Pump it up! WrestleMania: The Album
The 80s were long gone, the new crop of superstars was invading this newfound “new generation” and WrestleMania IX was hitting an all-time low for the company. But, 1993 was about introducing the new generation, a shift from the big steroid monsters of yesteryear.
Related Read: WrestleMania 36: A Show Where Nobody Wins.
The tracklist of 12 unique superstar sounds stomped the ground with big beats and cemented the new decade’s use of digital percussion and grungy hits. Nasty Boy Stomp for The Nasty Boys was a remix rendition with borrowed bass beats similar to “Nasty” by Janet Jackson.
🎵 “Who Will Survive … Just Like That, Just Like That!” 🎵
Let’s get it out of the way. The WrestleMania album was a cringe to listen to. It was an experiment of new listening that wanted WWE to incorporate wrestlers and music, but not necessarily their entrance themes. The most notable was Bret Hart’s “Never Been A Right Time To Say Goodbye“. It’s just a 90s feel-good instrumental with Bret singing some God-awful lyrics. The only exception to this album that made it worth anything was the main track, WrestleMania. For those of us who love the nostalgia of WrestleMania past, the song will give you a good feeling of 90s Mania season.
Even The Undertaker, Randy Savage, Tatanka, Mr. Perfect, Big Boss Man, Goddamn, every track had a digital synthesizer mix with some of their catchphrases. Seriously? 90s pop was definitely incorporated in each of these superstar mixes.
I will say, from someone born in the 80s, I really enjoyed this album from a hip hop 90s nostalgia perspective. But as a wrestling album, this album was absolutely not worthy of the WrestleMania title. The best of this album was actually the 2 title songs, WrestleMania and Slam Jam. These two were the absolute perfect representation of what the new generation was for WWE between 1993-1996.
Rating: 3/10
Top Pick: TIE between WWF WrestleMania and WWF Slam Jam
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lblDaZfKF1U]
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=os8Zs9iiiCY]
What are your thoughts? Got a favorite entrance theme or music rendition from these three albums? Send me yours in the comments below. If you would like me to have a discussion around other theme music ideas – such as the history of a song or hidden gems, put it in the comments below. I’ll be doing some more of these types in the future. But for now, get ready for the mid-1990s and some of the best from Jim Johnston next!
