It's about time we appreciate those who have given so much to wrestling without being recognized for it. Those people who don't get into the ring but who pave the way for the men and women who do. Yes, it's time to honor the musicians. Clearly the least appreciated of the lot, one fails to recognize what impact the musicians have on the wrestlers. Word Association...Stone Cold Steve Austin- Glass breaking, Undertaker- Death Knell, etc... Most superstars are recognized today by their themes and the songs are almost like the property of the superstars. This close bond between the wrestlers and the songs cannot be denied.

I personally believe Vince McMahon is one of the stupidest men on the planet when it comes down to making the customer satisfied with the product, but you have to admit the man has a talent for scouting out good musicians and good songs to promote his wrestlers. Let's take a look at really what impact the theme music has. But its not only Vince but Eric Bischoff and Paul Heyman had an amazing talent when it came down to theme songs for the superstars.

Example No.1: ECW One Night Stand - The main event is just about to begin and the Dudleys and Tommy Dreamer have shown up. Then you hear the guitar play the chords of Metallica's "Enter Sandman" and the crowd goes wild. The Sandman shows up and the crowd SINGS THE THEME MUSIC!!! Does it strike anyone as odd""" Are the supporting the wrestler by it, yes. How""" They are singing a song. But it's the WRESTLER'S song. It's Sandman's theme. You can see the bond that the superstar and the song share. Imagine when you ever hear that song again you'd go "Hey, didn't Sandman come out to that music"""" It's almost like wherever he walks that song plays. The Sandman isn't the Sandman without his theme. Thus, the song helps to identify a superstar even when you can't see him.

Example No. 2: Countless no. of times - Either there's a brawl in the ring or a superstar is cutting a promo. He is generating a huge amount of heel heat insulting a specific superstar in the back. Suddenly the glass shatters, Disturbed's "Step Up" Theme booms across the arena and that specific superstar walks down the aisle. Now everyone remembers that moment, the second the glass shatters and you know what's going to happen. Stone Cold Steve Austin was defined by the shattering glass. You knew you were in for something when the theme played and you could feel the intensity through the TV screen if you were at home. Now imagine that same scenario if Austin was given some sort of a pop theme like an N'Sync number...same impact""" Hell No!!! A theme song helps to generate all the heat a superstar needs. The impact and the electricity is accentuated by the theme and the compatibility of the character and the theme is very important to the development of the character.

Example No. 3: SmackDown - A superstar is standing in the ring and cutting a promo. He is calling himself a "Wrestling God" and saying that he is an unstoppable force in the WWE. He claims to have beaten Eddie Guerrero and Booker T. He says there is no man living who can stop his roll. The lights go out and then, BONG!!! The Graveyard symphony begins to play and a tall man clad in a black trench coat and a hat slowly walks to the ring. The superstar in the ring becomes visibly afraid and signs of fear are also shown in the younger audience members. You can feel the chill of death coming on as the Undertaker confronts JBL to a match at SummerSlam. The character of the Undertaker depends so much on his them that it's unbelievable. The Undertaker went basically through 2 characters. The Dead Man and a biker. While the graveyard symphony heralded the oncoming of the dead, Limp Bizkit's "Rolling" and Kid Rock's "American Badass" brought out the biker. And each character was showcased by the theme. To recap, thus far, we have seen that the theme can get the audience really pumped up for the appearance of the sandman, feel the electricity when stone cold walks to the ring and complete the persona of the undertaker, but there's one last thing it can do.

Example No 4: SmackDown and RAW during the WWF - Mick Foley is waiting for a tag team partner to take on another team. The audience knows who it is, so does Mick and so do the opponents. But when "If you smell...what The Rock...is cooking" is heard by the thousands in attendance, and the Brahma Bull (haven't heard him being called that in quite a while) makes his way down the ramp; you know the audience is pumped. But have you noticed how catchphrases are so important to the song. Even Booker T's "Can you dig it...Suckaaaaa!!!" or Owen Hart's "Enough is Enough and its time for a change" had so much more meaning when it was part of his theme.

I could go on and on about how each superstar's theme is so important to his character or how he benefits from the theme given to him. Triple H had a theme written specifically for him, Hulk Hogan's entire character was his theme song much like Shawn Michaels, Mick Foley and the NOW got a huge ovation and the sound of the guitar as did Jeff Jarrett, The Wolfpac howl was a cherished sound to hear when the good guys were losing, theme songs are just so important to the entertainment its unbelievable. None of the superstars would be who they are without their themes. Imagine anyone, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Ultimate Warrior, DDP, Sting, Randy Savage, RVD, anyone with a different theme and it would be the most comical thing you ever thought of.

So in conclusion, as much as I hate Vince for killing angles, destroying storylines, damaging the WWE product, providing "Sports Freaking Entertainment", I must appreciate him and his theme song department because they truly provide the superstars with all the heat and impact they need.

by Rohit Ramnath..