WCW Knock-Off Theme Master List

[chazraps]

So, I've been meaning to make this for a while. WCW used a lot of entrance music, be it production themes or in-house, that sounded like blatant knock-offs of commercially released songs. As far as I know, there's no corner of the internet devoted to listing all of them in a row, so I thought why not make it my pet project this month to put all of them together.

If I'm missing any, PLEASE post.

Again, I'm looking for ONLY WCW themes that are knock-offs of specific songs, NOT knock-offs from other promotions or WCW themes that are knock-offs of wrestlers' themes in other promotions, unless it's an actual commercial song (like much of their ECW Alumni).

Wrestler - Artist - Song Title

Akira Hokuto - Kenny Loggins - "Highway to the Danger Zone"
Berlyn - Carl Orff - "O Fortuna"
Brian Knobbs - The Knack - "My Sharona"
Chris Jericho 2nd - Pearl Jam - "Evenflow"
Chris Kanyon 2nd - AC/DC - "You Shook Me All Night Long"
Chunk Palumbo - Ernest Gold - "Theme from Exodus"
Ciclope - 1st - Pearl Jam - "Evenflow"
Diamond Dallas Page 2nd/3rd - Gary Glitter - "Rock and Roll Part 2"
Diamond Dallas Page 4th - Nirvana - "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
Eddie Guerrero 2nd - War - "Low Rider"
Eric Bischoff - Tito & Tarantula - "White Train"
Elix Skipper - DMX - "Party Up"
Filthy Animals - Q-Tip - "Vivrant Theme"
Hardbody Harrison 1st - Survivor - "Eye of the Tiger"
Hugh Morrus 2nd - Scorpions - "The Zoo"
Jason Jett - Jackyl - "Down On Me"
Jeff Jarrett 2nd - Kid Rock - "Cowboy"
Jerry Flynn - Boston - "Peace of Mind"
Kid Romeo - Ricky Martin - "The Cup of Life"
Kronik - Static-X - "Love Dump"
La Parka - Lenny Kravitz - "Are you Gonna Go My Way?"
Lance Storm 2nd - White Zombie - "El Phantasmo and the Chicken Runner Blast-O-Rama (Wine Women and Blood Remix)"
Mamalukes - Nino Rota - "The Immigrant (Theme from 'The Godfather')"
Mike Awesome - Marilyn Manson - "The Beautiful People"
Misfits In Action - Edwin Starr - "War"
nWo 1st - Jimi Hendrix - "Highway Chile"
nWo Midcarders - Jimi Hendrix - "Hey Joe"
The Outsiders 1st - Seal - "Crazy"
Oz - Queen - "Another One Bites The Dust"
Pretty Wonderful - Black Sabbath - "Fairies Wear Boots"
Prince Iaukea 2nd - Prince - "Purple Rain"
Raven - Nirvana - "Come As You Are"
Rick Rude - Whitney Houston - "How Will I Know?"
Rick Steiner - Guns N Roses - "Welcome to the Jungle"
Saturn - Marilyn Manson - "The Beautiful People"
Shane Douglas - Deep Purple - "Perfect Strangers"
Shane Helms - Ol Dirty Bastard - "Shimmy Shimmy Ya"
Shawn Stasiak 2nd - Fatboy Slim - "Right Here, Right Now"
Steiner Brothers - Rolling Stones - "Bitch"
Vince Russo - Black Sabbath - "Iron Man"
VK Wallstreet - Aerosmith - "Love In an Elevator"
York Foundation - Mike Post - "Theme from L.A. Law"

I know there has to be more. Shawn Stasiak's first sounds incredibly familiar, but I can't put my finger on it.

[thecrusherwi]

Awesome list! I've wondered about this for a while myself.

Barry Windham's slam jam theme that he used in 1992-93 always sounded alot like La Grange by ZZ Top to me

EDIT: It actually sounds more like Smokin' by Boston

[Jimmy]

Would Jericho's first theme, basically an instrumental of a song called 'All the Days' by Mammoth, count?

[Ben Wyatt]

Dec 1, 2012 15:18:43 GMT -5 Jimmy said:

Would Jericho's first theme, basically an instrumental of a song called 'All the Days' by Mammoth, count?

I thought Jericho himself said it was a knock off of Journey's 'Only the Young'

[Paco]

Billy Kidman's theme was a knock-off.
Can't remember the actual song at the moment.

