Welcome to VOW Listiclemania! Look, our boss is out of town getting hitched, so we’re spending our Thursday getting a bit silly. Don’t worry! The site isn’t changing. But today, VOW goes wild with Listiclemania – A series of artcles looking at some of the lighter side of pro wrestling in list form. We hope you enjoy! You can provide feedback in the comments section, or on our VOW Forums.
10 TNA Entrance Themes That Totally Rip-Off Popular Songs
Do you remember last year when Voices of Wrestling had TNA Week, where a number of articles were written to celebrate (or perhaps lament) the thirteenth anniversary of the commonly maligned company? If so, you might also remember an article I wrote called He Walked the Cage: Memories of Discovering TNA. In it, I described my enjoyment of many of TNA’s entrance themes. I also mentioned how plenty of these themes were rip-offs of popular songs.
This practice of taking a popular song, changing a few notes, melodies, or lyrics, and slapping it over a titantron video is not new. Jimmy Hart did this quite often when he worked for WCW. There were faux versions of “Even Flow” by Pearl Jam (Chris Jericho), “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana (Diamond Dallas Page), “Come as You Are,” also by Nirvana (Raven), “The Beautiful People” by Marilyn Manson (Mike Awesome), “Cowboy” by Kid Rock (Jeff Jarrett), and a bevy of others.
(Keep some of those artists and wrestlers in mind, please, as they will be turning up quite soon.)
WWE is no stranger to this practice as well. Have you ever found yourself bopping your head to Jack Swagger’s original theme song “Get On Your Knees?” Well then take a listen to “Testify” by Rage Against the Machine. How about Cesaro’s first theme “Engerland?” It sounds to me like the estranged first cousin of “Chelsea Dagger” by The Fratellis. Okay, how about we listen to something a bit more current like Samoa Joe’s NXT theme “Destroyer?” Sorry, I didn’t say “Simon Says.”
This practice is so frequent in wrestling that it’s earned its own page on the website TV Tropes.
But back to TNA. Dale Oliver, TNA’s music composer since its inception, is quite fond of ripping off popular songs to create the music that cranks through the stereo systems at TNA shows. Here are ten TNA entrance themes that prove it.
1. “Deep” – Shane Douglas
“Cut the fucking music.” Shane Douglas spent a few years in TNA and used this song for his entrance. Hey ECW fans, does that melody sound familiar to you? It should because it rips off “Perfect Strangers” by Deep Purple.
Douglas used Perfect Strangers as his entrance music in ECW, hence its bastardized reappearance in TNA.
2. “Scream” – Raven
What about me? What about Cobain?! Raven’s TNA theme is a darker, more industrial version of Nirvana’s “Come as You Are.”
As previously mentioned, Raven used a knockoff version of “Come As You Are” in WCW, so he might as well use one in TNA too.
3. “Marvelous Me” – Scott Hall
Scott Hall has been in and out of TNA plenty of times over the years. He was actually there at the very first show in June 2002, when he entered the 20-man Gauntlet for the Gold to try to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. He didn’t win. But he did have the song “Marvelous Me,” which sounds like an updated and lyrical version of the theme he had when he was Razor Ramon.
Of course, both his WWF and TNA themes are themselves rip-offs of “Those Shoes” by Eagles.
4. “Manson” – Christopher Daniels
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceVaXgp8OS0
When Christopher Daniels broke free from Triple X in 2005 and set his sights on winning the TNA X-Division Championship, he began using this theme for his entrance. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to hear the riff, read the title, and realize that it’s a rip-off of a Marilyn Manson song. More specifically, it’s a rip-off of “Disposable Teens.”
Daniels used “Disposable Teens” while on the independent circuit.
5. “XXX Gonna Give It” – Triple X
Speaking of Christopher Daniels and Triple X, their entrance theme is quite the familiar jingle too. Face it: It’s 2003, Elix Skipper is a black guy, and there’s an X in their name. What song did you think it was going to be?
Continue with 6-10 on the next page!
