Great entrance music can help make a superstar. The wrestler will need to back up the hype in the ring and on the microphone, but a great entrance song can go a long way.
Let’s use Bobby Roode as an example. He had a great career in TNA, but that promotion started to die off as Roode was finishing up there. There’s no doubt he would have received a good pop upon his first appearance, but his WWE entrance theme made him look like a damn superstar. It also shows the fans that they were putting ‘the machine’ behind the wrestler, so they will push them as far as they can go.
NXT has been the starting point of some of the songs on this list. I want to credit Triple H as he’s a fan of harder music and no doubt had the final say on the music. I am just thankful Vince doesn’t have his hands in NXT or every guy would be coming out to Flo Rida or Florida Georgia Line songs.
This list isn’t in any specific order, as it would take me too long to rank them. I had to cut out 25 songs or more to get down to a solid 25 pro wrestling entrance themes. The list isn’t all WWE songs as New Japan, TNA and older songs from WCW and ECW make the list.
Hulk Hogan – Real American (80’s & early-90’s)
This is arguably the most iconic theme song in wrestling history. Hogan was one of the people that shaped the way the wrestling operates today. Vince McMahon pushed Hogan as the superstar in the WWF and ate up all the territories in his wake. Hogan first started to come out to Survivor’s ‘Eye of the Tiger’, but that song is now more synonymous with the movie ‘Rocky’ today. I’m not ashamed to admit that I still bang this during workouts, brother!
NWO Wolfpac (late-90’s & early-00’s)
The original New World Order started to become stale, so they had a spin-off, the Wolfpac. Kevin Nash said in a shoot interview that this wasn’t their original choice. The Wolfpac initially started to come out to 2Pac tracks at house shows, but that couldn’t fly on TV. They finally ripped-off the beat from Militia’s track “Burn” and this entrance song was born.
Ric Flair (80’s to current)
This is another iconic song from pro wrestling history. This isn’t a list of the most inconic songs, but the best ones…and this checks both boxes. “Also Sprach Zarathustra, Opus 30” is the classical music song of choice for the Nature Boy. It’s so regal and just brings so much pomp and circumstance to his persona.
Batista (00’s to current)
I’ve always enjoyed Batista’s entrance music. It screams ‘Ruthless Aggression’ as the band Saliva seemed to have an ‘official song of fill-in-the blank pay-per-view’ a few times a year during that era. Something that put it over was Batista’s fake machine gun motion that was accompanied by pyro. Batista needs to come back so I can hear this song every Monday or Tuesday.
Edge (late-00’s to current)
Edge had a few entrance songs, but this track by Alter Bridge is the one he settled on until his early retirement. He also came out to ‘Never Gonna Stop’ by Rob Zombie for awhile early in his career, which is another banger. The song by Alter Bridge added to his mystique and was just another puzzle piece to make Edge the world champion he would become.
Shinsuke Nakamura (2000s to 2015)
This is the entrance music Shinsuke Nakamura came to when he was in New Japan Pro Wrestling. The track is called ‘Subconscious’ and I would put money on it that WWE tried to get the rights to this song, but failed. Nakamura became known for this song and was a superstar for the promotion. It’s a great song and I can see why it was so popular there.
Shinsuke Nakamura (2018 to current)
This is an updated version of Nakamura’s entrance song he started out with in NXT. They added Japanese lyrics by Shadows of the Sun. He needed an update as the original was more babyface and this feels more heel. Nakamura actually had his hand in picking out the original. They actually first gave him what would become Bobby Roode’s music, but he turned it down as it didn’t fit his character.
Aleister Black (2017 to current)
This track kicks so much ass. The duo of CFO$, that does almost all of the new entrance themes in WWE, is credited for creating it. They used the band Incendiary on the track and they will melt your face off. They played it live at one of the NXT Takeover events and made Black look like a megastar. The track fits his occult persona and I predict he will become one of the biggest stars on the main roster when they call him up. I would have loved to see Black versus the Undertaker in his prime, but it looks like Taker is on his last legs.
Alex Riley (2011 to 2016)
Alex Riley might be the worst wrestler on this list. He was attached to The Miz during his WWE Championship run and he gained this entrance theme when he turned on The Miz. It makes you think that the upper brass had big plans for him as this song is awesome. I’m sure you guys know what came next as he was put in the doghouse as John Cena didn’t like him. He did some play-by-play in NXT for awhile and was cut shortly after trying a comeback in the ring. He is now mostly an actor as I haven’t seen him on many independent cards. I hope WWE recycles this theme song and gives it to another young guy or gal.
Ultimate Warrior (1990s to mid-2010s)
Here is another iconic and awesome entrance theme song. I know when I heard this song as a little kid, I would run around the living room and act like I was shaking the ropes. It was almost like it was an audible sugar rush. The song helped further add a frenetic energy to the Warrior.
Shawn Michaels (early-1990s to current)
Shawn Michaels started to come out to this music after he threw Marty Jannety’s head through the Barbershop Window. He became the Heart Break Kid and became the egocentric person on-screen that he allegedly was in real-life. The song is brash and was just another domino in what made HBK a success.
Bobby Roode (2016 to current)
As I said in the introduction, ‘Glorious’ helped make Roode an instant star. You didn’t need to know him in TNA. He dresses in a robe and looks like a million bucks. The song is a perfect fit for Roode.