[wildojinx]

Jim Powers's theme was a knockoff of Aerosmith's "Make It":

The Aerosmith song: www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY3ZwMzynjc

Jim Powers theme: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAwWDooi2Dw

[RareTradU]

Sid's Theme was a knockoff of Scorpion's "China White"

Sid Theme: www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfJXz59lXWg
Scorpions: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Rodw4UJvxg

Kimberly's Theme was a knockoff of Van Halen's "Ain't Talkin Bout Love"

Kim's Theme: www.youtube.com/watch?v=scg6GMCwdoI
Van Halen: www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuyvT8nFMLY

[RareTradU]

Also Kanyon's theme sounds alot like Ratt's "Round and Round".

[Deleted]

Bischoff used the actual "White Train" song, it wasn't a knockoff so that shouldn't count.


Dustin Rhodes used a production song called ""Who Dares Wins",
knockoff of Dire Straights' "Money For Nothing":
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZJ2XS03JdA

[Aaron E. Dangerously]

I just can't believe Rick Rude had a Whitney Houston knock-off song for his theme. Whitney friggin Houston?!

[Ron Woodsman aka Shempaholic]

The main riff of the nWo theme is taken from an obscure Jimi Hendrix song called "The Stars That Play With Laughing Sam's Dice". It also has elements of "Highway Chile" and "Hey Joe".

[agent817]

I am glad I wasn't the only one who thought that the songs were knock-offs. When I heard that version of "The Zoo," at the time, I thought to myself "Didn't I hear this song in ECW?" I was right, too, except that was Bruce Dickinson's version.

I just remembered this. Did anyone else think that Bobby Duncum Jr's theme sounded similar to "Cisco Kid" from War?

[Rumble McSkirmish]

Wrath's theme that he used during his brief big push in 1998 was a knock off of Van Halen's "Running With the Devil"

[wildojinx]

Dec 2, 2012 0:02:32 GMT -5 Aaron E. Dangerously said:

I just can't believe Rick Rude had a Whitney Houston knock-off song for his theme. Whitney friggin Houston?!

Before that he had a knockoff of Janet Jackson's "Black Cat". And at least they bothered to write lyrics to the whitney houston knockoff (we are talking about "simply ravishing" right?

[Deleted]

Knobbs with "My Sharona" as a theme is hilarious to me for some reason.

[Craig-UK]

Dec 1, 2012 15:18:43 GMT -5 Jimmy said:

Would Jericho's first theme, basically an instrumental of a song called 'All the Days' by Mammoth, count?

I wouldn't say so because it actually IS the instrumental. Mammoth was under the label Zomba and BMG, of which Chappell Recorded Music Library is also under BMG (at the time). They are one of very very few bands to actually have their music available as production music during that point.
Another one would be "Touch of Evil" used by Vincent Young in NWA/WCW, which is basically the music for "Touch Of Evil" by Juda's Priest. Written by the same composer.

