Wednesday 26 December 2012

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.

WCW: The Mamalukes



A rare one to kick things off. This theme belonged to The Mamalukes; 2 time WCW tag team champions. The team consisted of (Big) Vito and Johnny the Bull, and was managed by Tony Marinara. They formed in '99 and ran until WCW was bought by the WWF in 2001. While the team had several fueds, and were even co-holders of the WCW hardcore championship, they never really got the chance to do anything to put themselves on the map. The two wouldn't team again in any other major organisation, but they would both later become a part of the WWEs reincarnation of the Full Blooded Italians (FBI), and Marinara would also adopt the name Tony Mamaluke as a reference to the team.

The theme is pretty good in my opinion. Considering a lot of WCWs themes around this time were just painfully generic rock songs,  so this was a good change. And while the stereotypical nature of the theme practically slapped you in the face, it still worked pretty damn well.

What do you think?