WWE History: 7 Best Theme Songs of the Attitude Era

Few argue that the period of time in the WWF from 1998-2001, known as the Attitude Era, is one of the best stretches in the history of professional wrestling. Interest and ratings were at a significant peak, as millions of fans tuned in to see their favorite superstars participate in unpredictable feuds.

A far cry from the "PG" era the wrestling business is bound to today, the Attitude Era is largely remembered as a spontaneous product filled with edginess and innovation.

One of the best aspects of the Attitude Era, aside from the talent, storylines and matches, was the excellent theme music that introduced each competitor as they entered the ring. The architect of most of this excellent work is Jim Johnston, a music composer who has been with the company since 1985 and has worked with nearly every superstar imaginable.

There are many ways to rank such a sequence. For me, I looked at the originality, the effect each theme had on the crowd and how the song fit with each particular character or characters. Of course, personal opinion played a role in compiling this list.

Here are, in my opinion, the seven best theme songs from the Attitude Era.

7. HHH/Chyna: My Time

This list, much like the Attitude Era, has a DX feel to it.

Two more members of the famous group, HHH and Chyna came to the ring for a majority of this period to this theme. Coincidentally enough, this music fit both superstars perfectly, whether they came to the ring together or as singles wrestlers.

Both grew tremendously during this period. Chyna went from an unspoken bodyguard to the first female to win the intercontinental championship (I'm sure Jeff Jarrett was delighted to do that job) and HHH went from a solid mid-card performer to the top of the mountain, capturing the WWF title on numerous occasions.

The whole aspect of entrances changed completely during this period. Composed songs were a rarity in the '80s, but by this time, many superstars would have real songs as their theme music. HHH is famous for this, and this theme can be seen as the beginning of all that.

I find the last lyric of this song particular;y funny: "Does anyone know who is sleeping with who?" Most fans know the irony of that statement.

6. Chris Jericho

Remember when it was 1999, and everyone was scared straight that the world was going to come to an end on 1/1/2000? Computers were going to explode and society as we knew it would fall victim to the technology that controlled our everyday lives. It was a theory that I'm sure made Harold Camping proud.

One superstar who debuted in 1999 and was dubbed as the "Millennium Man" was "Y2J" Chris Jericho. Stuck in the bottomless pit known as WCW for the previous four years, Jericho made an immediate contribution to the Attitude Era.

One reason for this impact was as a result of his millennium-based theme entrance. The countdown and the moment before the loudest fireworks in the history of mankind were perfectly encapsulated by the end-of-the-world darkness that many predicted.

The rest of the theme was catchy as well, earning a spot on this list.

5. Undertaker: Ministry Theme

This is my all-time favorite entrance music, but that's because I'm a biased Undertaker fanboy. Allegiances aside, I feel this deserves to be on the list.

As we all know, the Undertaker has undergone a lot of transformations over his WWE career. One of these alterations occurred at the end of 1998/beginning of 1999, when he took a demonic turn for the worse and formed the Ministry of Darkness. This group wreaked havoc over the WWF, which culminated in the Undertaker capturing the WWF title in May of '99.

The new music he used during this time was perfect for the ministry angle. The Latin phrase the Deadman utters at the beginning provides the perfect atmosphere that completely freaked the audience out on a nightly basis.

This part of the Undertaker's career is often forgotten by many fans, and I have no idea why. He was at the top of his game, and had the perfect entrance theme to go with it.

4. No Chance in Hell

Most agree that the main reason why the Attitude Era was so successful was because of the Austin vs. McMahon feud. The reasons why are endless: The fans could relate to feuding with their boss; these two were a pair of the most talented characters in the history of the business; the excellent job the writers did to keep the angle fresh for such a long time...

The entrance music of Vince McMahon (and later, his son Shane) represented the feud and the period perfectly. Titled "No Chance in Hell," this song caused groans in the crowd every time it was played. The fans just wanted the McMahons to go away

Vince McMahon was the Rita Repulsa of the WWF. He would conjure up a plan to attempt to eliminate Stone Cold from the picture, only to have the Rattlesnake come back strong and destroy McMahon every time.

Ironically enough, the alliance between these two at the conclusion of WrestleMania XVII effectively ended the Attitude Era.

3. Original DX

Are you ready?

Another slide, another DX-related theme.

This, however, was the theme that started it all.

Bow to the masters.

When Shawn Michaels and HHH formed this rebellious group in late 1997, few knew how strong and epic the faction would become. It can be argued that it is the best faction of all time (God knows it was reconstructed about 100 times), and one that will always live on in the minds of pro wrestling fans.

This entrance definitely deserves a spot on this prestigious list. The "Are you ready?" intro provided a jolt of adrenaline into the veins of the fans that could be felt throughout the arena. It's easy to get this excited when you are seeing terrific performers like the aforementioned duo; but either way, this theme song was highly original, along with the originality of the screen quickly alternating between the theme video and the ring camera.

Break it down!

2. Kane

One of the most unique entrances of the entire Attitude Era came from the Big Red Machine.

Appearing in the most jaw-dropping fashion as the deceased-but-now-living brother of the Undertaker and breaking down a steel door to deliver a memorable tombstone piledriver that changed the course of the era, Kane captivated fans with his mystery, mask and compete inability to feel pain.

He was the Undertaker on steroids.

His entrance music served as a perfect introduction to this special character. A red hue covered the entire arena, and the sudden jolt of fireworks scared the crap out of every fan—even when you knew it was coming. When the lights went out, and Jim Ross would add "hell, fire and brimstone" to the scene, fans cringed at the inevitability that Kane was coming to the ring.

It was a perfect twist to the Undertaker's old theme and an excellent way to serve as the backdrop for one of the most destructive men of the Attitude Era.

1. New Age Outlaws

Oh you didn’t know??? Your a$$ better call somebody!!!

These two sentences define the Attitude Era. The New Age Outlaws, Road Dogg Jesse James and Bad A$$ Billy Gunn were an outstanding tag team with excellent chemistry who always had good matches.

However, what put their act over the top was their theme song.

When the crowd heard the opening tune that would bring the Outlaws to the ring, they went absolutely crazy. The Road Dogg would talk for the majority of his walk to the ring, stirring the crowd into a complete frenzy. The uniqueness of having a wrestler cut promos on their way to the ring, along with the background music while this was occurring, made this intro truly special.

Although Stone Cold, the Rock and Mick Foley may have received larger pops, I felt that their entrance music was not anything special. Other than these three, this group was as over as anything in the company and their music had a lot to do with it.

As an offshoot from DX, this tandem and their music were outstanding.

I know most will not agree with this at the top spot, but what does Bleacher Nation think? Let's get the debate rolling! If you like my work, feel free to follow me on BR!