“Imagination plays too important a role in the writing of history, and what is imagination but the projection of the author’s personality.†– Pieter Geyl
The Opening Chapter
Music is everywhere. It’s everywhere we look, everywhere we go, everywhere we work. Music is one of those things that has become ingrained into our everyday lives. Professional sports and every entertainment medium are so engrained with music that has become part of their very institution. Music has become just as much a part of the sport as the event itself. Professional wrestling is no different. Since the Vince McMahon expansion era, music and pro wrestling have gone hand-in-hand. Sure Michael Hayes claimed he introduced music to wrestling down in Texas while Sgt. Slaughter claims he brought it to New York, but I believe, and correct me if I’m wrong, that Gorgeous George used to come to the ring with the sounds of “Pomp and Circumstance†way back in the “Golden Age of Wrestling.†The point is they go hand-in-hand. My esteemed colleague Mr. Glazer also pointed out the success of music on the Ring of Honor roster, and he gave me the wonderful idea to expand on that point on a much larger scale.
Superstar Themes
Since Michael Hayes and The Freebirds came out to “Freebird†down south and Sgt. Slaughter used his Marine Corps. Hymn up north, a light bulb went off that music could help get a superstar over and differentiate them from everyone else on the roster. The WWF capitalized on the trend early and made sure their top superstars came out to an identifying theme. But rather than using an established, and copyrighted, piece of music the company used Jim Johnston, Jimmy Hart and a crack team of in-house musicians to create exclusive music for their stars. They then had the gall, or initiative, to market their own music and try to sell it to the masses. In fact they are still doing today and marks like yours truly will still spend the money to buy what they put out.
Over the past twentysome years, the company has produced a variety of memorable themes that draw fans into a wrestler before they even appear before a crowd. Some themes have become so successful and popular that they can often transcend a wrestler. Good theme music will pop will a crowd even if the crowd doesn’t necessarily like the wrestler.
Triple H has probably become the most notorious candidate of that logic. Ever since he became a part of DeGeneration X over a decade ago, his various themes have allowed “The Game†to be over with crowds no matter what they thought of him once he actually stepped into the ring. Other men like Bret Hart, Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels have become so intrinsically identified by a single piece of music that to hear them come to anything else would be considered blasphemous. A guy like Undertaker has been able to modify his music to coincide with his ever-changing character in order to keep him relevant with fans and within the industry. A song like “Real American†transcends the Hulk Hogan character and can stand alone as a legitimate song in its own right.
In today’s marketplace WWE combines in-house produced songs with legitimate songs produced by national recording artists to create a blend of music. The music must be able coincide with a wrestler’s character in order for it to be effective. Mickie James’ in-house creation “Obsession†compliments her bubbly, up-beat personality while Mr. Kennedy’s shout of “Kennedy†makes his theme successful no matter what follows thereafter. Batista’s theme, titled “I Walk Alone†by Saliva, fits Batista’s character as a loner and has a hard, high-energy sound that fits the character’s explosiveness. Meanwhile Batista’s old Evolution co-hort Randy Orton has become synonymous with the Mercy Drive tune “Burn in My Light†despite the majority of the fans and Orton himself disliking it. The lyrics and the beat made it perfect for Orton’s short-lived hero character back in 2004, but once he went back to his heel-ish ways, the song didn’t necessarily fit his new character. And on the same foot, his new song “I Hear Voices†by Rev Theory doesn’t quite fit him either. It’s a great tune for a psychotic heel character but it doesn’t quite coincide with Orton’s slick, cocky, pretty-boy persona.
And even though I’m a Ring of Honor novice I would be remiss if I didn’t mention AFI’s “Miseria Canteria,†which was CM Punk’s old theme. That is definitely one those songs that’s intrinsically related to Punk. It’s too bad he couldn’t bring it with him onto WWE TV.
Vignettes and Videos
This is where WWE really thrives. Their crack production team can make any droll match-up seem like a match of the year candidate thanks to their absolutely amazing video packages. Their top-level video packages are often combined with a big-name song that just adds to the big-time feel of a hot rivalry. The one shining example that still rings true for me after all these years is the build-up to The Rock-Stone Cold Steve Austin WWF Championship match for WrestleMania X-7. The theme for the event was Limp Bizkit’s “My Way,†which was an absolutely hot song at the time, but when it was put to a video of Rock and Austin it still sends chills down my spine now just thinking about it. The production team was able to put together images that coincided with the lyrics and the beats of the song that just made it click absolutely perfectly. To this day I still find it be the most memorable hype package for any WWE event or match.
Likewise a well-produced video can enhance a superstar and the song itself. This past WrestleMania season featured a career retrospective for Ric Flair to the tune of “Leave the Memories Alone†by Fuel. I wasn’t a fan of the song initially myself but when it was played ad nauseum on WWE TV combined with emotional Flair images it made for a powerful thing. To this day I can’t listen to that song without thinking of “The Nature Boy.†And apparently the song and the band itself got a huge boost thanks to their association with WWE and Flair.
I also need to mention WWE during that weird post-Invasion, pre-brand expansion era that produced many of the company’s most iconic videos. Their series of “Desire†videos to the tune of Creed’s “My Sacrifice†helped get the company and individual stars like Jeff Hardy, Edge, Stone Cold Steve Austin over. The Kid Rock song “Lonely Road of Faith†was the backdrop to the “History of WWE†videos that the company produced during that time that I still consider to be one some of the best videos they have ever produced. Kid Rock also donated “Cocky†to a Ric Flair video that heralded his return to the company after an eight-year absence. During that same period Triple H’s return has helped accentuated by well-done video to the tune of U2’s “Beautiful Day.†As if Triple H wasn’t going to be over coming back from injury that video only helped the cause.