Undertaker (Ministry of Darkness 1st theme) (1998)
This is a very specific theme song as it was only used for a short time in 1998. They kept tweaking with the Ministry’s music during this time, but this theme with the guitar solo at the beginning was the best. They would later take it out and got to the chorus much quicker. This is my favorite Undertake theme of all-time.
The Brood (1998 to 2000)
Gangrel probably wouldn’t have been a main roster guy for very long if not for this music. It’s arguably the best entrance theme of the entire Attitude Era. It’s a banger and suits the vampire characters Gangrel, Edge and Christian portrayed when they were all together as The Brood.
The Four Horsemen (1980s to late-90’s)
This might be my personal favorite on this list. As a kid, when I heard this theme song on WCW, I knew shit was about to go down. The Horsemen were about to cut an awesome promo or Tully & Arn were about to put on a tag-team showcase. They kept this song throughout different Horsemen lineups and helped Steve McMichael when he came out to this song. It sets off a Pavlov’s Dogs-like sensation and makes you think whoever is coming out to this song is a damn superstar.
Drew McIntyre (2009 to 2012)
This was Drew McIntyre’s theme song during his ‘Chosen One’ run. He used this song until he was stuck in the laughable 3MB stable. McIntyre had just about everything to be McMahon’s next star, but they had a thing against accents at this time. He fell down the card and was released about a year after 3MB formed. This theme song is still awesome.
Drew McIntyre (2017 to current)
This is McIntyre’s current entrance theme song and debuted it in NXT when he had a short championship run in developmental. He is now on the main roster and will hopefully get the championship run he deserved back in the early 2010s. This is another entrance song and often play it during workouts.
Finn Balor (2014 to current)
This is Balor’s entrance theme when he came out as the demon. He hasn’t donned the bodypaint is well over six months. Maybe he needs to get over as himself more first and then he can bring it back. Hopefully by the time Aleister Black is called up, he will be able to use the demon again. I’d love to see a Black vs the Demon King match at a big event.
Minoru Suzuki (2000s to current)
“Kaze Ni Nare’ by Ayumi Nakamura is one of the most iconic wrestling themes in Japanese wrestling history. Minoru Suzuki is nearly 50 years old and has been coming out to the song for a long time. He’s also still one of the top guys in New Japan as the leader of the Suzuki-gun stable. You know an ass kicking is coming when you hear Suzuki’s entrance music.
The Beautiful People (Velvet Sky & Angelina Love) (2008 to 2016)
TNA or Impact were not known for their awesome entrance music, but The Beautiful People’s entrance music was pretty darn great. The beat is contagious and gets stuck in your head. It could also be a Pavlov’s Dogs-like response again, since when you hear this music some pigeons are about to be let loose.
Degeneration X (1997 to 2000 & 2001 to current)
I had to add Degeneration X’s theme to this list. They used a Rage Against the Machine-ish band to record a Rage Against the Machine-ish song. It was one of the most iconic songs from the Attitude Era and is still used when HBK and Triple H dusts off their DX merch for an appearance on RAW. Triple H and X-Pac also had some great solo entrance songs, but I had to cut them off as I narrowed down this list.
Rob Van Dam (1998 to 2001)
This was Rob Van Dam’s entrance song in the original ECW. He used the song “Walk” by both Pantera and Kilgore. The ECW crowds would chant along with this song and was one of the many reasons why ECW crowds were great. RVD was a superstar there and would become even bigger in WWE.
Mr. Anderson (2011 to 2016)
This is the other TNA wrestling theme to make the list. It’s upbeat and made you want to see him on television…even if you had to stomach his work in the ring. Ken Anderson had so much talent on the microphone, but he always had bad luck with injuries in WWE and was never really ‘the guy’ during his run in TNA/Impact.
Curtis Axel (2013 to 2014)
I almost put the original Mr. Perfect entrance theme song on this list, but Curtis Axel’s is such an awesome remix of it. I had high hopes of Axel when he debuted as a Paul Heyman Guy, but he just didn’t add up to Heyman’s other clients, CM Punk and Brock Lesnar….who would? Axel is still in WWE and is a good hand in the ring and his run in the Miztourage has broadened his overall acting skills.
CM Punk (2006 to 2011)
As much as I love Living Colour’s “Cult of Personality” theme song CM Punk would use both early and later in his career, I’m a big fan of his debut WWE entrance theme by Killswitch Engage. It has a lot of energy and really gets the crowd amped to see CM Punk succeed in the ring.
Here is a YouTube playlist with all of the featured tracks.
The list is over, but I wanted to name a few honorable mentions. Here are a few notable tracks were omitted from the list.
Kazuchika Okada (2010s to current)
Hiroshi Tanahashi (2000s to 2016)
Chris Jericho (New Japan) (2018)
CM Punk (2011 to 2015)
Triple H (2011 to 2015)
Dusty Rhodes (1989-2015)
The Rock (1990’s to current)
Stone Cold Steve Austin (1990s to current)
New Jack (1996 to 2001)
The Sandman (1995 to 1998)
Chris Benoit (2007 to 2012)
Christian (2009 to current)
The Rockers (80’s to early-90’s)
Owen Hart (1990s)
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About the Author…
Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.