10 Ways World Class Championship Wrestling Changed The Business

9. Rock N' Rasslin'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB6keE2ylBw What's a wrestler without theme music? Outside of Andre the Giant, not much. Even indie wrestlers bring music to an event these days. Music is one of a wrestler's biggest assets, prompting knowledgeable fans to stay tuned upon hearing, say, "Real American," "Oh You Didn't Know," or even that godawful song that Dolph Ziggler comes out to. Gorgeous George had used "Pomp and Circumstance." Sgt. Slaughter had used the "Marines' Hymn." Rock n' roll music, however, wasn't identified with wrestling until the Fabulous Freebirds strutted out to their namesake, Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Freebird." When they were feeling especially prideful, they would enter to Willie Nelson's version of "Georgia On My Mind." The rest of the WCCW roster quickly followed suit. The Von Erichs used Rush's "Tom Sawyer." George Thorogood's "Bad to the Bone" signaled the entrance of "Gentleman" Chris Adams and Gino Hernandez. Even the Dingo (and future Ultimate) Warrior got in on the fun, using the pop rock strains of Scandal and Patty Smyth, long before Jim Johnston iconic metal theme made him a star. Today, an in-house composer takes care of the music, mainly due to rights issues, but with one more benefit: even after a wrestler leaves, the promotion still owns the jams. (This is why you had a little person in a Bret Hart mask walk out to the Hitman's music back when he and the WWF were still angry at each other.) In the freewheeling days of WCCW, though, no one was thinking of such matters. Today, theme music is intrinsic to a wrestler's identity. It sells mp3 downloads and is heard in horrible YouTube fan tributes. Back then, it was just part of the fun, and it made WCCW stand out in a way that other wrestling promotions hadn't considered. The Freebirds would inevitably record their own theme song, the iconic "Badstreet, USA." If you still tap your toe to Ted DiBiase's "Million Dollar Rap" or Shawn Michaels's "Sexy Boy," then Michael Hayes's work is done.