10 Most Over Entrances In Wrestling Today
Getting the crowd going from the off.
For fans of work rate and innovative in-ring action, wrestling has never been better. Every major promotion is filled with performers who can really go, and from free TV to PPV, we’re treated to high calibre matches every single week.
Being honest, though, a lot of the time wrestling peaks with the athletes’ entrances. The moment you appear at the top of the ramp is make or break. Get it right and you’ve got the crowd onside for whatever you want to do - you’re untouchable.
Having an entrance that’s truly over comes down to several factors, but it’s ultimately all about connection. Whether you’ve got a theme song that gets a full arena singing along, some crowd participation or call and response that everyone needs to be a part of, or just an aura or charisma that makes you impossibly watchable, if those first couple of minutes do the job, fans will be anticipating your arrival every time
These are the wrestlers who make the best first impression in the business - and from there, the ring is their oyster.
10. WALTER
If the purpose of any entrance is to set a tone, then no one’s does the job better than the entrance of WALTER (or, if you absolutely must, GUNTHER). It’s no coincidence that the opening strings of Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 IV inspired John Williams’ Jaws theme - when WALTER’s music hits, you know a shark is about to arrive.
It’s the perfect mix of sophistication and fear. WALTER’s ethos is that the ring is sacred - he respects the craft of wrestling and has a piece of classical music to highlight that. But he’s a brutal man with a simple, crushing style of work, and that’s all conveyed in his theme.
Indeed it’s the simplicity that’s so brilliant. A stark black and white screen, then WALTER standing in silhouette on the ramp - it’s all you need to strike fear into the heart of any opponent.
Show WALTER, resplendent in his trenchcoat and severe haircut, to a complete wrestling novice, and they’ll be able to tell you from the off that the guy means business. His entrance is as much about what he doesn’t do as what he does. No posing, no posturing, no pandering. Just a march down to the ring, ready to get the job done.