Pay Per Views
Some artists like have had long-standing relationships with WWE and are responsible for some of the company’s most iconic songs. Saliva has not only produced Batista’s wildly successful entrance theme, but have also donated many of their tunes to pay per views. I can still fondly remember “Click, Click, Boom†as the backdrop to No Mercy 2001, “Always†for Survivor Series 2002 and of course “Ladies & Gentlemen†for WrestleMania 23.
Other artists like Puddle of Mudd, Rob Zombie and Drowning Pool have also contributed more than once to the company’s pay per view events. In fact it was SummerSlam 2001 with the background music of “Bodies†by Drowning Pool that really kicked off the company’s trend of using a major song to accentuate their events. Unfortunately thanks to the events of September 11, 2001, “Bodies†became music non grata. That song did kick off a trend however that still followed today. In the past year alone, big-time artists like Seether, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kid Rock and Motorhead have contributed songs to pay per view broadcasts. It’s a great relationship for both sides as WWE gains credibility from being associated with major label artists, while those musicians hope to gain exposure from wrestling fans, which is an admittedly large following.
Live Music
WWE hasn’t been quite as guilty of this practice as others (I’m looking at you WCW) but often a wrestling event will feature a performance from a live band, in hopes of drumming up support for the event, and in many cases for the musical act itself. The short-lived 2002-2003 WWA promotion used the rock band Tantric to sing their song “Revolution†to promote their event, aptly titled “The Revolution.†WCW spent big bucks in their latter days to bring in bands like Megadeth, KISS and The No-Limit Soldiers, to little or no success in ratings or attendance. WWE has used Motley Crue, Alterbridge and others live on RAW, but have found their most success with live bands on the flagship WrestleMania event. Mid-level rock bands like Saliva and Drowning Pool played for the largest crowds they ever had when they performed at WrestleMania X8, while major names like Limp Bizkit and Motorhead performing at WrestleMania helped enhance the aura and success of both brands.
The Perspective
I am one of those very fans who are often drawn to the theme associated with a WWE pay per view, and my iPod has a large section of songs that I can closely associate with an event, video or specific wrestler. Music is one of those things that can really accentuate a wrestling event. Jim Ross always said that the wrestling was the “steak†of an event, but I believe that the music component adds to the “sizzle†of the show. I mean I know it wouldn’t be WrestleMania if I didn’t hear some nu-metal or modern rock echoing through the arena.
For this week the vault is closed…
Linked to the Pulse
Eric S. is back with more opinions from n angry old man.
David B. continues his run through 1990 AWA “goodness.â€
SK finally gets around to reviewing that famous RAW with the Michaels-Jannetty 1993 match of the year.
This Day in History
I figured if we are talking history around here we should pay homage to what has happened on this very day in the years gone by. It will either make you long for the old days or be happy for what we have now.
1956 – Fabulous Moolah defeated Judy Grable in a tournament final for the WWf Women’s title
1983 – Jos LeDuc defeted Barry Windham for the Florida State Heavyweight title
1989 – AWA Tag Team title declared vacant due to Ken Patera’s injury
1993 – Tony Stetson & Johnny Hot Body defeated Eddie Gilbert & the Dark Patriot by forfeit for the ECW Tag Team title
1994 – WCW Fall Brawl was held at Civic Center, Roanoke, VA
1994 – Ricky Steamboat surrenders the WCW U.S. Heavyweight title to Steve Austin due to injury
1994 – Hacksaw Jim Duggan defeated Steve Austin for the WCW U.S. Heavyweight title
1994 – Johnny B. Badd defeated Lord Steven Regal for the WCW Television title
1995 – Marcus Bagwell & Scotty Riggs defeated Harlem Heat for the WCW World Tag Team title
1999 – Wife Beater defeated Nick Gage for the Combat Zone World Heavyweight Title
2002 – Chris Harris & James Storm defeated Brian Lee & Ron Haris for the NWa Tag Team title
1976 – Moondog Manson was born
The Assignment
It’s important to know your history to know where you have come from and where you are going. Back when Nova was in charge of the WWE developmental system he implemented mandatory history assignments for the students of the developmental territories so they would know pro wrestling’s history and they would learn just how many moves Nova created and apparently the best ways to get on-line prescriptions. I feel Nova had a great idea there and every week I will assign a book or DVD for you to check out and learn from. They are not only educational, but very entertaining.
The Life & Times of Mr. Perfect is actually not a perfect DVD. It actually kind of played into the fears of what I thought: Mr. Perfect didn’t really have enough of a storied career to warrant a full-length docu-DVD on his own. The documentary portion, which usually runs two hours or so for most docs, barely clocks in at over an hour. I really feel some subjects, like his runs with and against Ric Flair and his unexpectedly successful bid with The West Texas Rednecks weren’t covered in very much detail. The matches portion is quite good however and perhaps the two-disc set should’ve been set up like original Ric Flair collection with just matches and vignettes surrounded by the corresponding matches. It really goes without saying but if Hennig were still alive I’m sure the documentary portion would’ve been much longer and more in-depth. The doc does feature good stuff from Curt’s family, especially his wife, his son Joe and his dad Larry “The Ax†however. The matches are where it’s at though, including a couple of the good matches he had with Bret Hart, his epic 60-minute draw with Nick Bockwinkle and his WWF debut against Terry Taylor, where neither man was either “Perfect†or a “Rooster.†If you’re a fan with of Hennig this is an easy buy, and if you are a fan of the old AWA, the WWF in the ‘80s or the Monday Night Wars then you should give this a look as well as he was an integral of all three of those eras and it provides a decent look back at those climates as well.
