Top Ten Entrances
Ladies and Gentleman, I apologize it took me so long to make my next post. I have been dealing with some monumental computer problems. No its not an excuse, its a reason. I have not forgotten about this blog, nor do I intend to. My partner “Heel” has been doing a great job keeping you guys updated and when I get my computer situation sorted out I plan on being just as active. Thanks for your patience. And if you dont accept the apology, I think DX said it best… you can just Suck It.
***Disclaimer***
WWEPaperChampion does not own the legal rights to any of the videos linked in this blog, nor are they associated in any way with the person who’s youtube page you are linked to. WWE holds all rights to any entrance videos.
Recognition is what the WWE is all about… and although great wrestling ability will get you recognized with the die hard fans, only a good entrance can make you beloved by all. To be a great entrance and seperate yourself from the rest of the generic songs and antics, you need to excel in each or most of these 5 categories.
1- Instantly Recognizable- If it takes you longer than a half a second to know who is approaching the ring, then you just aren’t doing it right… the first noise is what makes the crowd come alive!
2- Rest of the song- There is more to the music part of entrances than just the first 5 or so seconds. Does your favorite wrestlers entire song hurt or help their case to be on this list?
3- Catchyness (yes I just made up a word)- Ever get that song stuck in your head, or keep horribly trying to mimic their catchphrase or sing the guitar riffs of your favorite wrestlers? No? Then your wrestlers entrance sucks!!
4- Energy/Creepiness- I group these two together because an entrance doesnt have to blow the roof off the building to be great. Sometimes dark and creepy settings, with the anticipation build up are better than loud in your face entrances. Also this counts for both the wrestlers energy and the energy they invoke in the crowd.
5- Swag- There is so many ways to describe “swag”. Simply put, its the way one carries themselves. If the wrestler seems unsure of himself by accident (Mankind would flinch and slowly walk to the ring, R-Truth looks over his shoulder for “Little Jimmy purposely emitting reluctance and uncertainty”) then they probably arent going to have the crowds attention too much. Where as a wrestler that interacts with the crowd, or has a routine, an arrogance to him/her will at least have the buzz before the match.
Now that I have talked about the criteria I used to rate these entrances, I now give you
J2’s Top Ten Entrances of All Time!
#10- Ted Dibiase, The Million Dollar Man
If you know absolutely nothing about who the Million Dollar Man is, all you have to do is listen to his entrance music… from the beginning with the Diabolical laugh to the line of “everybody’s got a price, everybody’s gonna pay”, it describes the Million Dollar Man to a tee. You have to respect a guy who directly calls out the fans in his songs “Some might cost a little, some might cost a lot, but i’m the Million Dollar Man, and you WILL be bought. HAHAHAHA” Although the music after the laugh is not the best the wwe/f has seen or heard, the way Dibiase carried himself down the ramp towards the ring: hands holding the lapels, head up high, and arrogance that oozed from his cheesy, cocky smile as he strutted toward the ring. Nobody was better at convincing you they thought they were untouchable, and that makes for a very impactful entrance. Oh yeah, and that laugh.
Due to the fact that the Million Dollar Man wrestled before the time of camera phones and DVR’s it is proving harder than I thought to find a live entrance of him that is of good enough quality. So instead I am including his titantron video with the song. Sorry for the lack of video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ik48XQJcfvU
Criteria
Instantly recognizable – 9
Rest of the song – 7
Catchyness – 6
Energy/Creepiness – 7
Swag – 9
Total- 38
#9- Chris Jericho (Y2J)
The sound of the countdown alarm is only the start of this great entrance, but I believe the second part of the opening makes this go from a good to a great entrance… Just picture Jericho standing arms out with his back to the ring, the spotlight infront of him so all you see is his silhouette… now the second part of the song starts… “Break the walls dowwwnnnn” as Jericho turns down the ramp to choreographed pyro… One of the few entrances that embrace both high energy with high anticipation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtFBbhz_RVc&feature=related
Criteria
Instantly recognizable – 8
Rest of the song – 8
Catchyness – 6
Energy/Creepiness – 9
Swag- 8
total- 39
#8- Stone Cold Steve Austin
Does anyone that has ever watched wrestling think of anything else when they hear glass break than Stone Cold?? I think not. This is an entrance that relies heavily on 3 out of the 5 criteria, IR, Energy, and Swag… The rest of the
song is not very good and actually really repetitive as Austin does his turnbuckle salute to the fans. But The sheer energy, swag, and the chills you get when you hear the glass break as Austin runs/hobbles to the ring throwing curses everywhere and, more times than not, with beer in hand earns him this spot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoNmL1nBKOQ&feature=related
^^I apologize for the length of the video and having to sit through a couple of entrances that are not Stone Cold, but this is the biggest pop that I found after searching for a while.
