WWE: 5 Ways Sports Entertainment Has Influenced Sports & TV

4. Entrance Music And Videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3T8eXWKCuI The origin of entrance music is somewhat disputed. Some say Sgt. Slaughter was the first to use entrance music while historians point to Gorgeous George's use of "Pomp and Circumstance" decades earlier as the origin. What is not disputed is wrestling popularized, if not innovated the practice, adding videos to the entrances by the 1990s. A wrestler is easily identified by his/her theme or video and other sports have picked up on the practice. The Chicago Bulls' entrance during their two "three-peat" National Basketball Association championship runs in the 1990s is a prime example.. Major League Baseball is another culprit. Nearly every pitcher and batter for every home team at nearly every major, and even minor, league level of the game has some semblance of entrance music that will play when they step to the pitcher's mound or home plate. Some baseball players, such as St. Louis Cardinal Matt Holliday even use professional wrestler's theme songs as their "walk up" music. Longtime Padre closer, Trevor Hoffman would always come out to AC/DC's "Hell's Bells." Longtime New York Yankee closer Mariano Rivera would come out to Metallica's "Enter Sandman." Now of course, the movie "Major League" could be contributed to this rise of entrance music, but we'll stick with wrestling for sake of the article. However, nowhere is the thievery more evident than in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. When the UFC was first introduced, it was just fighters coming out to fight. No big show, no theme music. Just the fighter and maybe a training team or his buddies. But when Ken Shamrock departed the then WWF and returned to the UFC, he brought the glitz and glam with him. Fighters came out of walkways, walked down ramps and some even had pyro, something also borrowed from WWE entrances. Now, it's much simpler. The fighter coming out of his/her respective locker room to a light show and music, getting the crowd excited for what's about to take place. Seemingly every major professional sport has used these practices as they have proven successful in instantly building anticipation and excitement in the fans as their favorite team or athlete makes way to the arena floor.