How AEW Might Be Secretly Changing The Game

Dusty Rhodes WrestleMania VI
WWE

Music in pro wrestling is of vital importance to the presentation. Pro wrestling is (or least was and one day will be again) a thunderous live spectacle. It's a rock show with fighting.

Anecdotally, iconic music is as prevailing a memory for lapsed wrestling fans as the greatest matches and promos. Your writer's mother still remembers and loves Dusty Rhodes' WWF theme. It's the one thing that stuck with her years after watching Coliseum Home Video in the living room all those years ago. "Me mam says so" isn't a strong nor objective argument, obviously, but it's not just her. These things stick in everybody's heads. They're hooks.

It's not a huge exaggeration to state that the use of music is make-or-break; how top stars are booked is make-or-break, and the presentation is pivotal to the booking. WCW had the better talent roster than the WWF when the WWF thwarted Ted Turner's money until 1996, but - in addition to the hopeless booking of the Jim Herd era - there was, beyond Rick Rude and Ricky Steamboat's incredible themes, a rinky-dink quality to the compositions and a tinny, barely-there volume. The stars of WCW didn't resonate like the stars of the WWF did. WWE got the production element bang-in. WCW looked minor league compared to the Fed, and it sounded minor league, too.

It sounded minor league because the company's in-house music department wasn't on the level of the WWF. Jim Johnston and Jimmy Hart were untouchable.

CONT'D...(3 of 6)

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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 surefire Undisputed WWE Universal 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!