10 Most Epic Wrestling Entrance Themes You May Not Have Heard

3. Fabulous Freebirds - Badstreet USA

The Fabulous Freebirds were among the first acts to popularise entrance music in the golden days of the territory era (Gorgeous George and Mildred Burke innovated the practise in the 1950s), flying to the ring to the tune of Lynyrd Skynyrd's southern pride anthem 'Free Bird'.

By the mid 1980s, using copyrighted music simply became too expensive, precipitating the age of in-house compositions but not prohibiting faction leader Michael 'PS' Hayes, an accomplished musician in his own right. He, in conjunction with James D. Papa, penned 'Badstreet USA' for use by the Freebirds going forward. It's a shame that the song is synonymous with their faded force, for it is a sublime, early Van Halen-esque rock number dripping with the cool the Freebirds possessed at the height of their WCCW run with the Von Erichs.

It begins with a bass string-plucked heartbeat before the drums strut right up to the top of the mix, joined by a sleazy, arrogant guitar riff and growling, emulative vocals. This being the height of the 1980s there is, naturally, a caterwauling solo tacked on the end of it.

This wasn't Hayes' last contribution to the wrestling music sphere; he also recorded 'Freebird Road' as a tribute to his fallen Freebird comrade Terry 'Bam Bam' Gordy. You shouldn't laugh - the inspiration behind it is as sweet as the harmonies - but Hayes does air guitar on Gordy's grave in the video.

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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!