We had quite a lot of enjoyable final time rating a number of the finest WWE themes from the Eighties. My unique intention was to maintain transferring down the Titan street into the 90s, 2000s and so forth. After giving it some thought, I made a decision it was higher to hang around within the Eighties for just a bit bit longer. Even when the World Wrestling Federation was operating all people into the bottom, they weren’t the one ones sending their wrestlers out to the ring accompanied by music. Loads of non-WWF expertise had memorable themes that needs to be given related recognition.
At this time we’ll be taking a look at seven of essentially the most memorable non-WWE Eighties theme songs, together with some enjoyable honorable mentions. I’m fairly certain this all occurred in the course of the Eighties too, so there’s an added bonus!
7. “Sizzling Stuff” – Donna Summer time
It’s been too lengthy since I’ve had event to say one in all my favourite wrestlers of all time: “Sizzling Stuff” Eddie Gilbert. Eddie was a kind of wrestling geniuses who won’t have had the bodily attributes however had the intelligence to go loads farther in wrestling than folks anticipated. He was a prime star all kinds of locations, although it took some convincing of quite a lot of promoters to make it occur. In fact I used to be too younger to see a lot of his profession because it occurred, however the footage I’ve seen has been uniformly wonderful. Plus, the dude married Missy Hyatt AND Madusa. That in itself is Corridor of Fame degree in my guide.
Disco and wrestling goes collectively nearly in addition to rock and wrestling, because the utilization of “Sizzling Stuff” as Gilbert’s theme proved. I can’t think about the person having some other theme, or some other nickname.
6. “One other One Bites The Mud” – Queen
As catchy as “Seize Them Muffins” is likely to be, it wasn’t actually in consideration for the WWE model of this record. See, I used to be way more impressed by the Mid-South model of JYD, earlier than he left New Orleans and obtained paid to do much less. Nicely, he did extra journey, which led to extra points, however what I imply. Mid-South JYD was a lean, imply preventing machine, whereas the Canine that informed us to seize someone’s muffins wasn’t fairly the identical.
Moreover, how might anyone have hoped to prime a Queen music as entrance music for any wrestler? One merely didn’t out-sing or out-perform Freddie Mercury. The music completely match the scenario too, as many a wrestler would come into the Mid-South and be pressured to chunk the mud by the Junkyard Canine.
5. “Chase” – Giorgio Moroder
I’ll be trustworthy with you guys: I’ve by no means seen the film that spawned the title of professional wrestling’s biggest heel workforce of the Eighties. Is it on a streaming service? Anyway, the rating of Midnight Specific received an Academy Award & the one “Chase” made the Billboard Sizzling 100 throughout 1979. Since wrestling has at all times ripped off all the pieces, a gaggle known as The Midnight Specific shaped within the Tennessee space across the time. Dennis Condrey was one of many males concerned, and when Invoice Watts wished him to kind a tag workforce with Bobby Eaton managed by Jim Cornette a few years later, the Midnight Specific title was revived.
“Chase” was the proper selection to make use of because the Specific’ theme music, and have become related to every member for the remainder of their careers. Previous to that, Angelo Poffo’s ICW promotion used “Chase” as their theme & bumper music, and I’m certain that numerous different wrestling exhibits did the identical.
4. “Tom Sawyer” – Rush
Hindsight being 20/20, no person’s very shocked that Kerry Von Erich didn’t change into the largest wrestling star of the Eighties. The medicine, distractions & accidents saved Kerry from changing into that tippy prime man. If you happen to had been dwelling in that period and maintaining with our so known as sport, you bear in mind how closely pushed Kerry was by World Class & the wrestling magazines. He had the look & a sure charisma about him, and with the fitting wrestlers he might get the job performed within the ring. Not realizing all the behind the scenes points or bodily limitations Kerry had, it was straightforward to consider that he might be a long-term World Champion.
He additionally had a reasonably kickass entrance tune. World Class actually dove into the rock music sensation head-on, and Kerry utilizing “Tom Sawyer” as his theme was one of many extra memorable entrances of the period. It gave him the nickname of “Trendy Day Warrior”, which grew to become connected to his title up till his WWF arrival. Heck, he was even included in “The Warriors” Survivor Collection workforce, so it’s not prefer it was fully swept below the rug.