Criteria
Instantly recognizable – 10
Rest of the song- 4
Catchyness- 6
Energy/Creepiness – 10
Swag – 10
total- 40
#7- The Rock
The Rock is undoubtedly one of the greatest WWE superstars of all time (if not the greatest). I know some of you are saying to yourself right now “how is the Rock not higher on the list, his entrances have more crowd pop and energy than anyones?” That is true, but this list isnt just about the crowds energy. The Rock is unrivaled in energy, and unrivaled in fan reception. But the truth of the matter is, apart from the “If you smelllelelelelelela what the Rock is cookin'” the song really isnt that good. The same with the superstar I ranked above him Stone Cold… If his entrance had a good and catchy song to follow up the amazing beginning he would no doubt be top 3 on the list.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BII1rjoHdeU
Criteria
Instantly Recognizable – 10
Rest of the song – 5
Catchyness – 6
Energy – 10
Swag – 10
total – 41
#6- HHH
Time to play the game!!! A very good start to his song, although I don’t care for the rest of it. It is HHH’s antics that make this one of the greats… The deliberate bad ass walk to the ring, the double high arm flex, and the water spit is one of the most recognizable things in WWE history. Part of what makes HHH’s Entrance so memorable is it’s long shelf life. Pretty much after he was the Connecticut Blue Blood and the DX run stopped, that was his first entrance. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. When HHH is coming towards the ring there is no one sitting down, that is a guarantee!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FF1NEICBUh8
^^This video is longer than just HHH’s entrance, but it is right at the beginning.
Criteria
Instantly Recognizable – 9
Rest of the song – 6
Catchyness – 8
Energy – 8
Swag – 10
Total- 41
#5- The Undertaker
The best way to describe the impact of The Undertaker’s entrance is just to show his debut in the WWF. This was before the TitanTron, before pyrotechnics, hell, before a ramp! The lights pretty much just stayed the same, Paul Bearer hadn’t even been created yet, but watch the audience. Watch them stare in complete silence at this imposing figure. They watch, bug-eyed and slack-jawed at the walking dead in front of them. The Gong sounds, the organ kicks in, and BAM, you’re staring the Grim Reaper in the face. This isn’t the monster you’re afraid is in your closet at night, this is the guy who keeps the monster as a pet. As time went on and entrances got kicked up to another level, The Dead Man only got more imposing as the lights would shut out, purple fog fills the arena, and before the gong even sounds, a chill hits the air and makes the hair on everybody’s neck stand up. Now that’s an entrance!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D376G1A_9L0&feature=related
Criteria
Instantly Recognizable – 9
Rest of the song – 8
Catchyness – 5
Energy/Creepiness – 10
Swag- 10
Total – 42
#4- Hulk Hogan
The definition of swag. We all know the song, we’ve heard it a million times. Obama even used it before one of his speeches! If the WWF had the technology to create an amazing video and killer entrance ramp in the 1980’s, this would probably be higher on the list, if not #1. Nobody explodes out of those curtains like Hogan. His finger pointed at the ring, talking to nobody in particular, having every single person mobbing him as he tries to make it to the ring. This man was truly idolized. A big part of that idolization is the fact that nobody could pump you up than Hogan marching toward the ring, eyes fixed on his opponent, letting him know that it was officially “on.” Throw an annoyingly catchy song on top of all that swag? You have the Immortal one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zkhw6eOw2ew&feature=related
FF to 3:55 if you dont want to watch the part leading up to the entrance.
