We've talked a great deal about the link between professional wrestling (or sports-entertainment if you're basic) and nu metal, particularly since yours truly took the reins as editor-in-chief, but that link cannot be overstated. Some of these themes come from the 2002 compilation album WWF Forceable Entry, but regardless if they come from the Ruthless Aggression era or the modern age, wrestling and nu metal have an inseparable connection that goes beyond just one song or one band. While this is just a small sampling of nu representation in the squared circle, this may be a summation of the best of the crossover. -LZL
"Whatever" by Our Lady Peace (Chris Benoit)
Despite the crimes committed by the man it's forever linked with, this song just went too hard for its own good. Taking the riff Jim Johnston's original theme for Chris Benoit "Shooter" and adding pinch harmonics aplenty, Our Lady Peace's "Whatever" was a hard-hitting song for a hard-hitting wrestler. Part of the success of a wrestler's entrance music is that stinger, that sound that immediately signals to the crowd who's about to come down the aisle, and that riff was a great stinger for the man known as "The Rabid Wolverine."
Nowadays the song is back in the band's live setlist, and has been re-recorded and repurposed in the name of suicide prevention and mental health awareness, in a fine example of a band taking back the night.
"Mass Appeal" by CFO$ (Solomon Crowe)
Talk about a deep cut, huh? I'm sure this has escaped many people's brains, if it was ever in there in the first place, but this has remained one of my favorite entrance themes of all time, regardless of company. Better known to the wrestling world as Sami Callihan of CZW and TNA fame, Solomon Crowe was signed to WWE's developmental brand, NXT, from 2013-2015. When he made his debut at an NXT live event, he had a hacker gimmick who could control the arena lighting. Due to his television debut getting cut, then suffering an injury, we wouldn't see much of Crowe in WWE before he was released in late 2015.
This song, however, fit his look perfectly. It opens with a nice guitar riff with computer hacking sounds over top, before jumping into the lyrics. The vocalist begins rapping lyrics that sound straight out of a Limp Bizkit track ("Who you know that's half this real? If you wanna be half this ill, just mix some skill with an iron will and a little bit of mass appeal"). I'll admit, the speed at which the vocalist raps is impressive. Of course the basslines are sick too. The chorus is catchy as all hell, making this song sound like it jumped out of 2003, just like Crowe's ball chain necklace and spiky black hair. We all know that Jim Johnston is the god of WWE theme songs, but CFO$ deserve their flowers too. Seriously, just check it out for yourself and tell me I'm wrong.
"Slow Chemical" by Finger Eleven (Kane)
Once Attitude gave way to Ruthless Aggression, the presentation of The Big Red Machine changed ever so slightly, then drastically.
No, they never should have unmasked him, thank you for asking.
Finger Eleven gave Kane's theme "Out of the Fire" a makeover, and the result was "Slow Chemical," which may be the most recognizable of the themes he used throughout his decades-long career. While it was never released as a single, the song found its way to the soundtrack to the 2004 Punisher adaptation, long before Marvel dominated the big screen or the letters MCU meant a damn.
"Get On Your Knees" by Age Against the Machine (Jack Swagger)
Say what you want about Jack Swagger/Jake Hager, but you cannot deny that his theme song was a banger. It's arguably the best thing to come from his career. Age Against the Machine are a cover band of, you guessed it, Rage Against the Machine. The vocalist does a stellar impersonation of the iconic frontman, Zack de la Rocha, and even got his approval for doing this song. The instrumental version of this theme, "Soaring Eagle", was originally used by Lance Cade in 2008 for a short time. The legacy of this song will long outlast that of the wrestler.
I do find it ironic to have a Rage Against the Machine cover band make a theme song for an overly patriotic character, though.
