Every WWE The Music Soundtrack Ranked
Wrestling is mostly known for the in-ring action, over-the-top promos and memorable storylines, but you also can't have wrestling without music.
Gorgeous George used music for his ring entrances back in the 1940s and '50s. Since then, wrestling themes have become popularized due to their catchiness or the way they complement a particular wrestler's character. You can't think of The Undertaker without the gong or the dark, brooding music that follows. And everyone knows that when they hear the glass shatter, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin is about to make his way to the ring to raise hell.
Wrestling themes have become so popular that they're sometimes part of the show, like when fans sing along with AEW wrestler Chris Jericho's theme, "Judas," performed by Jericho's band Fozzy. Some wrestling tunes are played at sporting events. Wrestling themes are so popular that, since 1995, WWE Music Group has released collections of entrance themes on CD, for digital download, on YouTube, and on music streaming services.
It all began with the 1995 release of "WWF Full Metal: The Album," which is considered Volume 1 of the WWE The Music series. The WWE released 11 total WWE The Music albums, although the 11th was actually just a compilation of the first five albums with a handful of bonus tracks included. This list ranks the original 10 albums of the WWE The Music series, taking into account the number of tracks with the most replay value.
10. WWE The Music, Volume 7
The 2007 release of "WWE The Music, Volume 7" came at a time when wrestling themes weren't quite as catchy or memorable as years past. Plus, the WWE went through a period when they hired wrestlers for their looks instead of talent, leading to bland (and sometimes offensive) characters whose entrance themes were just as bad. This album reflects that time, with only a handful of decent tunes among a list of 21 total tracks.
The album kicks off with Ashley Massaro's theme "Light a Fire," a forgettable hard rock tune featuring a lead with a raspy voice (and not the good kind). Massaro deserved a theme that fit her character and personality a bit more. The first decent track is Cryme Tyme's "Bringin' Da Hood T U," which is really only decent because of the catchy "Brooklyn! Brooklyn!" opener.
Following those are generic rock tracks for Elijah Burke, Matt Striker and The Miz (before he received his classic "I Came to Play" tune), plus a creepy, unlistenable horror theme for Snitsky. Smashed in between is a slightly-listenable bagpipe-and-drum-infused tune for Finlay, which is admittedly badass thanks to the beginning declaration of "My name is Finlay, and I love to fight."
One could go on about the generic stock-like themes that fill the rest of this album. Its only saving grace is Bobby Lashley's theme "Unstoppable," which still holds up to this day as a memorable rock banger that hopefully the company brings back one day.
9. WWF The Music, Volume 2
In 1997, WWE (then-WWF) released its first follow up to "WWF Full Metal: The Album" with "WWF The Music, Volume 2" which officially started the "The Music" title trend. Unfortunately, this one was a letdown compared to its predecessor.
The album inexplicably kicks off with The Undertaker's "Dark Side" theme, which is too depressing even for Undertaker theme standards. The second track is the one that should have kicked off — it's Stone Cold Steve Austin's early "Hell Frozen Over" theme, which lovingly begins with Austin aggressively telling the listener "You are completely pathetic!"
Among the rest of this 15-track album, there's really only two or three more tunes worth repeating. Ahmed Johnson's "Pearl River Rip" fits the wrestler's badass persona all too well, and "Nation of Domination" still strikes fear into the listener while they'll involuntarily bob their head to its low-key beat. One could argue Ken Shamrock's "Dangerous" theme is a listenable tune, but it really pales in comparison to the new and improved version of his theme which was released on "WWF The Music, Volume 3."
Besides those tracks, basically everything on "Volume 2" is worth skipping. Sycho Sid's horror theme "Snap" is headache inducing, and Mankind's "Ode to Freud" is downright creepy (although it definitely fit his character at the time). Oh, and we can't forget the Bret Hart tribute "You Start the Fire" or the not-sung-by-Shawn-Michaels version of "Sexy Boy." But we very much would like to forget those.
8. WWE The Music, Volume 8
The 2008 release "WWE The Music, Volume 8" is top heavy. The best parts of the album come in the first four tracks — there's only one or two really good tunes after that in its 14-track listing.
The standout, of course, is the album's lead track: Jeff Hardy's "No More Words" theme performed by EndeverafteR. While not quite as recognizable to casuals as The Hardy Boyz' classic "Loaded" theme, "No More Words" is still adored by wrestling fans. Hardy even briefly brought this theme back during his latest WWE run in 2021 to universal enjoyment from fans.
