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Post by EoE: Well There's Your Problem on Mar 13, 2010 1:07:50 GMT -5
...when there have been so many awesome entrance themes.
Someone will probably tell me otherwise, but that is my opinion. I mean, these following themes are among my favourite songs period right now...
The Miz Sheamus Drew McIntyre Zack Ryder Ezekiel Jackson Mark Henry Evan Bourne Jack Swagger CM Punk Randy Orton Edge William Regal
As well as honourable mentions for John Morrison, Christian, Yoshi Tatsu, Kofi Kingston, The Legacy, Matt Hardy, Santino Marella, Beth Phoenix and Vladimir Kozlov.
Agree/disagree?
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Post by celticjobber on Mar 13, 2010 1:17:05 GMT -5
The 80's and early 90's were a hell of alot better, IMO.
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Stotty
Unicron
This is what happens when you don't give Taker the hot tag
Posts: 2,932
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Post by Stotty on Mar 13, 2010 1:37:37 GMT -5
Yeah, late 80's to early 90's was an awesome period for entrance themes. They were themes that were specifically tailored to the wrestler. These days it's pretty much just a specific opener, followed by generic rock
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Post by Free Hat on Mar 13, 2010 1:41:19 GMT -5
I'm actually not a fan of half of the themes you listed. I would actually go with the late 90s, particularly 98 and 99, as the best era for entrance music.
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Post by EoE: Well There's Your Problem on Mar 13, 2010 1:48:20 GMT -5
Different strokes, I guess.
No biggie. In a way, I actually do agree with the people saying that the 80s/early 90s was the best in regards to entrance themes, because 99% of the time, they were created specifically for the wrestler's gimmick. But as stand-alone songs, most of them didn't work that great. A lot of the theme now, "generic" as they may be, do work as actual songs outside of WWE context in my opinion, although I did cheat and list a couple of my favourite instrumentals (Regal, Phoenix, Tatsu) and gimmicky themes (Ryder, Marella, Kingston, Kozlov).
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H-Fist
Hank Scorpio
Posts: 6,485
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Post by H-Fist on Mar 13, 2010 2:25:54 GMT -5
I prefer the Hogan/Demolition/M$M era, myself. I simply don't like the shitty brand of rock music that has evolved over, let's say, the past decade and found its way into pop culture such that it pervades the WWE canon. I'm also generally not a fan of hip-hop. So there isn't much cultural/non-wrestling appeal outside of Jimmy Wang Yang.
The return of "Be Yourself" for WrestleMania is one such example. I really like Soundgarden. I like Rage Against the Machine (hold onto that). I like Audioslave's first album, especially the songs that challenge Cornell's voice (e.g. "Show Me How To Live"). But "Be Yourself" has that it-could-be-anyone vibe to it that drags the soul out of whatever it touches. It's the kind of song where the verses deserve a roaring chorus but instead get a generic message straight out of a horoscope (reminiscent of Our Lady Peace's "Innocent" from 2002).
Now I'll go back to that thought you kindly held onto. Rage Against the Machine. Now, I know I might be toeing the line here with the Board rules, but it feels wrong to me that Jack Swagger, the "All-American American," enters to a track that is a clear rip-off of Rage Against the Machine. Not a generic genre track, but an actual "wow, that's blatantly trying to be Rage" song. The guy with that song should be the subversive guy, the polar opposite of the smiling, establishment varsity jacket heel. He should be pissed off, mad at the world, resentful of both the WWE Corporation and the sheepish fans. They could have that guy if Punk wasn't already too similar. But it's all wrong for Jack Swagger. Now, if Swagger starts handing out Soviet propaganda by the entrances in vignettes, by all means, keep the tune. But otherwise...
I am NOT arguing that there aren't some good and/or fitting themes. Regal's is perfect. Kane, Taker and Shawn have perfect themes. Edge and Jericho have perfect themes. Punk's has grown on me. Orton's is good. I think my main gripe is that too many of themes feel as if they do half the job. They do offer a distinct enough sound that fans can recognize one from the other and respond. But too few have a distinct hook. Say what you will about Cena's crappy rap, but it has a damn fine hook. In a vacuum, different lyrics over the same track at an ROH show for a random ROH wrestler would get the front row slamming the metal barricades. It gets the fans involved and excited through the entrance. Rey's does it, too. That isn't something (rock) bands necessarily are going for with music generally - they want a hook but also for people to listen to them - so it comes off as clumsy when they do it for pro wrestling crowds. Derringer's songs and the songs of that era were specifically designed to market the wrestler as opposed to marketing the merchandise that is the downloadable mp3 song file today.
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Post by Alex Shelley on Mar 13, 2010 2:27:02 GMT -5
The lyrics to a lot of the songs make me want to rip my ears out. The songs are great during entrances but once you get the soundtrack and actually listen to them, you realize how cringeworthy-bad the lyrics are. It's actually ruined a lot of the songs I used to really like.
