Over the years, WWE have truly mastered the concept of a wrestler’s theme song. A wrestler’s theme song should be memorable - and should ultimately represent everything that fans should expect to see in the specific wrestler.

When a wrestler’s theme song hits, it should be instantly recognizable, and the opening note should send a shockwave of excitement and adrenaline through the audience.

A ton of work traditionally goes into a wrestler’s theme song, as it has to be just right, as a bad theme song can ruin a wrestler’s momentum and legitimacy, but for the most part, WWE usually do a great job in selecting theme songs for their top talent.

Most of the theme songs on this list have become so popular that they are even well-known outside of the WWE bubble, and are often played at sports events around the world.

So, with that being said, let’s examine the 10 greatest WWE theme songs of all time.

10: Goldust – Gold-Lust

When WWE debuted the Goldust character in the mid-1990s, it was vital that they produced a theme song that would match Goldust’s outlandish character.

Jim Johnston, who produced the theme, couldn't have done a better job. Goldust’s first theme song is majestic in nature, yet it has a hint of sadness.

It was everything it needed to be in order to convey Goldust’s character message to the audience, and the theme song is one of the reasons why Goldust’s character took off with immediate effect.

9: The Undertaker – Rest In Peace

The Undertaker has had several notable theme songs throughout his career, and arguably the best was the theme he began to use when he returned as The Deadman in 2004.

The brilliant, Jim Johnston somehow found a way to improve Undertaker's original theme song known as "Graveyard Symphony", and in-turn create a theme that continues to send chills down the spines of wrestling fans across the world.

The Rest In Peace theme song has a sense of dread, yet it’s so epic and grand that it feels like you’re listening to a masterpiece as The Deadman makes his way to his Yard.

It’s hard to imagine The Deadman returning as his aforementioned character in 2004 with any other theme song, and it was evident that Johnston put considerable effort into striking a balance between representing the old classic theme, and doing something new and modern whilst still portraying The Undertaker as a certified legend and phenom.

8: Batista – I Walk Alone

Upon defeating Triple H at WrestleMania 21, Batista emerged as one of the top babyfaces in WWE. However, there was one slight issue with Batista’s babyface presentation, and the issue was that he still had his heel theme song.

His heel theme song was known as ‘Animal’, and it was a strong theme song that portrayed Batista as a threat, yet it was definitely intended to be used by a heel.

Batista would debut his I Walk Alone theme in late May of 2005, and it instantly took off. The theme song was produced by Saliva, and they did a phenomenal job in creating a theme that represented one of the top stars in the company.

The theme had fire, it had energy, and it was exactly what the babyface version of The Animal needed. It’s hardly a surprise that the beloved theme has almost 30 million streams on Spotify, and it’s often labelled as one of the most replayable WWE theme songs of all time.

7: Stone Cold Steve Austin – Glass Shatters

In 2000, WWE made a bold move. WWE decided to debut a new theme song for their top star, Stone Cold Steve Austin. Austin’s original theme was synonymous with Austin and the Attitude Era, and the theme is responsible for some of the largest crowd ovations ever seen.

Disturbed were responsible for the new theme, and they sampled the original track, yet this time, they incorporated lyrics.

Disturbed were able to create a theme that somehow made Austin’s aura increase, as Austin storming to the ring to the Disturbed version of his theme made for some of the most exciting and engaging entrances of the Attitude Era.

Some of the lyrics in the song include: “Step up! 'Cause you’re the next one in line for the kill, you don't believe me but i'm betting that you will. Stand up! I'll let you live a little bit with the pain that i bring, you know it's only the beginning. Step up!.”

The lyrics were the right fit for Austin, and adding lyrics to an established track is always going to be a risky move, yet it resulted in this incredible theme song.

6: Shawn Michaels – Sexy Boy

In February 1993, the legendary, Shawn Michaels began to use his Sexy Boy theme on a full-time basis. The song was written by Jimmy Hart, and Hart managed to capture the spirit and the character of HBK in one single song. The song was used for HBK throughout his iconic and celebrated career, and there’s not a wrestling fan alive that doesn’t know the words.

In an interview with Wrestling Inc, Jimmy Hart offered some fascinating insight into the theme song, and this is what Hart had to say:

“Back in my era, you know, we did Shawn Michaels’ Sexy Boy, me and my partner. Here’s what happen — When they came to me, they said, ‘Look, we need to do a theme song for Shawn going to the ring.’ So we let Sherri [Martel] sing it, you know, about ‘sexy boy’. So when she left, then Vince said, ‘Look, you need to get Shawn to the studio’. I said, ‘Shawn, we’ve got to put your voice on it’. He goes, ‘Ah, I can’t sing’. I said, ‘I promise ya, I’ll make you sing.’ So we went in, we knocked it out in about an hour’s time…”

5: John Cena – The Time Is Now

By the time March of 2005 came around, John Cena had firmly ascended to become the most popular wrestler in WWE. Numerous demographics had firmly decided that Cena was their guy, and was the right guy to carry WWE into the next era.

At the time of Cena’s main event push, he was using the theme song he had used for the past two-years. Basic Thuganomics was a great theme, yet it made sense to debut a new theme for Cena heading into his WWE Title showdown with JBL at WrestleMania 21.