Instantly Recognizable – 7
Rest of the song – 8
Catchyness – 8
Energy/Creepiness – 9
Swag – 10
Total- 42
#3- Randy “The Viper” Orton
The reason I say “The Viper” in his name, is because I associate his “Viper” nickname with his “voices” entrance and “the Legend Killer” with his prior entrance. When the building goes quiet and “I hear voices in my head” comes on there is no way to explain it except that the place explodes. I find myself reciting the beginning of the song many times during and after his matches. He carries himself with almost a psychotic swag, you never know if he will sprint down to the ring or slowly prowl. If you actually listen to the rest the song, you will realize that it is creepy as hell, and probably shouldnt be allowed to the audience its targeted. But like I said, the building explodes, so no one really hears it anyways.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv30Emv-was&feature=related
Criteria
Instantly Recognizable – 10
Rest of the song – 6
Catchyness – 7
Energy/Creepiness – 10
Swag – 10
Total – 43
#2- New Age Outlaws
Want to see how a great entrance should be done? Watch a clip of the New Age Outlaws… The “OHHH you didnt know!!” not only tells you exactly who is coming to the ring, it gets every single person in the crowd joining in. They also have some of the better mic skills to introduce themselves (none of this R-truth garbage)! There isn’t a person that watched wrestling in the 90’s that has forgot the “Ladies and gentleman boys and girls” bit. Also, greatest 4-note guitar riff ever! These guys must get so much respect for shedding really terrible gimmicks, and creating two of the best characters, and perhaps the greatest tag-team ever. These guys were the definition of cool. And in the Attitude Era, Cool is the rule.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdsBbonKJ3U
Criteria
Instantly recognizable – 10
Rest of the song – 6
Catchyness – 10
Energy/Creepiness – 9
Swag- 8
Total – 43
and Number 1 is….
.
.
.
Shawn Michaels
What is there to say about this entrance that hasnt already been said. From the moaning to start to the great guitar riff and lyrics everyone sings along to. The Heartbreak Kid went from one of the better tag team songs (if you aren’t familiar with the Rockers theme song, check it out, it can pump you up!) to a truly legendary entrance as a singles wrestler. This is musically one of the best entrances of all time… but add Michaels’ antics to it, and it takes it to a whole other level. He would always have one of the longest entrances on the card every single night. When he was a heel, his slow, cocky strut and disrobing would get under the skin of everybody who wanted to see this punk get his face kicked in. When he turned face, this gave him more time to hog the spotlight and revel in the cheers of the fans. Entrances can go too long and lose their steam, but Michaels never did, and therefore, the crowd never did. The energy in the building does not stop from the time the first moan starts, and only gets more energetic by the time he does his patented lunge flex in the ring.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQMVQJijl_A&feature=related
^^ Not the best quality, but great fan reaction and shows all attribute of a Shawn Michaels Entrance
Criteria
Instantly Recognizable – 8
Rest of the Song – 10
Catchyness – 9
Energy – 8
Swag – 10.
Total- 46
Thanks for reading. Some of the videos are not the greatest, or pulled from a time when each superstar was not at the height of popularity. But due to WWE licensing rights actual entrances are pulled off of youtube quite regularly, so I was happy with what I was able to find. I dont expect you to agree with everything I put, after all blogging is an opinion driven business. Comment and discuss if you think someone was rated too high, or too low.
Top 10 Survivor Series Matches
With the Survivor Series just hours away, now seems like the time to look back and reflect on the best that the Survivor Series has offered us. Admittedly, I am partial to the old school 5-on-5 or 4-0n-4 matches, but there have been some great singles matches, namely title matches, that have happened also. Also, vote in the poll at the bottom of the page!
10. Team Kingston: Kofi Kingston, MVP, Mark Henry, Christian, & R-Truth vs. Team Orton: Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase, Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, & William Regal. (2009)Admittedly, this was during my hiatus from watching the warriors of the squared circle, but after watching this match on youtube, damn this was underrated. Take out Mark Henry (which, fortunately for all, happens quickly) and Ted Dibiase, and you have 8 phenominal in-ring wrestlers who put on a helluva show. A 20 minute match for a survivor series match would normally be considered “rushed”, but in doing some research, this was actually a pretty long survivor series match by the current standards. If you’ve never seen this match, definitely worth checking out.
