniel Bryan's current theme was originally a punishment for ripping on his Rage theme as "Generic rock music" that he couldn't identify. So they gave him Wagner's (pronounced Vogner, I hate when people mispronounce that) Ride of the Valkyries. It's evolved into an endearing theme, which I think symbolizes how he's a smaller guy with the heart of a lion. An interesting note is that, like Randy Savage's Pomp and Circumstance, Ride of the Valkyries is public domain. Daniel Bryan could take that theme anywhere. I'm not sure about the specifics of the WWE's rights to their rock remix of it, either way you don't see too many performers successfully market a song from 1876 as a rousing theme song.

I would change Dolph Ziggler's theme. I'm not sure how it's supposed to convey mood, a little too much incoherent screaming in that one.

 

[Dagger Dias]

An entrance theme is rather important. A wrestler's entrance theme, if it's a good one, gets you that much more excited to see them show up for a match or interrupt what's already going on in the ring. If someone has a stupid entrance theme it feels like less of a big deal for them to appear. Granted it's not what will make or break a wrestler, but it is more important than people realize. If The Undertaker were to enter his Wrestlemania 30 match to the song "Barbie Girl" then he wouldn't seem intimidating in the least bit, right? That's why an entrance theme that fits with the character is important. The most crucial part of all to me are the first 10 seconds of the song. When a wrestler you dislike is giving an annoying promo, then you hear the intro to an awesome entrance theme and someone you like runs into the ring as their theme plays and they proceed to attack the annoying wrestler who was giving a promo, that's to this day one of the coolest things that can happen in wrestling. If it gets to the point where you associate that part of the song with the wrestler and it gets you excited even from just listening to the song outside of watching Raw, the wrestler has a good song chosen for them. I'm honestly not in that big of a rush to see anyone currently on the roster change their entrance theme though, to answer the thread starter's second question. If I had to pick, Christian going back to the 2005 version of his song where Waterproof Blonde sang it. I always preferred that one.

 

[Pérez84]

A good fitting entrance theme gives any wrestler more than a half of his crowd pops. It's pretty important.

I wouldn't change any entrance theme in the WWE at this moment, except for Cesaro's one. The man needs a theme with more personality IMO. If Trips&Stephanie are reading this, forget about any yodeling crap for him, please....

 

[Radical]

A good entrance theme is SUPER important to a character.

It can REALLY help a character get over or really hurt the chances of a character getting over. However, it is not always like this.

John Cena's rap theme song probably was working against him in getting him over but he was lucky enough to push through and become popular enough with the mic and in the ring to overcome it. It probably helped that after he changed from the Thuganomics theme song to the one he has now where there is that intro part where it kind of ramps up and has that "ch ch ch ch ch chhhhh" before the lyrics start it helped make his entrance them very recognizable and not seem 'so much' like a rap song through an through.

One guy who has been hurt by poor entrance theme choices, IMO, has been Wade Barrett. It was okay when he had the Nexus theme because the whole group was being built up and then... when he left Nexus and started with The Corre I actually thought his theme song "End of Days" where it starts with "I've had enough..." was his BEST entrance theme ever and it really had a dark and intense mood and suited him PERFECTLY. Yet he scrapped that one right when I thought it was really catching on. Then he went through a slew of bad adjustments to his theme song and now he is trying to build up this theme song he has now with the Bad News Barrett character and it's OK but not as good as previous ones.

One guy who I think got more of pop JUST from his entrance theme regardless of his in-ring ability was Alex Riley. That theme song has a GREAT first 10 seconds and it makes you feel really pumped. Unfortunately, Riley couldn't make it work enough but I swear he would get a decent pop all the time just because his entrance music was so great. It actually bugged me a little that a guy like him who never got very far got such a great entrance theme ... one that I feel would be perfect for John Cena ... is now an entrance theme that is basically in "entrance theme graveyard" and now no one will get to really benefit from it.