Between Quality and Competition: Make Some Noise

Since the inception of Rock ‘n Roll wrestling in the 1980’s, music has played a vital part in the success of not only individuals, but the industry itself.

With the use of music as an integral part of the industry came revenue-raising albums, hilarious music videos, and appearances by some of the biggest names in the world of music. As is always the case in the music industry, originality and impact are the keys to success.

To most people, this is not exactly breaking news, to others it is a revelation. In this edition of Between Quality and Competition I look at the people behind the music that raises our heart rates.

Yesterday I sat down to watch TNA cross the line of mediocrity and something hit me. For a show called IMPACT there really is no impact at all on a sonic level.

This started to get on my nerves, as the show progressed and nearly every entrance theme was a knock off of a song by a popular artist.

The ones that weren’t made me cringe. Who on earth is responsible for this tripe? Then I remembered something I had read sometime last year.

I had the answer already. TNA’s music is churned out by one Dale Oliver, formally of country band Blackhawk. Oliver has been on the receiving end of much criticism over his scoring of TNA.

To my enjoyment I discovered I was indeed right about the majority of music we hear on TNA. Oliver picks out popular songs and blatantly rips them off, changing just enough to escape plagiarism laws.

I can understand this practice being used when somebody comes in from an independent promotion where wrestlers are allowed to use whatever they choose as entrance music without the promotion having to pay royalties.

The practice is logical in instances such as those. But when it is used for established performers it leads me to ask the question is this where they are crossing the line?

Take the Main Event Mafia’s entrance music, blatantly taken from The Godfather theme. The opening has such potential, then at the point where the impact should be made, nothing. What is with the dodgy big cat growls?

This is but one example of how far short TNA is falling.

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