Entrance themes

By Scott Keith on 22 July 2012

Hey Scott. Long time reader.
You've probably fielded this one before, but I think it's worth
re-asking. How much is the importance of entrance themes in the
development of a character? Can an otherwise talented performer suffer
with lame or inappropriate music, or does it have little to no bearing
in the grand scheme of things? Are there any examples you can think of
to support your opinion?
Thanks.

Man, now I've gotta provide EXAMPLES to support my opinion? I'm already grumpy at not being able to afford a trip to Calgary for UFC 149 tonight, don't make it worse for me.

Entrance music can be huge. Rock never would have gotten quite the pops he did without "If you SMEEEEELLLLL…." hitting the PA system when he came out. Hogan also had an awesome theme that held up well for nostalgia purposes later on as well. Instantly recognizable riff and it couldn't help but get a crowd jacked up.

As for hurting the character, yes, definitely. Steve Austin lost a lot of his luster when the glass breaking classic got dropped for a while. WCW was terrible for it, nearly killing Goldberg's entrance when they switched from his traditional theme to "Crush 'Em" at the end, and swapping out Sting's music for "Seek and Destroy". But they never had much grasp of the art of entrance music in the first place.