Critiquing wrestling theme songs from a purely musical standpoint is a tricky one. In some respects they aren't made to be fine pieces of musical expression but more as a leveraging component for the wrestlers themselves. They have the ability to make or break a wrestler's popularity with the fans which is why the instant hook of a song is more appealing than a more deliberate, four minute composition. For decades now the WWE's go-to sound man Jim Johnston (and others to a lesser extent) has been sculpting his own musical art from, distancing himself from his own musical ambitions and keeping sight of what is best for the business. This mindset is what has made some of the theme songs throughout the years iconic and long-lasting. What of those songs though that transcend the confines of the squared circle? History shows that it is possible as these ten entries can attribute to, because their conventional song structures and carefully arranged sections emulate pop standards more than anything else. In the interest of fairness, this list will just include those songs that were spawned within their wrestling organization's own sound department (if not, Motorhead alone would take up half this list for example) and will analyze tracks on their pop sensibilities (e.g. use of vocals, verse/chorus song structure), not their popularity. Music fans, feel free to add these to your Spotify playlist - these ten tracks are good enough songs in their own right, inside or outside of the wrestling ring.
Music Journalism graduate and freelance writer from Northern Ireland, who enjoys scouring the music archives for the best sounds from the past and present. Writer for the awesome publications WhatCulture, Metal Injection, Scribol, The Gamer, and Prefix.