9. Shawn Michaels, Ahmed Johnson, British Bulldog & Psycho Sid vs. Owen Hart, Yokozuna, Razor Ramon, & Dean Douglas (1995). 1995 was not a great year for the WWF as WCW was finally starting to make MAJOR waves and this would actually be less than a year away from the full-blown Monday Night Wars that revolutionized professional wrestling for the next 4 years. However, with more and more talent slipping, the WWF was still able to put together this cavalcade of superstars and turned it into one of the better worked matches. I only wish this happened a few years earlier for Yokozuna’s sake. Besides that, this match is surprisingly flawless.
8. Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin (1996) Match spilling out into the audience? Check. Slingshot into spanish announce table? Check. Spilling over steel barricades? check. This match was brutal. Austin was starting to become popular, he was already “Stone Cold”, but he wasn’t quite the phenomenon that he would later become. I’ll put it to you this way: He wasn’t wearing knee braces yet. This match was actually just a prelude to their classic Wrestlemania 13 match. That was the match that launched Stone Cold into the stratosphere. The cool part about this match? This is a 5 star match and it isn’t even these guys’ best match AGAINST EACH OTHER. Just goes to show how good these two were at working matches together.
7. Team Bischoff: Chris Jericho, Christian, Randy Orton, Scott Steiner and Mark Henry vs. Team Austin: Shawn Michaels, Rob Van Dam, Booker T, Bubba Ray Dudley, and D-Von Dudley (2003) This match kicks a whole lot of ass. Slow beginning but great action after the first couple of minutes. It’s always better when there’s something on the line and at this point in the WWE, it was for Stone Cold’s career, and Austin wasn’t even in the match. A fantastic series of swings really kept this match entertaining. HBK gave it his all and spilled a lot of blood for the event. I have a feeling if I watched this when it first aired, it would have solidified me as a Randy Orton fan, as well. Great match.
6. Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart (1992) Bret Hart was really taking over as the face of the organization as this was only the 2nd Pay-Per-View the WWF had done without Hulk Hogan on the roster. Michaels was not ready to be heavyweight champion yet but would continue to be a great on-and-off Intercontinental Champion for the next year. However, this did showcase the future of the WWF and was a truly great main event. Fun side note, this match would not have been the main event had it not been for the Ultimate Warrior. Originally, the main event was supposed to be Ric Flair & Razor Ramon vs. Randy Savage & The Ultimate Warrior but then the Warrior and McMahon had some disagreements and he split. Mr. Perfect was named the replacement partner and it made for a great storyline because for the past year, Mr. Perfect had been the “executive consultant” for Ric Flair. But in the grand tradition of not giving Curt Hennig his dues, this was pushed to the middle of the card and Hart/Michaels took the Main Event.
5. Undertaker vs. Hulk Hogan (1991) This match was amazing for the following reasons: It was the first non-traditional survivor series match to happen, it took place in Detroit, a good friend of mine was sitting front row for the event and was shown a lot on that pay-per-view, and it was the death of Hulkamania! Hogan lost the title a few times before, but this was the last legitimate time Hogan would hold the WWF title before jumping ship (Nobody counts Wrestlemania 9, and with good reason). This was a very typical Hogan match throughout most of the bout, but when Ric Flair came down to ringside, you knew something was going down. Tombstone on the steel chair, 1-2-3, cut to a million shots of little kids crying because Hulk had to be helped off on a stretcher. This was the first real flirting with a dark tone that the WWF would explore further. Just shortly before this event was the snake bite incident between Jake Roberts and Randy Savage where a full-sized cobra bit into Randy Savage’s arm. Legit. Now, they have Hulkamania go down to the dark force that is The Undertaker. This wasn’t a passing of the torch kind of match, but it was a look into the future of professional wrestling.