After Hardy's theme is Kofi Kingston's old "SOS" reggae jam performed by Collie Buddz, Beth Phoenix's "Glamazon" and Mark Henry's "The Wall" performed by Heet Mob, making a strong one-two-three-four punch for this CD. Unfortunately, it goes down hill after that. Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder's "In the Middle of It Now" by Disciple starts off with a killer alternative metal riff but gets quite cheesy once the singing kicks in. Theory of a Deadman's version of Vince McMahon's "No Chance in Hell" is a reminder that the classic version is so much better. Same goes for the new version of Shelton Benjamin's "Ain't No Stoppin' Me," which is low energy and not nearly as fun as the original.
To top it all off is the intentionally awful "Sliced Bread" by Jillian Hall, which is hilarious but absolutely torturous to listen to. As it should be.
7. Voices: WWE The Music, Vol. 9
After a couple of rough volumes, WWE Music Group sort of bounced back with the 2009 release of the decent "Voices: WWE The Music, Vol. 9." The titular track, "Voices," performed by Rich Luzzi of Rev Theory, is the real shining star of this album. It's a theme that Randy Orton has used for over a decade, ingraining the lyrics "I hear voices in my head/They council me, they understand/They talk to me" into his persona as an unhinged snake.
R-Truth's "What's Up" is still used and performed by the wrestler in 2022 with ample crowd participation. Jack Swagger's "Get on Your Knees" by Age Against the Machine is no longer used now that Swagger wrestles for AEW under his real name Jake Hager, but we still jam to this theme because, c'mon, everyone loves a good Rage cover band.
There's not much else to love about this album, which features Kane's scariest but least-listenable theme "Man on Fire," plus a handful of forgettable tunes for Maryse, Vladamir Kozlov and Ted DiBiase. Thankfully the WWE relied on nostalgia to sell this one by releasing a bonus disc with nine classic themes. This bonus disc features themes for legends like "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, The Rock, Ultimate Warrior, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Sgt. Slaughter and Mr. Perfect. If the WWE knew they wouldn't win us over with current themes from the time, they knew they would at least pull us in with catchy blasts from the past.
6. ThemeAddict: WWE The Music, Vol. 6
While not quite as strong as volumes three through five, "ThemeAddict: WWE The Music, Vol. 6" still has plenty to offer.
The 2004 release starts with the classic metal jam "Line in the Sand" by Motörhead, who notably performed themes for Triple H and, in this song's case, the famous Evolution stable of Triple H, Ric Flair, Batista and Randy Orton. Carlito Caribbean Cool's "Cool" theme is cheesy but also catchy, as is Theodore Long's "MacMilitant." And Christian's "Just Close Your Eyes" theme performed by Waterproof Blonde still holds up, even if it's not quite as good as its eventual successor that goes by the same name.
Other notable tunes are Victoria's "Don't Mess With," Shelton Benjamin's "Ain't No Stoppin' Me" (the good version), Billy Kidman's "You Can Run," and the WWE Smackdown theme "Rise Up" performed by Drowning Pool. Even the John Cena-performed "Untouchables," which closes the album, is an underrated hip-hop throwback.
There's not many true "bad" tracks on this album outside of John "Bradshaw" Layfield's "Longhorn" theme, which sounds like it could be played on loop at a political fundraising event, and the WWE Diva Search theme "Real Good Girl," which unloads three minutes worth of Kid Rock-esque cringe. Eugene's "Child's Play" is a bit silly with the piano and guitar mix, but it's honestly not bad if you listen while jumping on a bouncy house at a child's birthday party.
5. WWF The Music, Vol. 5
"WWF The Music, Vol. 5" might be one of the most polarizing albums on this list. Some love it, some hate it. That's probably why this 14-track release fits neatly in the middle of this ranking.
The real polarizing track on the 2001 album is "Pie," The Rock's attempt at a rap/gospel mashup that ultimately squanders an appearance by hip-hop legend Slick Rick. The WWE promoted the heck out of this song at the time, but it ended up being cheesy and offensive instead of fun or memorable. In fact, it's best if it's forgotten.
Outside of the pie disappointment, "Vol. 5" has lots to offer for diehard wrestling fans. It was a great decision by WWE Music Group to kick off with Triple H's "The Game," another aggressive metal tune angrily performed by Motörhead that punches the listener in the face (or the ears) from the beginning. Tazz's "If You Dare" fit his badass persona at the time — nothing screams "I will choke you out" more like hearing a heart monitor ominously beep behind three minutes of a repetitious, heavy riff. Lita and Kane's themes notably contain punchy guitar riffs as well.
The biggest standout outside of Triple H's theme is Kurt Angle's "Medal," a true classic that fans love to sing along with "You suck!" chants to this day when Angle makes his way to the ring. It's so catchy that even Angle himself loves the chants.
4. WWE The Music: A New Day, Vol. 10
After years of rough releases and forgettable tunes, entrance themes in WWE began to improve around 2010 when "WWE The Music: A New Day, Vol. 10" was released. This album was a return to form for the WWE The Music series, with solid themes from top to bottom.
