Hello one and all and welcome to Part 2 of The Stockwell Section Top Ten Series. I did intend on having this section of the series out a little earlier but due to the devastating floods we’re experiencing here in Queensland, it has proven somewhat difficult but now that the worst is over, I’m going to waste little time and jump straight into Part 2 of The Stockwell Section Top Ten Series, and as promised, this week, I’ll be counting down the Best Music in Wrestling.
Firstly, before I begin the countdown, I want to mention that this was quite a difficult list to compile – for one; it’s particularly difficult to compare an awesome piece of hip hop to classical brilliance? If I were to attempt to list which is better, the likes of Pomp and Circumstance, Strauss’ Sunrise, Ride of The Valkyries and Rule Britannia would top off the list but all of which were composed prior to the 1930’s, with the earliest (Rule Britannia) being composed in the 1700’s. Therefore, this list will focus on music in the modern sense. So without wasting any more time, let’s begin…
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Too many to list – Stone Cold’s Theme ‘I Won’t Do What You Tell Me’, McMahon’s ‘No Chance in Hell’, The Wolfpac Theme, RVD’s ECW Theme ‘Walk’ (the Pantera original), ‘Break The Walls Down’, ‘Some Bodies Gonna Get It’ by Three 6 Mafia and American Dream were up there for contention but ultimately missed out
Metalingus just misses out and comes in at Number 11, lyrically it doesn’t compare to some of the inclusions on the list so that’s why – but there is no denying that it is an incredibly energetic number that packs one hell of a punch.
NUMBER 10 – UNSTABLE
Ultimate Warrior’s legendary theme comes in at Number 10. Highly energetic, fast paced and pretty damn funky. The thrash sound is complimented by a mean guitar solo and a pretty cool drum section and in regards to the wrestler himself, it all fits perfectly – I highly recommend you listening to the song in full, because with Warrior sprinting towards the ring, it was never given enough time to show just how good it is.
NUMBER 9 – COOL, COCKY, BAD
Musically, more reminiscent of the wonderful Chuck Berry then Elvis, but sung in a manner closely resembling The King so it can easily pass as a Presley rip off. Rip off or not, its still a wonderful piece of classic rock and roll with the guitar and piano working extremely well together and that Elvis like voice crooning over the top. This is one of those tracks that a lot of Elvis fans will never have the pleasure of knowing.
NUMBER 8 – VOICES
Rev Theory’s ‘Voices’ comes in at Number 8 and if I have to tell you which superstar uses this music then I highly recommend you finding another form of entertainment – I heard Hannah Montana is still taking new fans. Voices is lyrically a very strong track which takes place inside the head of an extreme sociopath disgruntled with society itself and it would seem the man in question (no, not Randy Orton) is on the brink of something quite significant – maybe on a Columbine scale. The thing is, the song captures this character perfectly, even if it is a tad disturbing. One could easily argue that this is lyrically the most interesting piece of music on this list but sadly, it’s let down by sub par musicality – now only if a band like say Radiohead picked this up, one could only imagine how great that would be. However, that seems unlikely so until then, we’ll just have to sit back and enjoy this number every time we watch Raw.
NUMBER 7 – THE GAME
Motorhead are arguably the only musician(s) (other then Mr. Jim Johnston of course) to be considered several times for a list such as this – Motorhead redeveloped Johnston’s ‘Evolve’ into the memorable ‘Line in The Sand’ and then of course, they were responsible for the little gem that is ‘King of Kings’ – seriously, if this list highlighted the Top 25 Tracks, Motorhead would likely have three entries in the list – but for now, they only have the one, the original WWE slash Motorhead collaboration which serves as the entrance theme for Triple H. Cruising along with a crunchy guitar riff and Lemmy’s unique vocal and rounding off with a nice guitar solo, The Game proves to be one of the hardest hitting numbers in this list.
NUMBER 6 – GRAVEYARD SYMPHONY
When you discuss music in wrestling, Graveyard Symphony will commonly find its way into the discussion. This is an eerie piece that suits its accompanying star wonderfully. As a stand alone piece, the Graveyard Symphony is a haunting yet beautiful and moving piece that encompasses a large range of emotion. This is by far, Jim Johnston’s best work.
NUMBER 5 – TRUST
Megadeth’s epic comes in at number five on the list. This instrumental version accompanied ECW’s Jerry Lynn to the rine and what a track it is – starting off with a thumping drum intro (assisted beautifully by well placed strings) and moving into the bulky guitar driven heart. This track just continues to build and build from the word go until its ultimate climax.
NUMBER 4 – FREE BIRD
Easing into proceeding with soft country rock, this piece eventually kicks in with epic guitar solos and does so, at a fast pace and in grand fashion. This is rock music at one of its finest moments. Additionally, ‘Free Bird’ which was used as the entrance song for The Fabulous Freebirds, is possibly the most significant piece of music in wrestling history as it has the honour of being the first rock song used for a wrestlers entrance.
NUMBER 3 – NATURAL BORN KILLAZ
Arguably, one of the best examples of the G-Funk Era that sees Dr Dre and Ice Cube rip it up over the top of a dark bass with a twisted synth thrown in for good measure. This is one hell of a hip hop track which has ya head bouncing from start to finish. It is always such a pleasure to watch a New Jack match, for one you’re assured extreme violence, but secondly, you get the luxury of listening to Gangsta Rap at its best.
NUMBER 2 – VOODOO CHILD
During his WCW days, Hogan was quite fortunate in regards to music – with the NWO original theme and the funky Wolfpac Theme being closely connected with the star – however, the Jimi Hendrix classic that Hogan used as his entrance was by far the best that consists of killer guitar work that only Hendrix is capable of. Hogan is regarded as one of the best the industry has ever produced and treated accordingly by every promotion he has entered, so why not have him accompanied by music made by arguably one of the best musicians of all time – it just makes sense.
NUMBER 1 – ENTER SANDMAN
Could it be any other? Enter Sandman is simply one of the best songs of all time. Thumping drums, intense guitar riff and lyrically and vocally wonderful. Enough said really.
So there you have it folks. I’ll be back soon with my next and final personal list in the series counting down the participants I feel are the most likely to win the Royal Rumble match.
I say personal list because the series will end with the list compiled by you – THE HOTTEST WOMEN IN WRESTLING!!! VOTING IS STILL OPEN!!! If you haven’t voted, do so now.
A reminder of the conditions – you can pick any lady from any period or any promotion – name a maximum of ten in a list and I’ll assign each a point with your 1st place receiving 10points, your 2nd receiving 9points and so forth. If you do not assign each to a given position then all of your ladies will only receive 1point. Voting closes 31st of January. You can leave your list in the comments below and I’ll add them to the tally. For further conditions, see the previous post.
Until NXT TIME…..