4. The Rude Brood: Rick Rude, Mr. Perfect & The Fabulous Rougeaus vs. Roddy’s Rowdies: Roddy Piper, “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka, & The Bushwhackers (1989) . What a great yin/yang matchup. On one hand, you have four of the most entertaining brawlers the industry has ever seen. On the other, you have 4 technically sound Heels who exuded smug arrogance. Roddy’s Rowdies had 2 WWE Hall of Famers, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper & “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka (Piper and Snuka could technically wrestle but were known for their brawling ability) team up with The Bushwhackers (who were more popular than Zach Ryder, but essentially popular for the same reason: they were morons who people liked to mimic and were extremely entertaining). Rude’s Brood featured “Ravishing” Rick Rude and Mr. Perfect (my thoughts on both of these wrestlers should be apparent) pair up with the Rougeau Brothers, a very under-utilized tag team with phenominal athletic ability. This is the match I’ve watched more often than any other match in my entire time as a fan of this drama we love so much. Funny, impressive, dramatic, it had it all. Including the perfect ending!
3. The Powers of Pain , The Rockers, The British Bulldogs, The Hart Foundation, and The Young Stallions vs. Demolition, The Brain Busters , The Bolsheviks , The Fabulous Rougeaus, and The Conquistadors (1988) Now this is what survivor series is all about. In one match you have 20 superstars. 10-on-10 awesomeness. Talk about “never a dull moment”. The WWF did a few of these “tag team” Survivor Series matches and quite frankly, i don’t know why they ever stopped. The kicker to this match was if your partner was eliminated, you were too. There were so many bodies in the ring, it was truly a sight to behold. I think the reason this wouldn’t work now is there aren’t nearly enough tag teams for a match like this to matter. But in this match, you have 5 legendary tag teams (Rockers, Bulldogs, Hart Foundation, Demolition, & Brain Busters) , along with a slue of other talent, going at it for 42 minutes! Add on to that a double heel/face turn, and you have one of the best matches the Survivor Series has ever produced.
2. Team WWF vs. Team Alliance (2001). Team WWF: The Rock, Chris Jericho, The Undertaker, Kane, & The Big Show. Team Alliance: Steve Austin, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Shane McMahon, & Kurt Angle 2001 was a bizarre time in the WWF universe. For the first time in about 7 years, there was absolutely no outside threat to the WWF. Other major professional wrestling organizations had been eliminated, boxing was already passe, and MMA wasn’t cool yet (what a wonderful time that was!). So it would have been easy for the WWF to get lazy and just throw out any pre-packaged crap, but instead they took this opportunity to create one of the best story lines ever with WCW/ECW members teaming up to try to take down the machine that is the WWF. This was more than likely the most star-studded survivor series match and it lasted 45 minutes. EVERY wrestler in this match was a Heavyweight Champion besides Shane McMahon who, for being daddy’s boy, was a damn impressive brawler. The best 5-on-5 match there is.
1. Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart (1997) In all honesty, this is not a better wrestling match than their 1992 SS match, but this is no regular sequel. This is the Montreal Screwjob, one of the most controversial endings ever. And with me, infamy gets you everywhere. There isn’t a whole lot to say about this match that hasn’t been well documented everywhere. This was in the heart of the Monday Night Wars and was what caused Bret Hart to go to WCW where he would be greatly under-utilized. While admittedly I’m not the biggest Bret Hart fan, I respect the hell out of him and he gave a lot to the WWF. This was his first curtain call and the one I’ll always remember. This really cleared the way for Austin to totally dominate the popularity. Michaels and DX were a pretty distant 2nd. I consider this to be the closing chapter on the old-school WWF.
It’s a good time to be a bad guy
WARNING: This blog is written with the understanding that it’s readers are somewhat seasoned wrestling viewers and therefore I will not spend a lot of time explaining more basic wrestling knowledge, kayfabe storylines, or concepts. However, i love to answer questions and hear feedback, so please, post away.
As of today, 11/5/11, Every singles title is currently held by a heel. As a long time heel lover, this excites me to no end. Admittedly, I have only been watching wrestling on any form of regular basis for the last 10 months, but when i did watch it all the time (1989-2000) this was rarely if ever the case. For about 30 minutes in 1989 Rick Rude and Randy Savage were the singles title holders, but then Hulk Hogan ruined everything as he so typically does and we were back to having good guys rule the stage.
