Professional wrestling started from humble beginnings in travelling carnival
shows, and now is a billion dollar industry. It continues on its juggernaut pace because a
large portion of those profits are channelled directly back into the product. Aside from
large salaries to motivate their employees, most of the capital is invested into the
production value of their television product. Video packaging, pyrotechnics, and most
importantly, that heavy, thrashy music. Just as all of those elements, the music was not
always part of the show. It arrived slowly, but now is essential.
Wrestling’s music most commonly takes the form of a wrestlers “theme”. This is
the music that accompanies him/her to the ring, and riles the crowd up on their entrance.
This practice started in the mid-eighties following the lead of a wrestler by the name of
“Junk Yard Dog”. The late Junk Yard Dog came to the ring with the musical
accompaniment of “Another One Bites The Dust” by Queen. The owner of the WWF,
Vince McMahon Jr., liked this idea, and within a few years, all of the wrestlers in his
organisation had music of their own with which the audience could identify with.
But this didn’t happen until McMahon hired a man by the name of James Hart to
write all the music. With the music being WWF created and owned, the royalties that the
young company owed were non existent and they could play the music on TV every
week. Soon, Hart would write the music for the WWF’s television programming intros,
etc. (Note that the WWF had been using Animotion’s “Obsession” in their programming
until then, now the theme to Fashion Television!) Hart’s music tended to be upbeat and
very guitar orientated, fitting well within the “Rock N’ Wrestling” era of the time. The
most classic example of Hart’s work is the theme of Bret “The Hitman” Hart. (Real
Media File #1).
Hart did not write all of the music. The most recognisable theme of the Hart era of
wrestling music was Edward Algars “Pomp and Circumstance”. This theme was used for
Nova Scotia native “Macho Man” Randy Savage. This was the first classical piece used
by the WWF, though wrestler Jerry Lawler had been using “Overture from Ruslin and
Ludmilla” in the Southwest wrestling territories for years. Of course, the piece was old
enough to be public domain. However, the WWF would not be a stranger to classical
music for their wrestlers. For their “American Blueblood” character of Hunter Hearst
Helmsley, they used a large choir singing “Ode to Joy”. Hart and the WWF would also
work to arrange and compose their own classical music. The first instance was a horn
piece for a wrestler by the name of Curt Hennig, which many consider one of the best
wrestling themes ever written, despite its “Exodus” undertones. (Real Media File #3).
The second was a string arrangement for the aforementioned Helmsley. (Real Media File
#2)
During this time, other smaller organisations competing with the WWF picked up
on the music trend. The group had set the bar, and their standard had to be met, or at
least aimed for. Not every federation was fortunate enough to have or afford their own
composer. So, in any other federation besides WWF, if music was heard, it was by a well
known rock band. The smaller companies could afford royalties as they had fewer
television viewers and audience members than McMahon and the WWF. Many fans
enjoyed well established music more than Harts brand, and wrestlers such as the Road
Warriors roused crowds with such hits as Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man”. (Track #3) This
was also part of wrestling music’s darker era…the time when wrestlers found it time for
them to SING their own music. Dusty Rhodes “Good Old Country Boy” and the Honky
Tonk Man’s themes are as good as you would expect from overweight men singing in
shiny underwear who grapple each other for a living. The WWF even released an album
entitled “Piledriver”, containing songs by WWF wrestlers. Needless to say, the wrestling
industry is better off for emerging from this period! (Out of respect for my professor, no
sing wrestlers are included in the audio CD.)
As wrestling changed, so did the music. Hart soon left the WWF, and as part of
their “New Generation” marketing campaign, the WWF hired composer Jim Johnston.
Johnston’s music was edgier than Harts, and more complicated. Johnston also displayed a
diversity of styles and instrument playing skills, such as his violin piece for southern
wrestler Jeff Jarrett, and his percussion piece for Ahmed Johnson. It was during
Johnstons time that the importance of music in wrestling was recognised as being so
important, it was weaved into the show. In 1995 wrestler Mick Foley portrayed a
deranged character with a dark past. His music was an ominous violin piece. Once he
won his matches, he would continue to inflict punishment on his opponent, but then, a
soothing piano melody would calm him down and he would resist. The music, for the
first time, was an essential part of a character. This was happening else where as well. A
wrestlers for Extreme Championship Wrestling in Philedelphia by the name of New Jack
has a strange way of intimidating his opponents…his theme plays throughout his entire
match, and he becomes invigorated by the chorus!
It was at this time that Ted Turner purchased and developed his own wrestling
company, World Championship Wrestling (WCW). WCW had Turner’s budget, but did
not want to pay the large royalties for released songs. It could however, afford to buy/use
pieces by modern, lesser known composers for their use. It would not be uncommon to
hear a WCW wrestlers theme on its “Nitro” program one night, and then on a commercial
for Denny’s the next night. Turner did however, shell out enough money to buy the rights
to one popular song, for the WCW front runner Hulk Hogan, being Jimi Hendrix’s
“Voodoo Child”. (Track #4)
In 1996, however, the face of wrestling music changed. There was an influx of new
talent in the WWF, and Johnston was working overtime. The primary villains of the
company, Shawn Micheals and Hunter Hearst Helmsley, had banded together to form a
group known as Degeneration X. This group was supposed to symbolise the WWF’s new
attitude and style. On their first appearance as a group, the cameras cut away, and a pulse
was onscreen, similar to that of a heart monitor. But it wasn’t a heart beat it was
monitoring, it was the baseline to DX’s new theme( Track #5) . An unknown voice called
out “Are you ready?” This was an even bigger surprise, the new song had lyrics. Lyrics
had been abandoned in the WWF since the Hart era, as they were formally by cheesy
country artists and also distracted from the commentary. But the DX theme and video
took center stage, the commentators were silent. When Micheals and Helmsley emerged,
the song was in full tilt, and was a wild melody that sounded exactly in the style of
popular rap/grunge band “Rage Against the Machine”. What’s more, at times in tune to
the beat, clips of DX’s antics and shots of scantily clad women flashed on screen in
perfect synchronisation. This marked a new era of wrestling music, as it incorporated
video, lyrics and songs in a style that was popular with the intended audience. The artists
who recorded the theme were the Chris Warren Band, and they would go on to record
even more music for the WWF, along with Johnston, such as the theme for Chris Jericho.
(Track #7).
Recently, the WWF’s success, along with releasing an IPO on the open stock
market, has allowed them to afford purchasing their own recording company. This
company not only releases commercial compilations of the wrestlers themes by the Chris
Warren Band and Jim Johnston, but also is also releasing an album by vocally talented
WWF wrestler Jesse Armstrong. (Who blows anything off the “Piledriver” album away,
bar none!) And this past week, the WWF has released, under their label, a CD with
remixes of their Johnstons and Warrens themes by popular dance and hip hop artists. The
is a mutually beneficial deal, the artists get their product on TV, and the WWF gets
popular music for free since they own the rights. The revolutionary DX theme has been
replaced…gone is Chris Warrens rendition, replaced by a Run DMC version entitled
“Kings”. (Track #6)
Music is now part of the pageantry of wrestling. When a new wrestler hits the
scene, one of the first questions is "what’s his music like?” Good music can make a
character, and a switch of theme has been known to bolster a wrestlers career. More
importantly, the music makes the shows seem professional, and not simply a carnival act.
Well, at least like a professional carnival act, anyway.