The four most popular tunes that come from "Vol. 10's" 14-track listing are The Miz's "I Came to Play," Christian's "Just Close Your Eyes" (Story of the Year version), Sheamus' "Written in My Face," and The Bella Twins' "You Can Look (But You Can't Touch)." Underrated are Ezekiel Jackson's rap-rock mashup "Domination" and Bret Hart's "Return the Hitman," an updated version of his classic theme. The Legacy's "It's A New Day" is a solid hard rock song with a simple but memorable chorus from Adelitas Way. Evan Bourne's "Born to Win" by Mutiny Within may satisfy fast-paced metal urges for fans of something a bit more heavy. And Zack Ryder's "Radio" is easy to fist pump to, even if the cringey lyrics are a little too bro-ish for the average listener.
The only real bad theme on the album is Tiffany's "Insatiable," an auto-tune filled nightmare that sounds like it was recorded and performed by a 12-year-old. Unfortunately, auto-tune was the popular sound of the time, but they really should change the name of the song to "Unbearable."
3. WWF Full Metal: The Album (Vol. 1)
Just like the opener of "Raw" for many years, the opener of "WWF Full Metal: The Album" opens with one of the coolest and most recognizable guitar riffs in pro wrestling with Slam Jam's "We're All Together Now." That's followed up by another "Raw" theme, "Thorn In Your Eye," which fans loved so much that they didn't even care that nobody could actually figure out the lyrics.
"Full Metal" was WWE's first album release consisting of superstar theme songs. Considered to be "Volume 1" of the WWE The Music series, this 1995 release included classics like Diesel's blues-rock theme "Diesel Blues," Bret Hart's original classic "Hart Attack," and the Shawn Michaels-sang version (a.k.a. the real version) of "Sexy Boy." King Mabel's "The Lyin' King" is underrated as head-bobbing background noise, as is Razor Ramon's "Bad Boy." And most old-school fans love Jeff Jarrett's "With My Baby Tonight," a corny country tune that for some reason can't get out of our heads.
There are a couple tracks that aren't worth a second listen, including one of Psycho Sid's horror themes "Psycho Dance" and Hakushi's "Angel," which both sound like they belong on separate film scores instead of a compilation album full of pro wrestling bangers. But for the most part, this 14-track debut is worth revisiting from time to time.
2. WWF The Music, Volume 4
The WWE's Attitude Era was one of the company's best times for wrestler entrance music. Most themes nailed their characters perfectly, and almost all of them are recognizable decades later.
The 1999 release "WWF The Music, Volume 4" was a great example of the time's tunes. Chris Jericho's "Break Down the Wall" is a worthwhile blend of trippy and heavy. The lyrics of Vince McMahon's "No Chance in Hell" perfectly fits the boss' my-way-or-the-highway persona. Test's "This is a Test" oddly works as a head banger even though the singer channels the same energy as Adriano Celentano's "Prisencolinensinainciusol" by seemingly not saying actual words. And both Mark Henry's "Sexual Chocolate" and Billy Gunn's "Ass Man" are perfectly and inappropriately hilarious with loads of sexual innuendos.
The two biggest classics on this album, though, are The Rock's "Know Your Role" with its mid-song guitar solos, and Triple H's "My Time" with its Rage Against the Machine-esque anger and rebellion. The only real disappointment on the disc is "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's "Oh Hell Yea" performed by H-Blockx, which is more corny and less Stone Cold-like, and is a theme he never actually used anyway. Listeners probably would have preferred to see his normal theme appear on this one.
1. WWF The Music, Volume 3
The WWE didn't even bother to name the themes on this album, and we don't care.
1998 saw the best edition of the WWE The Music series with "WWF The Music, Volume 3." Every single song slaps in its own way. Yep, even Val Venis' cheesy softcore adult film music and Dude Love's goofy hippie tune hold places in our strange hearts.
Okay, those two might be the silliest editions on this album's 14-track listing, but the rest of the disc is straight fire. It features The Undertaker's heaviest "Deadman" theme, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's most-used classic, one of The Rock's old-school slow beats, and Kane's original slow-burn metal tune that inspired several future iterations.
X-Pac and D-Generation X's themes might have the same beat and similar lyrics, but both are different enough for us to love them. Ken Shamrock is lucky enough to have one of the most badass themes of the '90s, fitting for his mixed martial arts style. The Oddities' theme, performed by Insane Clown Posse, is a treat for fans of the hip-hop group, and may be more memorable than the wrestling stable itself.
And then there's Gangrel's theme. One of the sickest beats in wrestling music history, it fit the vampire character perfectly. It's such a classic that Edge, a former member of Gangrel's Brood, was obligated to bring the theme back one more time at WWE's Day 1 event in 2021.