However, unlike 1989, there are now five singles titles compared to two. To have five “hated” wrestlers all holding championships is very rare indeed. I’m sure the people at WWE headquarters are smarter than me so there must be a reason for this. (Sidenote: During the Attitude Era the lines of heel and face were extremely blended so even when more titles were introduced, heels were often loved as much as faces and pretty much everybody had a mixed reaction from the crowd, except Austin & McMahon.)
WWE Lesson 1: Almost nothing is a coincidence or a mistake. It’s always leading to something bigger.
With the exception of Owen Hart falling to his death and (maybe) the Montreal Screwjob, nothing in the WWE is a mistake. The WWE knows damn well they have all heels as champions (except Air Boom, and honestly, who gives a shit?) and the reason I want, the reason I hope, is that these champions will unite in an nWo-esque alliance (Kevin Nash does keep popping up…) and try to dominate the WWE Universe. Unsafe work conditions (Outsiders/Henry), humiliating gimmicks (Spray painting people/Rhode’s bagging people), Powerful person pulling the strings (Bischoff/Laurinaitis), all I’m saying is the makings are there.
Heel stables are a long-standing tradition of awesomeness in wrestling. The Heenan Family, DX, nWo, The 4 Horsemen (my personal fav.) have all had amazing and long-lasting storylines that produced some of the best television moments in sports entertainment history. It’s easy to hate one guy, but its fun to hate a whole group of guys. They usually do more to piss you off (if you root for the faces, that is), and the stories are more elaborate and less predictable.
So why not bring the heel champions together to create the most powerful force in the WWE? There was a time when the nWo held on to a ton of titles in the WCW, but that happened after the formation. Think about it, in this day and age where people are Occupying city streets to protest greed and financial dominance, what better story than to have all the most powerful superstars in the WWE (the champs) band together to protect their collective interests. However I’m usually wrong about these things and often just let my imagination get the best of me. I can only hope something this epic is in the making. Only time will tell…
"Sorry John, I don't remember you being so terrible."
Tales from the Turnbuckle: DQ’s? We don’t need no skinkin’ DQ’s!
This is just a little part of my blog that I’ll dedicate to the miscellaneous, random, goofy, or just interesting facts about wrestling. Today, we’ll discuss some lesser known rules of kayfabe wrestling. We all know it’s scripted and the refs are there to help support the chaos, not control it. However, if the refs did the job they are supposedly paid to do, almost every single match would end in disqualification. Here are some of the things that supposedly can get you tossed out if the refs decided to be sticklers for the rules. I’ll also throw in hypothetical long-term consequences of what would happen if these rules were inforced:
– Throwing a “closed fist” punch. Hogan and Austin never win a match and both leave the WWE in less than a year.
-Any outside support (manager/tag partner in a singles match) standing on the apron. Jimmy Hart and Bobby Heenan can not find work as managers and instead form into a talk-radio duo and eventually become a bizarro universe version of JR and The King.
– Low blows. Ric Flair’s World Heavyweight title count goes from 20 to about 4 and he retires in 1997 when he should have.
– Standing on the top rope for more than 5 seconds. Undertaker still destroys lots of souls, but the world never sees the “Old School”, and one of the coolest moves of all time is never born.
And my personal favorite:
-Intentionally throwing someone over the top rope. Jesse “The Body” Ventura never gets ample alone time in the ring to do his awesome poses and therefore doesn’t gain the national attention he so rightly deserves. This causes a lack of funding needed to win the 1998 Minnesota Gubernatorial Election. Instead, Republican Norm Coleman wins the race he should have narrowly lost, and also wins the 2008 senate election against Al Franken that he also lost in a painfully close race. That Red-State love infects the Presidential election, Minnesota votes for McCain but Obama still wins the national election and, as an act of defiance/desperation/stupidity, votes Sarah Palin in as Governor in 2014 and by 2015 we are in a full fledged war with Canada over some alleged moose shootings that happened near the border.
So lets all take a moment to thank the officials of the WWE/F for not being sticklers for the rules, otherwise we’d be preparing for the Canadian Invasion. Thanks for reading and remember, when life gets you down, kick out at two. and if you can’t kick out at two, reach for the ropes.
–PerfectHeel
Discussion topic: What would be your finishing move in the squared circle?
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