Cody Rhodes Weighs In On The Importance Of Entrance Music, Discussing Bringing ‘Kingdom’ To WWE

WWE

Cody Rhodes has opened up about the importance of good entrance music, commenting on bringing ‘Kingdom’ by Downstait to WWE.

Since returning to WWE at WrestleMania 38, Cody Rhodes has seen his entrance replete with plentiful pyrotechnics, with a past report giving a behind-the-scenes look into their execution.

Visuals aside, pyrotechnics aren’t renowned for being quiet, with Cody Rhodes joking there may be a link between his WWE entrance and his current need to watch videos with subtitles during an appearance on ESPN’s Unsportsmanlike, saying:

“You know something that’s an indicator that I’m becoming a little bit of an old man? I watch everything with subtitles and everything with closed captions. I’ve been told that once you go down that road, you’re getting there. I’m heading for home.

“It could be the small screen in the treadmill, but also if Liberty’s watching Bluey I will set the captions as well. I don’t know, there’s a lot of pyro involved in my entrance and I never would assume it’s taking a toll on my ears but it might be. But I don’t wanna lose it either, it’s too cool.”

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Rhodes would also address the importance of the entrance experience, particularly when it comes to music, stating:

“Theme music, walk-out music is huge. I just had Jimmy Hart on my podcast, and he was talking about all the catalog that he had from the early nineties. But here’s the trick with wrestling music: a really great song isn’t always the answer; it’s got to be a catchy song.

“Always with wrestling, and Jim Johnston was famous for this as well: there’s got to be a hook up front. Austin’s glass breaking, the gong, whatever it may be. In my case, I recorded that audio sample of ‘Wrestling has more than one royal family’ years and years and years ago because that music accompanied me outside of WWE.

“To WWE being gracious enough to say, ‘Use all of the American Nightmare stuff, use that music still.’ But yeah, it’s catchy, gives them something to do too. Gives them a little sing-along. You gotta involve the peeps.”

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Since his return, Rhodes has continued to use Kingdom by Downstait, an entrance theme he used on the independent wrestling scene and in AEW, with the band’s lead singer, Zack Call, revealing how close it got to not being the case.

The Power Of Music

From the very first bars of their theme, a star is recognized by their entrance music. As Rhodes suggests, it could be Stone Cold Steve Austin and the glass break, The Undertaker and the sound of the gong, with it giving the fans that moment of anticipation as they await the arrival of the star in question.

While Jim Johnston is renowned for many a classic WWE theme, recent entries have been occasionally met with less enthusiasm. Whether it was CFO$ or def rebel, WWE fans have shared their thoughts on new entrance music whenever a star gets a theme, particularly if the track in question has replaced something beloved.

Cody Rhodes isn’t the only star very much aware of the importance of good entrance music, with a past report noting that several WWE stars had requested their music be changed for ‘some time now‘. There are diamonds among the newer WWE themes, with Kit Wilson’s track in particular being well-received and meme-worthy. Wilson has addressed his involvement in the theme and its inspirations.

Not every track is likely to be a proverbial “banger”, but understanding what does and doesn’t work and trying different things until the theme hits isn’t an unreachable goal, and fans are going to continue reacting to what they hear.

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• wwe
• Cody Rhodes
• entrance music
• Pyro

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