3. “Additionally Sprach Zarathustra (Dawn)” – Richard Strauss
A wrestler as epic as Ric Aptitude was wanted some epic theme music. There are few higher locations to search for epic themes than in Stanley Kubrick motion pictures, and one from 2001: A House Odyssey was a very impressed selection. Earlier than the opening fanfare of “Additionally Sprach Zarathustra” was the theme for Barbie, Elvis Presley concert events and seemingly all the pieces else below the solar, it was in 2001. Earlier than that, it was a tone poem (don’t hear lots of these anymore) composed by Richard Strauss again in 1896 based mostly off of Friedrich Nietzsche’s novel of the identical title.
An odd origin for the theme music of the best wrestler of all time, nevertheless it actually labored. Once you heard the opening notes of this tune, it doesn’t matter what model was getting used on the time, you knew that the solar was about to rise on the wrestling earth.
2. “Iron Man” – Black Sabbath
If there’s been a extra fearsome tag workforce in wrestling than the Street Warriors throughout their prime, I haven’t seen them. Hawk & Animal carved their approach by means of each promotion they labored for like a scorching knife by means of butter. The facepaint, shoulder pads, haircuts & chiseled our bodies helped Paul Ellering’s Legion of Doom stand out from the pack…even the pack of wrestlers that appeared to mimic them.
In fact, Ozzy & crew helped Hawk & Animal out with the intimidation issue. When these first chords of “Iron Man” hit, followers by no means didn’t lose their minds. Opponents by no means didn’t lose their fecal matter. It was an ideal marriage of a fearsome tag workforce with a darkish, ominious music.
Honorable Point out: “Midnight Rider” – Allman Brothers
The Midnight Rider wasn’t a full-time wrestler. He had a knack for displaying up when a prime babyface had been banished from a territory by chicanery. The primary time was in Florida, after Dusty Rhodes misplaced a cage match to Kevin Sullivan that resulted in him having to depart the state for sixty days. The Rider would depart Florida proper across the time Dusty’s sixty days had been up. The subsequent time we noticed the Rider was within the Mid-South space, simply after Invoice Watts misplaced a match the place he must go away for ninety days. Sadly, sufficient folks had been acquainted sufficient with the Florida angle that Mid-South didn’t get the identical quantity of success out of selling it. By the point the Rider got here again in 1988 WCW, no person was all that inquisitive about seeing the identical actual act once more, right down to very related movies.
Nonetheless music although, in its numerous variations.
Honorable Point out: “Man With A Harmonica” – Ennio Morricone
1989 NWA has gotten huge reward from on-line reviewers for many years now, with one of many major causes being Terry Funk’s run towards Ric Aptitude. The center aged & loopy Funk going after one other World Championship towards the Nature Boy made for some compelling tv. The utilization of the “As soon as Upon A Time In The West” theme accentuated the darkness in Funk’s persona in the course of the time interval. The one cause it doesn’t make the highest seven is the truth that Funk solely used this theme for a couple of months.
Honorable Point out: “Simple Lover” – Phil Collins
Talking of short-term theme music, I couldn’t consider it after I watched Ric Aptitude vs. Barry Windham from Battle of the Belts 2 and noticed the Naitch come out to this music as an alternative of his normal. Yeah, Strauss match Aptitude higher, however Phil Collins made for a reasonably superior change of tempo. Actually, Aptitude in all probability might have come out to “Yakety Sax” and made it work in the course of the Eighties.
1B. “Freebird” – Lynyrd Skynyrd
1A. “Badstreet USA” – Michael Hayes & the Fantasia Band
Many aged-time professional wrestlers have taken credit score for the entire idea of entrance music. Few have taken as a lot credit score for it as Michael Hayes has through the years, and fairly frankly, few deserve as a lot credit score. Even when choose wrestlers popping out to music predated Hayes’ profession by not less than twenty years, it was the Freebirds’ utilization of the Skynyrd traditional (together with utilizing the title for his or her group) that actually made decision-makers suppose “Hey, possibly we should always try this with all people!”.
Nearly as good as “Freebird” was, there was nonetheless a technique to kick issues up one other degree. How about having a wrestler carry out their very own entrance music? Hayes wasn’t the primary wrestler to strive & take up singing, however followers hadn’t seen or heard something on the extent of “Badstreet USA”. It set the stage for all the pieces we’d see afterwards from Jacques Rougeau to Shawn Michaels to even Males on a Mission. It’s additionally a kind of songs that if you happen to don’t prefer it, I’m fairly certain you don’t like sunshine, butterflies or anything good in life.
Thanks for studying! Hit me up at [email protected] or on the social media with ideas, feedback or solutions. Till subsequent time, true believers!