"Lovefurypassionenergy" by Boy Hits Car (Lita)
Why this hasn't been released as a single or on a proper album by the band (setting Forceable Entry to one side, that is), we may never know. The song is forever linked to Lita, the game-changing high-flyer who racked up four WWE Women's Championships in her original run from 2000 to 2006. Filled to the brim with attitude, it's hard to see any other song fit the woman with "PUNK" tattooed on the inside of her lip, but damn it the crimson-haired North Carolinian didn't help to change the game for women's wrestling in North America. Her retirement in 2006 and sporadic appearances since are completely understandable, but losing out on hearing this song every Monday night has been one of the biggest blows to the product.
"Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle)" by Limp Bizkit (The Undertaker)
Of course a song by one of the most popular nu metal acts of all time was going to make it on this list, you had to have known that. Even "The Deadman" himself couldn't resist the pull of the nu metal movement in the early aughts. The song opens up with the legendary gong sound effect that will forever be associated with the Undertaker, followed by footsteps made by heavy sounding boots. Then the deep voice of Mark Calloway states "Dead man walking", another gong sound ensues, before launching into "Rollin'" by Limp Bizkit. The entrance video is a wonderful mashup of the renowned music video with highlights from the Undertaker's moveset. Now dubbed "The American Badass", one of the most legendary characters in professional wrestling took a chance and went from a mortician to biker, and it worked. From taking his sweet time walking to the ring, to riding a motorcycle with Limp Bizkit blaring in the background, the Undertaker has always had an entrance teeming with aura.
And of course, it would be remiss not to mention their sick live performance at Wrestlemania XIX.
"Break The Walls Down" by Anthony Martini (Chris Jericho)
Though nowadays he uses songs from his own band Fozzy, Chris Jericho's WWE theme "Break The Walls Down" had the right amount of swagger, intensity, and iconography to represent the first-ever Undisputed Champion. The version used in his debut year is a bit more dated than what was used for the rest of the Attitude Era, but versions by Sevendust and Golden State have also been used on television and in the video games. For our money, though, it was Anthony Martini's original that helped us get hyped to see Y2J and his 1,004 holds.
"I Walk Alone" by Saliva (Batista)
This song is constantly in the conversation for one of the best wrestler entrance songs of all time, it just fit Batista and his presentation to a T. That opening riff is a superb way to start the song and capture the attention of a crowd. Those first 10 seconds are so crucial for a wrestler to make a good impression on potential first-time viewers, and Batista capitalized on that. So many a wrestling fan have played this song and copied his entrance, pretending to be shooting a machine gun with pyro raining down behind them as "The Animal" did.
Saliva were no strangers to WWE, having provided numerous tracks as PPV theme songs, including "Click Click Boom" for No Mercy 2001, "Always" for Survivor Series 2002, and most notably, "Ladies and Gentlemen" for Wrestlemania 23 in 2007, which then-singer Josey Scott actually wrote specifically for the event.
"Booyaka 619" by P.O.D. (Rey Mysterio)
While the original song that the Greatest Luchador of All Time used is underrated, getting a big name band to play you out at WrestleMania is a hell of a thing, and such was the case with P.O.D. granting Rey Mysterio a new theme song in 2006. Premiering on Wreckless Intent, "Booyaka 619" is a bilingual bop by the SoCal icons, with plenty of groove and bounce, never mind the drumming that builds into the hook in the intro. It is an energetic track for one of the greatest high-flyers of all time, and it's one of the few nu themes that we still hear today in WWE, at least when Mysterio's knees decide to be more cooperative than his son "Dirty" Dominik.
"Glass Shatters" by Disturbed ("Stone Cold" Steve Austin)
While not as popular as "I Won't Do What You Tell Me" by Jim Johnston, this one still goes hard and has elements of Austin's most famous theme in this version, such as the glass shattering sound effect to kick it off, as well as the instantly recognizable guitar riff. That's about where the similarities end, as the rest of the song just sounds like a standard Disturbed song, but it's still a great song. Austin debuted this new theme when he made his return at Unforgiven 2000, and used it for approximately a year. This was a big break for Disturbed, who had just burst onto the scene with their debut album and was touring on that year's Ozzfest festival.
Earlier this year, Disturbed released a new mix of the song in celebration of the 25th anniversary of The Sickness, which includes a shout-out from Stone Cold himself.
