10 Best AEW Entrance Themes
BUt ThE AEw ENTraNcE thEMeS ARE NoT GOOd!
"Be more positive."
"OK."
"About WWE, not the generic AEW entrance themes nobody can even hear, you f*cking mark."
That is an issue, admittedly - or maybe it serves the wrong purpose. The entrance themes aren't doubled in the mixer, like in WWE, but are instead blared through the arena's PA system and picked up by the live mics. It's a production tactic consistent with the authentic sports approach AEW strives for; it echoes the atmosphere of an MMA event or football game, and differentiates the company from its over-produced competition - at a cost.
It adds to the rawness of the presentation, but detracts from the point, ultimately. As yet, the muted themes are not too recognisable, and the fans often look to the big screen to determine which wrestler is making their entrance. Getting stars over with and familiar to the audience is more important than getting the atmosphere over at this crucial, early stage. And since AEW (thankfully) doesn't cue up themes when a wrestler interferes - creating the effect of agency > performance - the lack of rotation compounds the issue.
Some of the themes bang too, so more's the pity...
10. Ortiz & Santana
This is a fantastic theme...
...for a babyface act.
And that's the ultimate destination, you'd expect; Ortiz and Santana are extremely well-liked in wrestling circles, and this is evident in the way they project themselves. But for now, it's jarring to their presentation as part of the heel Inner Circle faction. Lyrically, the theme of the song is very much in the babyface mould; pride and power are quintessential babyface characteristics, and the audience is encouraged to interact with a call-and-response that actively disavows wrongdoing: "Put your hands up - we don't do the gang signs".
They are literally part of a gang - a gang with a mission statement to corrupt the Elite's revolution narrative. The Inner Circle exist to make a mockery of the idea that the fans made all of this happen. Chris Jericho made this happen. And yet, this is a theme explicitly designed to pop and unify the crowd.
Musically, it's a banger - a booming hip-hop call-to-arms. It's a Roy Walker tune. It's good, but it's not right.
AEW flirts quite brilliantly with shades-of-grey characterisation, but this is too drastic in tone.