Here's a list from a theme site I am an admin of. I did not compose this myself.
7even (Seven Theme) - Dark by Gary Numan
Animal (Animal Theme) - Iron Man by Black Sabbath
Avalanche (Avalanche Theme) - The Quaker Shake by Jimmy Hart & John Maguire
Berlyn (Berlyn Theme) - Carmina Burana - O Fortuna by Carl Orff
Buzzkill - Oh You Didn't Know? by Jim Johnston
Chavo Guerrero (Chavo's Groove) - I Got One For Ya by Kid Rock
Chris Candido (Chris Candido Theme) - Back In Black by AC/DC
Chris Kanyon (Kanyon Theme) - Round And Round by Ratt
Chris Kanyon (Kanyon Theme 2) - Comedown by Bush
David Flair (David Flair Theme) - Burn by Nine Inch Nails
Diamond Dallas Page (Self High Five) - Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana
Dustin Rhodes (Dustin Rhodes Theme) - Prodigal Son by Kid Rock
Dusty Rhodes (Dusty Rhodes Theme) - Common Man Boogie by Jimmy Hart & John Maguire
Elix Skipper (Elix Skipper Theme) - Party Up (Up In Here) by DMX
Ernest "The Cat" Miller (Cat's The Greatest) - Funk On A Roll (S-Class Mix) by James Brown
Four Horsemen (Four Horsemen Theme) - Coast from Amphonic Music/SoundStage
Honky Tonk Man (Honky Dog Baby) - Cool, Cocky, Bad by Jimmy Hart & John Maguire
Hugh Morrus (Hugh Morrus Theme) - The Zoo by The Scorpions
Jason Jett (Jason Jett Theme) - Down On Me by Jackyl
Jeff Jarrett (Jeff Jarrett Theme) - Cowboy by Kid Rock
Kid Romeo (Kid Romeo Theme) - Livin' La Vida Loca by Ricky Martin
Kronik (Kronik Theme) - Love Dump by Static-X
Lance Storm (Lance Storm Theme) - El Phantasmo and the Chicken Run Blast-O-Rama (Wine, Women and Song Mix) by White Zombie
Madusa (Madusa Theme) - Voodoo U by Lords of Acid
M.I. Smooth (M.I. Smooth Theme) - Smooth Operator by Sade
Midnight Express (Midnight Express Theme) - The Chase by Giorgio Moroder
Mike Awesome (Mike Awesome Theme) - The Beautiful People by Marylin Manson
Misfits in Action (MIA Theme) - War by Edwin Starr
Mortis (Mortis Theme) - Toccata by Johann Sebastian Bach
Natural Born Thrillers (Natural Born Thrillers Theme) - More Human Than Human by White Zombie
Perry Saturn (Saturn Theme) - You've Got Another Thing Coming by Judas Priest
Perry Saturn (What Are You Lookin' At?) - The Beautiful People by Marylin Manson
Prince Iaukea (Artist Formerly Known As Prince Iaukea) - Purple Rain by Prince
Raven (What About Me) - Come As You Are by Nirvana
Renegade (Renegade Theme) - Highway Star by Deep Purple
Revolution (Revolution Theme) - The Beautiful People by Marylin Manson
Rick Steiner (The Dog Pound) - Welcome To The Jungle by Guns N' Roses
Scotty Riggs (Scotty Riggs Theme) - 10 Seconds Down by Sugar Ray
Shane Douglas (Franchise Theme) - Perfect Strangers by Deep Purple
Shane Helms (Vertebreaker) - Shimmy Shimmy Ya by Ol' Dirty Bastard
Shark (Shark Theme) - Main Title (Theme to Jaws) by John Williams
Shawn Stasiak (Perfect Shawn Theme) - The Perfect Twist by Jim Johnston
Shawn Stasiak (Stasiak Theme) - Right Here, Right Now by Fatboy Slim
Sid Vicious (Sid Vicious Theme) - China White by The Scorpions
The Mamalukes (Mamalukes Theme) - Love Theme from the Godfather by Nino Rota
The Road Warriors - Iron Man by Black Sabbath
The Wall (Wall Theme) - Electric Head Pt. 1 (The Agony) by White Zombie
Van Hammer (Hammer Theme) - In A Gadda Da Vida by Iron Butterfly
Vince Russo (Vince Russo Theme) - Iron Man by Black Sabbath

[limoncello]

Dec 1, 2012 19:39:01 GMT -5 Paco said:

Billy Kidman's theme was a knock-off.
Can't remember the actual song at the moment.

Sorry for necro'ing, but I haven't had computer access for almost a week.

You are thinking of "Satch Boogie" by Joe Satriani.

[fuzzywarble, squat cobbler]

I don't think Eddie's theme is a Low Rider ripoff. Low Rider is faster paced. It sounds more like a Razor Ramon ripoff

[fuzzywarble, squat cobbler]

Mike Awesome's was like if "The Beautiful People" and "La Grange" had a weird love child

[wildojinx]

Dec 2, 2012 11:28:44 GMT -5 Craig-UK said:

Dec 1, 2012 15:18:43 GMT -5 Jimmy said:

Would Jericho's first theme, basically an instrumental of a song called 'All the Days' by Mammoth, count?

I wouldn't say so because it actually IS the instrumental. Mammoth was under the label Zomba and BMG, of which Chappell Recorded Music Library is also under BMG (at the time). They are one of very very few bands to actually have their music available as production music during that point.
Another one would be "Touch of Evil" used by Vincent Young in NWA/WCW, which is basically the music for "Touch Of Evil" by Juda's Priest. Written by the same composer.

Which is equally as weird as the Judas Priest song wouldnt be released until 1990, while vincent young was only there for a few weeks in the spring.