This was when The Time Is Now was born, and The Time Is Now has become such an anthem that fans often sing along to every single word whenever Cena appears.

4: Kane – Slow Chemical

On paper, the idea of changing Kane’s classic theme song, and adding lyrics seems ridiculous. The idea could have turned out incredibly cringe-worthy, and could have done irreversible damage to Kane’s aura and presentation.

Thankfully, this wasn’t the case, and WWE would use the Finger Eleven song, Slow Chemical for Kane’s new theme, and to say that it suited Kane would be an understatement. Slow Chemical had all the elements of Kane’s original theme, yet the lyrics somehow managed to express the natural evolution of Kane’s legendary character.

The theme song became so popular, and so ingrained into the brains of WWE fans, that when WWE decided to ditch Slow Chemical a few years later, there was major backlash from fans.

Fans questioned why on earth WWE would remove something so important to Kane’s character, and the likely reason was a financial or rights issue, which was a huge shame, as WWE never truly re-captured the magic of Slow Chemical with any of Kane’s subsequent themes.

3: CM Punk – Cult Of Personality

WWE struck gold when they decided to use This Fire Burns as CM Punk’s theme song, and there was never a push from any of Punk’s fans to see WWE go in a different direction.

In the summer of 2011, CM Punk had emerged as a break-out star in WWE. The infamous Pipebomb promo, as well as Punk ‘leaving WWE’ with the WWE Title led to a surge of outside interest in Punk and the WWE product.

WWE decided now was the time in which Punk’s theme song would be changed, and at first, fans questioned WWE’s decision, but when it was revealed that Punk’s new theme song would be Cult of Personality by Living Color, fans knew WWE made the right call.

The song is an all-time classic, and the theme manages to capture Punk’s character message and motivations in a manner that This Fire Burns wouldn’t have done following the Pipebomb promo.

Punk discussed why the theme is so important to him on the AEW Unrestricted podcast, and this is what the former WWE and AEW World Champion had to say:

“I have been fortunate enough to be friends with a lot of great bands, a lot of talented artists, and to use a lot of those songs for entrance music. Cult of Personality I think transcends everything. And I’m proud of this, that the name CM Punk is forever tied to the band Living Colour and Cult of Personality. It’s just been a common thread throughout my entire life….”

“The whole reason I used that song in Ring of Honor is because I just love that song, I thought it was great entrance music, and for the character and everything. That was the song my Little League team would play after we won games in 1989, so it’s been with me for a while…”

2: Edge – Metalingus

WWE Hall of Famer, Edge began to use Metalingus in late 2004, and the theme song was evidence that a theme song can make a wrestler look like an absolute mega-star.

At this point in late 2004, Edge was slowly approaching the main event scene, yet when he debuted this new theme song on RAW, everything seemed to change.

The song was simply put the perfect fit for what Edge needed at the time, as the song struck the correct balance of intensity, whilst being a song that fans could easily sing along too.

The song has become one of the most beloved theme songs in wrestling history, and when Edge joined AEW in 2023, fans saw it as a top priority that AEW use the theme song, and thankfully they did.

The wrestling legend would talk about how the theme song came about during an interview with Journey With A Frontman, and this is what he had to say:

"When I was out with my neck injury, I met Mark Tremonti. I met him at a Metallica show, actually. And I went back to his place after and he played me what would end up being the first Alter Bridge album. I heard Metalingus and I was like, 'Dude, can I use that when I come back?' And he said, 'Yeah! Of course!" So that ended up being the genesis of it and when I heard it, it was actually Mark singing. It hadn't been Myles yet. So it was in its infancy, but I had heard that song. I was like, 'Okay, that's gonna be what I come to the ring to.' And that's how that all started."

1: Triple H – The Game

The Game, Triple H has been incredibly lucky with his theme songs over the years. Triple H’s first well-known theme as the Triple H character was called ‘My Time’, and the theme was expertly done, so much so that it without question helped fans take him seriously in a main event role.

In 2001, Triple H had become the top heel in WWE, and due to this, WWE decided now was the perfect time to give the cerebral assassin a new theme song.

The Game’s new theme song would be performed by Motorhead and would appropriately be titled ‘The Game’.

The end product was magnificent, and it managed to capture the essence of Triple H’s character.

The song currently sits at over 80 million streams on Spotify, officially making it one of the most played theme songs in pro wrestling history.

During an interview with MTV, Triple H revealed that Jim Johnston was originally tasked with producing The Game’s new theme, but Johnston couldn’t create the sound that Triple H wanted:

“Years ago I was making a transition to becoming this bad guy (known in wrestling as the 'heel' character), and they wanted me to change my music," he said. "We had our music guy Jim Johnston working on it, and it wasn't the sound I wanted. I kept saying, 'I want it more raw, more gritty,' and I kept saying, 'Think Motörhead, think Motörhead.' So finally Jim was like, 'Why don't we just get Motörhead to do it?' They were into it, and they did the song for me, and they came to one of the shows, and Lem and I just hit it off. They've played me to the ring a few times."