10 Best AEW Entrance Themes

BUt ThE AEw ENTraNcE thEMeS ARE NoT GOOd!

Dynamite Kenny Omega
Scott Lesh

"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

Dynamite Kenny Omega
AEW/Lee South

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.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!