This version of Christian's theme is one of my favorite songs EVER, though. And I really like Orton's and, oddly enough, Ezekiel Jackson's even though I'm not that big of a rap person. And of course McIntyre's... Sheamus's is good too.
Evan Bourne's makes me want to cry, the lyrics are so bad and cheesy... I really like the entrance and the excitement up until the words start, but after that, ugh.
And how can you not mention Goldust?!
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Post by EoE: Well There's Your Problem on Mar 13, 2010 2:29:45 GMT -5
And how can you not mention Goldust?! It's great for what it is, but it's not a personal favourite of mine.
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Post by The Freakin' Deacon on Mar 13, 2010 3:05:47 GMT -5
About what H-Fist said about Jack Swagger and his theme: Somebody on here a few months ago explained it in a way that makes perfect sense. There are basically two types of people who listen to Rage Against The Machine. The kind of person you explained i.e. angry, rebellious, anti establishment. And the other is the high school jock who always wears his letterman jacket to parties doing keg stands who don't really listen to it for it's political content. The original post was much better, I'm just saying what I can remember.
I have to agree with the OP about today's music. I love it. It's much better imo than any other period, regardless of how tailor made music was for a superstar back in the day.
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Post by Rorschach on Mar 13, 2010 3:20:46 GMT -5
I have to disagree. Maybe it's the fact that I'm not as rabidly into the product as I once was, but man...back in the 90's in the WWE....you heard the first three lines of entrance music, and you KNEW who was coming out.
*Glass shatters*....Oh my GOD it's Stone Cold! Stone Cold! Stone Cold! *If ya smellll.....* The ROCK! The Rock is here, bah GAWD! *GONG.....GONG* Business has just picked up...it's the UNDERTAKER! *TIME TO PLAY THE GAAAAME!* Bah GAWD it's that heinous Triple H! *Break the Walls DOOOOWN!* Y2J is here King! *Are you Ready?* That DAMN DX is here again, King! What the hell are they going to do tonight?
That's just a small example...even the lesser known or midcard talent had great, recognizable themes. The Oddities, Kane, Right to Censor, Too Cool, the Godfather...hell, even the Nation's theme was tailor made to tell you who was coming to the ring to kick your ass, and D-Lo Brown got a great theme when HE broke off on his own.
Nowadays? You might get a good one like Miz' or Orton's...even Legacy's theme isn't too bad. But most of the other guys have that generic rock riff thing going on that to be honest, without a track listing I couldn't tell apart if I was listening to WWE The Music on CD. I think that has a great deal to do with why crowds are SOOO dead in this day and age for entrances. You have to condition them to pop for the music....and if they can't tell who's coming out at a given moment...you're not going to get that.
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AriadosMan
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Your friendly neighborhood superhero
Posts: 15,620
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Post by AriadosMan on Mar 13, 2010 3:22:25 GMT -5
I have to disagree. Maybe it's the fact that I'm not as rabidly into the product as I once was, but man...back in the 90's in the WWE....you heard the first three lines of entrance music, and you KNEW who was coming out. *Glass shatters*....Oh my GOD it's Stone Cold! Stone Cold! Stone Cold! *If ya smellll.....* The ROCK! The Rock is here, bah GAWD! *GONG.....GONG* Business has just picked up...it's the UNDERTAKER! *TIME TO PLAY THE GAAAAME!* Bah GAWD it's that heinous Triple H! *Break the Walls DOOOOWN!* Y2J is here King! *Are you Ready?* That DAMN DX is here again, King! What the hell are they going to do tonight? That's just a small example...even the lesser known or midcard talent had great, recognizable themes. The Oddities, Kane, Right to Censor, Too Cool, the Godfather...hell, even the Nation's theme was tailor made to tell you who was coming to the ring to kick your ass, and D-Lo Brown got a great theme when HE broke off on his own. Nowadays? You might get a good one like Miz' or Orton's...even Legacy's theme isn't too bad. But most of the other guys have that generic rock riff thing going on that to be honest, without a track listing I couldn't tell apart if I was listening to WWE The Music on CD. I think that has a great deal to do with why crowds are SOOO dead in this day and age for entrances. You have to condition them to pop for the music....and if they can't tell who's coming out at a given moment...you're not going to get that. And even Miz's was generic rock until last month!
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Post by Kris Kobain on Mar 13, 2010 4:38:50 GMT -5
Anything is better than Real American
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Post by takahiro87 on Mar 13, 2010 6:14:17 GMT -5
I want more orchestral themes
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Post by MichaelMartini on Mar 13, 2010 8:48:49 GMT -5
This modern era has the worst themes. Nu Metal or rap, that's your choice. I do like most of the songs. I'd listen to them on the radio, but aside from Santino, Ryder, Kozlov and Yoshi, none of them reflect the wrestler's character.
Late nineties were the best. 80's were great too but a lot of guys didn't even have themes.
