4. Daniel Bryan - Ride Of The Valkyries (Richard Wagner)
When Daniel Bryan returned to WWE, the company was unsure what to do with him. Despite Bryan's technical acumen and endearing personality, he just didn't fit the 'WWE mould'. Instead, he was seen as an internet darling who couldn't connect with a mainstream audience. In a sly dig at the 'smart' fans of the net, Bryan was presented as an archetypal nerd, with commentator Michael Cole repeatedly belittling the talented grappler at every cringe-worthy opportunity. Underestimating their audience, Bryan was also 'saddled' with a piece of classical theme music to further marginalise his character from the rest of the roster. What WWE didn't realise, was that Wagner's 'Ride of the Valkyries' was a more kick-ass theme than all of the generic, 'cool' rock themes given to the rest of the roster. Bryan was now armed with one of the most popular and transcendent pieces of music in the classical repertoire, and the enduringly heroic theme helped him on his way to superstardom as fans rebelled against WWE's prescribed wisdom. A little bit of history would have went a long way for WWE. Looking back, they'd have known that Yoshiaki Fujiwara became one of the biggest stars in Japan using the exact same music, chosen in tribute to his trainer Karl Gotch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB1zZ-fJvq4
Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know).
He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.
