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If it’s not broke, don’t fix it!

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Although it was used sporadically by performers before, entrance
theme music become common place in the 1980s. Promoters started using ‘Rock and
Roll’ songs to accompany wrestlers to and from the ring.

It soon evolved to where music was used to help promote the
gimmick of a wrestler. ‘A Real American’ ‘American Dream’ and ‘Hard Corps’
helped the fans connect and become instantly aware of a performers arrival. It
is also used to signify the end of a match or segment, but the basis of its original
functionality is still very much the same today.

Back when WWE was changing to a more adult orientated product
and to ‘PG14’ programming they also decided that entrance music needed to be
updated from the ‘gimmicky’ tunes to more main stream and edgy.

Rock and Roll was thriving in the music industry and WWE
started using songs from artists such as Motorhead, Limp Bizkit, Rob Zombie and
Kid Rock amongst many others.

Up until recently Jim Johnson was in charge of music
production for the company. He wrote and composed original music for most of
the performers and is credited with the creation of entrance music for stars such
as The Undertaker, The Rock and Stone Cold. He also led in the creation of the
soundtracks for WWE programming, video games and is now concentrating on work
with WWE Studios.

‘CFO$’ is now primarily in charge of entrance music for WWE
superstars. CFO$ is music production company run by John Alicastro and Mike
Lauri. They produce and write songs for WWE Superstars and also for their shows
like NXT and Total Divas.

Since taking over from Johnson the quality of the production
of theme music has diminished considerably! ‘CFO$’ is struggling to grasp the characters
and provide them with entrance music that can help them flourish or appeal to
fans.

Cesaro’s theme music is horrific and has gone some way to
stifling his progress. When his music hits you just want it to be over as
quickly as possible. It is just a horrible noise!

Adam Rose was given a theme song that although catchy at
first was obviously going to become very annoying very soon. Although there may
have been no hope for his gimmick from minute one, it certainly doesn’t help
him now the audience is more familiar. Another one that you can’t wait until it
has finished.

Seth Rollins music isn’t great, Dean Ambrose, although
fitting with his character, doesn’t make me move to the edge of my sofa like
the glass smashing for Austin or the guitar riff at the start of Moorhead song.
Not one entrance theme song from NXT is memorable or catchy and all of the
above have been produced by ‘CFO$’

Recent successes have been the Wyatt Family entrance and
less so Bo Dallas’ entrance music, which fits his character perfectly. Neither
have been produced by ‘CFO$’

In the height of the ‘attitude era’ WWE was making money and
spending it also. Using actual songs from popular recording artists is hugely expensive
when it comes to royalties and licensing costs. CM Punk use of Living Colour’s ‘Cult
of Personality’ is the last real throwback to the use of Rock songs as entrance
music.

Hiring a company to produce original theme music for WWE,
who requires a huge amount of it and is an integral part of the show, is best for
business. What is not best for business or best for your talent is a company who
doesn’t understand the business, doesn’t understand the fans and doesn’t understand
the character’s they are charged with helping progress.

For 25 years, Jim Johnson was hugely successful at this. He didn’t
knock it out of the park every time, but he understood the concept and what was
required to make an entrance theme that would benefit the performer. He also
understands the business and has huge experience of it.

Sometimes bigger, and
newer and more technologically advanced isn’t better. Sometimes you don’t know
what you have until you no longer have it!

Feel free to comment on your favorite entrance music. Its so varied and hard to quantify. The Rock and Stone Cold always made me jump off my seat. My favorite to listen to that is an actual popular Rock song would be ‘Evolution’

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