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Post by imbordisux on Mar 13, 2010 9:32:36 GMT -5
H-Fist
I Am Error
I don't know if "I Am Error" was referring to me, but that's definitely the impression I always got about Swagger's theme - the cocky jock hears a cool song with an angry/driving vibe and a chorus that sings "Get Down on Your Knees", and attributes it to being a song about dominating an opponent (or opponents, or life's obstacles, etc.). The rest of the lyrics don't matter to him, he just likes the vibe it gives off.
No idea if that was the original intention, but I think it works perfectly.
As for the original topic, I think they're finally finding the proper balance between "mainstream" and "character specific" - for example, I think that Miz's theme portrays his anger and new serious attitude really well while also harkening back to his older "goofball" gimmick (the use of the word "play", the lyrics "Say goodbye to the good old days; they're never coming back; watch your future fade"). Kofi, Morrison, Henry, MVP, McIntyre... they all fall into this category.
Then you have something like Orton's theme, which is a pretty catchy song, but doesn't really fit his gimmick - I mean, the lyrics make sense, but the whole groove doesn't sound very "stone-cold psycho", and I find the idea of him entering to a song that makes mention of the voices in (theoretically) his own head to be way too meta.
While I miss the days of themes being 100% tailored to a character, and containing more simple, hummable melodies (since most of the themes were instrumental), there's something to be said for more elaborate themes that (in theory) can tell you more about a character and aren't songs that people would be embarrassed to be caught listening to. I mean, "Real American" was perfect for Hogan, but how many people are going to blast that while driving with their windows down?
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Post by MichaelMartini on Mar 13, 2010 13:35:18 GMT -5
H-Fist I Am Error I don't know if "I Am Error" was referring to me, but that's definitely the impression I always got about Swagger's theme - the cocky jock hears a cool song with an angry/driving vibe and a chorus that sings "Get Down on Your Knees", and attributes it to being a song about dominating an opponent (or opponents, or life's obstacles, etc.). The rest of the lyrics don't matter to him, he just likes the vibe it gives off. No idea if that was the original intention, but I think it works perfectly. As for the original topic, I think they're finally finding the proper balance between "mainstream" and "character specific" - for example, I think that Miz's theme portrays his anger and new serious attitude really well while also harkening back to his older "goofball" gimmick (the use of the word "play", the lyrics "Say goodbye to the good old days; they're never coming back; watch your future fade"). Kofi, Morrison, Henry, MVP, McIntyre... they all fall into this category. Then you have something like Orton's theme, which is a pretty catchy song, but doesn't really fit his gimmick - I mean, the lyrics make sense, but the whole groove doesn't sound very "stone-cold psycho", and I find the idea of him entering to a song that makes mention of the voices in (theoretically) his own head to be way too meta. While I miss the days of themes being 100% tailored to a character, and containing more simple, hummable melodies (since most of the themes were instrumental), there's something to be said for more elaborate themes that (in theory) can tell you more about a character and aren't songs that people would be embarrassed to be caught listening to. I mean, "Real American" was perfect for Hogan, but how many people are going to blast that while driving with their windows down? A lot of people. In the 80s. Give Derringer some slack dude, the song is 25 years old.
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mrjl
Fry's dog Seymour
Posts: 20,319
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Post by mrjl on Mar 13, 2010 13:43:39 GMT -5
This modern era has the worst themes. Nu Metal or rap, that's your choice. I do like most of the songs. I'd listen to them on the radio, but aside from Santino, Ryder, Kozlov and Yoshi, none of them reflect the wrestler's character. Late nineties were the best. 80's were great too but a lot of guys didn't even have themes. I really disagree. I think there's a lot of music that reflects the characters well.
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mrjl
Fry's dog Seymour
Posts: 20,319
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Post by mrjl on Mar 13, 2010 13:48:40 GMT -5
Then you have something like Orton's theme, which is a pretty catchy song, but doesn't really fit his gimmick - I mean, the lyrics make sense, but the whole groove doesn't sound very "stone-cold psycho", and I find the idea of him entering to a song that makes mention of the voices in (theoretically) his own head to be way too meta. While I miss the days of themes being 100% tailored to a character, and containing more simple, hummable melodies (since most of the themes were instrumental), there's something to be said for more elaborate themes that (in theory) can tell you more about a character and aren't songs that people would be embarrassed to be caught listening to. I mean, "Real American" was perfect for Hogan, but how many people are going to blast that while driving with their windows down? Orton isn't supposed to be a stone cold psycho, he's supposed to be a mentally unbalanced psycho. Sometimes I think they design some music for the chance of turns and character changes. Look at Ezekial Jackson's Domination. On the one hand it can be used to crush his opponent's hope as he enters the ring, because it talks about how dominant he is. On the other it presents a positive message, don't do things half heartedly, go out there and do your best and you'll dominate whatever you choose to.
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Post by Jason Todd Grisham on Mar 13, 2010 14:18:18 GMT -5
I think we certainly are in a much better era of music than we have been in years. I actually like a lot of it for some reason.
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Post by Jason on Mar 13, 2010 14:49:32 GMT -5
I like Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, The Miz, Drew McIntyre, Jack Swagger and The Legacy's.
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