WWF: Kurt Angle

The Olympic Hero, Kurt Angle. Now I want to keep extremely well known themes to a minimum, but I think this one was worth a post. As far as I can remember, Angle used this modified version of his theme on a single episode of Smackdown in late 2001, before changing back to the normal version.

Kurt Angles theme throughout his WWF/E run more or less stayed the same. It was actually used by The Patriot during his short 1997 run in the WWF. The theme would later resurface when Angle made his debut in 1999. It seemed perfect for the Olympic champion, hence why it stuck for so long.

So how the hell did we get this bastardisation of a theme? Well we can only guess. A theory could be related to the 'You Suck' chants that had began to accompany Angles entrance in time with his theme back in 2000*. Fast forward to Nov 2001, and Angle is turned face by defecting to Team WWF and helping them win the Invasion. Kurt used this theme less than a month later, so maybe they it was an effort to stop the fans chanting 'you suck' towards their top babyface. Maybe they just wanted a change to go with his new character, or something a bit edgier. Either way, it sounded horrible and just didn't work. But thanks to a questionable track listing decision, this theme was included on the WWF Anthology CD set, so it can live on forever.

*A side note of trivia: The 'You Suck' chants began shortly after WWF: The Music vol 5 was released. The Rock had a song on the CD, titled 'Pie'. On an episode of Smackdown, Angle came out and started berating the song, and said his theme was much better, and "could be played at weddings". So he played a music video that featured his theme along with highlights of Angles career. The fatal decision was made to play the video twice, in which the fans grew restless, and started making up their own lyrics to Kurts theme. Hence, the you suck chants were born. The chant wouldn't majorly take off until Edge encouraged the fans to sing it during his fued with Angle in '02.

WWF: The Ultimate Warrior

 If you don't know this theme, then you probably started watching wrestling yesterday. Originally labelled 'The Dingo Warrior', The Ultimate Warrior would wrestle on and off in the WWF (and eventually WCW), from the mid 80's to the late 90's. While he was crazy popular, many look back now and question his career, specifically because of his apparent lack of actual wrestling ability.

But it wasn't his wrestling ability that changed the industry; it was the Warriors image. Prior the Warrior, pro wrestlers would usually wrestle in plain trunks and boots, and come out to no theme music at all. Then the warrior came on the scene, and changed everything. Suddenly, this guy comes running through the curtain with bright trunks, face paint and tassels flying all over the place. It was ground breaking, and paved the way for outlandish characters and over the top, marketable ring attire.

 To top it off, the theme music that brought the fans to their feet. Theme songs were incepted into mainstream wrestling before the warrior came onto the scene, but fans didn't really care or react to the music. The warriors theme was a game changer. The combination of his persona and intense music brought out an unprecedented reaction in the fans, that caused them to go nuts for the warrior before he had even come through the curtain. 

Whether you like the man or not, the Ultimate Warrior (and his theme) shaped a lot of the wrestling industry that we see today.