WWE NXT: Hit My Music (Part 1)
We took a look at some of NXT’s theme songs and what they got right and wrong with producing.
In the grand scheme of things, entrance music is a detail that can help or hurt a wrestler before they even get in the ring or on the mic. Thanks to NXT, WWE can test out different themes on a smaller crowd and see how they react. Do they sing along or chant anything? Do they instantly pop or boo? Do they sit quietly and wait for the next competitor? Whatever the reaction is, it gives WWE data on how they can get the most out of every single wrestler.
Lately, in NXT their themes have been consistently unique that connect nicely to each competitor, and even better, if the music is wrong, it usually gets adjusted. So, let’s take a look at some of the different themes, which they got right or wrong.
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Finn Balor
Let’s start with one of the more notable themes (and entrances, but we’re just focusing on the music in this article), Finn’s has stayed reasonably the same, with the addition of a longer intro, which is mainly the heartbeat to build tension. Overall, this is one of the best intros with the guitar riff and strings together, giving not only an eerie, but dramatic feel to Finn’s entire gimmick. I’m sure many of you remember the first time he came to the NXT ring in full face paint, in short, it was bad-a**, and it was all people could talk about the next day. The highlight of the song is when Finn stops to do that taunt to the sky, you know, when the lights go up, the crowd mimics him, and fun is had by all!
With one of the longer entrances (thanks Undertaker, yep, “The Deadman” helped develop this entrance), this music couldn’t just have a cool 5 second riff and be terrible the rest of the way, this entire song needed to deliver, and it does. Not only is this one of the best entrances in the entire WWE, but it’s interactive too, getting the fans pumped up before Finn even does anything in the ring.
Samoa Joe
As one of the biggest names to never join up with the WWE, when Joe showed up in NXT, needless to say, the fans went nuts. When his music first hit, I was 100-percent amped for him to appear, with visions of his old indy theme using “The champ is here!” in it, I sat on the edge of my seat, and then! What? Is Donkey Kong or Black Dynamite coming down to the ring? At the ten second mark, his foreboding music turns to a comical beat that is completely opposite his tough guy persona.
For weeks, fans – or at least, I did – ripped on his terrible music, and demanded something different for the sake of Joe’s gimmick. Smartly, WWE changed it to keep that same foreboding feeling, although adding in dinosaur roars, and I believe, tribal chants is still a bit goofy. This theme is still miles better than the first one, and that’s the point here, something didn’t work, and it got changed relatively quickly.
Emma
Even when Emma turned heel, WWE kept her signature high pitch sound, which was smart to alert fans who was coming out. Her first theme was great for her dancing gimmick, the second was total garbage, in a weak attempt to sound more “heelish”, this third theme is right on the money though and is currently one of my favorite themes for many reasons.
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It remixes Emma’s high pitch sound effect, with a slower down beat to match her heel persona, which is not nearly as bubbly these days. It also allows for Emma to do that “back to the camera” taunt that everyone loves, and probably best of all is the crowd chants “hey, hey, hey” along with the beat, while Emma points to herself in unison. If you’re curious most of the themes in NXT are done by CFO$, who took over Jim Johnson’s duties as WWE’s musical creator. I’m literally nodding my head to her song while writing this article up, it’s one of my favorite, right up there with Asuka’s theme, but we’ll get to her in part 2!
Hit up the comments with your favorite NXT entrances!