The Best Entrance Themes In AEW, Ranked

As the Queen of Pop sang, "Music makes the people come together." In the world of pro wrestling, music is equally as important, since it enhances the overall experience and atmosphere for both the competitors and the audience in attendance and at home. AEW is blessed with an abundance of catchy and instantly recognizable entrance themes that stir up the crowd and get them singing along like it's a Backstreet Boys concert, not a brawl.

Unlike the WWE, AEW seems to invest more in licensing songs rather than creating original music for its biggest stars. It's a safe approach, too, since a popular song is likely to get over faster than an untested new track that might go one way or the other. In some instances, AEW has also reinvigorated older themes with a modern approach, such as "The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson's entrance theme — which is a remix of Richard Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" — by Elliott Taylor known as "Born for Greatness."

Compiling this list of the best themes proved to be a difficult task since there are many certified bangers that didn't make the final cut here. With that said, let's take a look at the best entrance themes in AEW, ranked.

The Cold-Hearted Handsome Devil known as Hook is a one cool cat. He doesn't walk to the ring; he struts like Goku. Needless to say, he deserves an entrance theme that matches his aloof personality, so, of course, he had to get Action Bronson's "The Chairman's Intent," which features the lyrics: "you don't even know me" — and no, this isn't a loose adaptation of Edge's seminal entrance theme either. Bronson's powerhouse popper adds a natural swagger to Hook's appeal and drops some wicked bars at the AEW shows.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani, Bronson revealed Hook asked him to use "The Chairman's Intent," and he obliged. "We [Taz and I] exchanged numbers at some point and we'd text every so often like, 'yo, we have to get you in the ring to train.' So I went out to Long Island to train. Hook has been a fan since he was a younger kid and he loved that song and wanted to use that song. I was like, 'bro, be my guest, please.'" Eventually, Hook and the rapper teamed up to take on "Daddy Magic" Matt Menard and "Cool Hand Ang" Angelo Parker on "Rampage" — a match in which they won and showed off Bronson's mat skills.

A larger-than-life personality requires an entrance theme to match this trait. While in WWE, Keith Lee had an pop-inducing theme song known as "Limitless" that would announce the superstar's arrival to the audience. Unfortunately, WWE owned it and he couldn't bring it along with him when he moved to AEW. It wasn't all bad news, though, as AEW put some serious thought into Lee's presentation and created a rousing theme called "I Am," which also lets fans bask in his glory.

AEW music producer Mikey Rukus was behind the making of Lee's track. Even though it's a chest-thumping number, Rukus still received some criticism for not utilizing Lee's raps in the verses — like the former Bearcat had contributed to his WWE theme. Taking to Twitter, Rukus revealed it was something that he had taken into consideration, but there was another factor in why it didn't happen. "But what type of [company] would we be if we asked him to leave his wedding [weekend] to get in the studio?" Rukus tweeted. "Relax, [he's] here forever. Remember, we tell multi-audio stories."

Want to know why MJF is a generational talent and one of the best heels in the business? Well, his theme song was completely free of charge and he has managed to put it over as his own — talk about the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled on us! The song he utilizes is called "Dig Deep" by RW Smith and is available from the YouTube Audio Library, having made appearances in other online videos and podcasts before. Huh, no wonder he asked Tony Khan for more money, especially since his entrance is probably the cheapest in AEW history.

Undoubtedly, part of the entrance theme's success and charm is around the emotion that MJF riles up in the audience. Even those who boo get a secret trickle of excitement as they know they're about to witness someone who is better than them — and they know it. Now, here's an interesting conundrum: Say MJF does decide to depart AEW for WWE in the near future, will WWE decide to use this free track or will it give the Salt of the Earth a new theme song? MJF better check those contract agreements before signing on the dotted line with his favorite Khan in pro wrestling.

In NJPW, Kenny Omega's entrance theme, "Devil's Sky," became entrenched in his whole character. It had a video game soundtrack feel that suited Omega's personality while also becoming a crowd-favorite tune. In AEW, though, Omega changed it up with a new entrance theme titled "Battle Cry." As far as theme songs go, it ticks all the boxes as it features a slow build-up with dimmed lights to get the crowd going, then accelerates into a hard-rocking banger as Omega walks out and laps up the adulation from the adoring public.

At the same time, "Battle Cry" still holds an ode to "Devil's Sky" in the lyrics: "I hear the battle cry under the devil's sky." But who created the track for Omega? Well, the song was written and produced by musician Little V, who even created a music video for the track that's pure cheese. Ultimately, Omega has succeeded in having not one but two defining entrance themes in his career. Not many other pro wrestlers can claim to have achieved this.

When CM Punk hit the big time in the WWE, he used Killswitch Engage's "This Fire Burns" as his entrance theme — which, funny enough, was used for Randy Orton for a brief period of time, as per Bleacher Report. However, the Straight Edge Superstar changed things up for the Summer of Punk in 2011, as Living Colour's "Cult of Personality" became his track of choice. The song has followed Punk around since he left WWE and when he debuted in AEW in 2021, it was the familiar jagged riff which sent the United Center in Chicago into raptures and made grown men cry that fateful Friday in August.

On his Twitter account, Punk revealed how the song holds significant meaning for him as it has featured in several parts of his life, referring to it as "the soundtrack." He explained how it was his Little League team's track in 1989 and how he used the song in Ring of Honor later on in 2005. Then, when it came time for him to re-sign with WWE in 2011, he requested it as his new entrance theme. No matter which promotion he's in, as soon as "Cult of Personality" starts playing, everyone knows "it's clobberin' time." There's no doubt that this song has become synonymous with Punk.

If there's one pro wrestler whose theme song is so intrinsically linked to their persona, it's Adam Cole, Bay-Bay. While he's an undoubted and phenomenal talent in the ring, his entrance is something that most fans have come to appreciate before the bell rings. It simply hits differently as the audience becomes a big part of the pre-match shenanigans, partaking in every "boom" chant and the final "Adam Cole, Bay-Bay" shtick.

Appearing on the AEW Unrestricted podcast, Cole revealed how he had a specific idea for the song and brought it to AEW music producer Mikey Rukus. "I explained to him my vision of where I wanted the song to go. I said I wanted a Rage Against the Machine vibe and 'Something For You' was a song I came out to in Ring of Honor and I loved the drum and bass, so I wanted something involving that also. He just, literally, meshed the two together so perfectly." The entrance theme "All About the Boom" is also in reference to his signature move, the exposed knee strike known as The Boom, adding another serendipitous angle to the song.