From the early days of the event with Liberace dancing with the famous New York City Rockettes at the very first WrestleMania, musical performances have always been a part of the show. Whether musical interludes, superstar artists performing America The Beautiful, or playing a superstar to the ring, The Show Of Shows has always been paired up with great music.
Over the course of 36 years, some of music’s greatest have come to WrestleMania to collide with the WWE on their biggest stage - Ozzy seconding The British Bulldogs the ring at WrestleMania 2, or Run DMC doing the WrestleMania Rap at WrestleMania V, there should be a wing in the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame dedicates to the Rock N Wrestling connection.
10 Best - Nita Strauss, “Rising Sun”
For a theme with no words, the crowds absolutely love to sing along to “Rising Sun,” the first theme of Shinsuke Nakamura.
As The King Of Strong Style first appeared on the grand stage, he did so being played to the ring by a cadre of violinists playing him to the ring. But the woman leading the strings that night was heavy metal rock goddess, Nita Strauss. At that moment, she was playing guitar for Alice Cooper, who once came to the ring with Jake "The Snake" Roberts at WrestleMania III.
9 Forgot About - NYPD Pipe And Drums, “Gallantry”
As one of the proudest Pipe And Drum groups in the world, if you’re Irish or Scottish and in New York, you can bet your kilt that the NYPD is going to be playing you to the ring.
Despite being a heel at the time, Drew McIntyre was highly respected by the fans and most of the WWE Universe knew he was the guy. The Scottish Warrior got the big WrestleMania treatment at 35 when New York’s Finest played him out for his battle with Roman Reigns.
8 Best - Motörhead, “The Game”
There are metal bands and then there’s Motörhead. Led by rock god Lemmy Kilmister, the band had been a favorite of Triple H’s for years. When he garnered enough stroke to have someone do a theme for him, Motörhead immediately came to mind.
“The Game” immediately became an iconic theme and even more so when Motörhead appeared on stage at WrestleMania X7 and played The Cerebral Assassin to the ring for his first of three wars with The Undertaker.
7 Forgot About - Ray Charles, “America The Beautiful”
According to those closest to him, The Chairman was always preferred “America The Beautiful” to “The Star-Spangled Banner” because most sporting events played the nation’s theme song while WrestleMania could have its own American song attached to it, the event’s spin.
Seldom few performers can put their own spin on a song the way legendary Ray Charles could do. At WrestleMania 2, Ray opened up the show with his own rendition of “America The Beautiful.”
6 Best - Mark Crozer, “Live In Fear”
WrestleMania XXX was the first to emanate from New Orleans. The home of Mardi Gras, the bayou, and voodoo to a lesser extent gives the city a unique mystical party feel. Which was perfect for a cult leader like Bray Wyatt.
The Eater Of Worlds was played to the ring at WrestleMania by Mark Crozer and his band, playing “Live In Fear,” complete with a Voodoo Priestess dancing with swords.
5 Forgot About - Limp Bizkit, “Rollin’ (Air Raid Vehicle)”
In the late nineties and early 2000’s, Limp Bizkit was actually one of the biggest rock acts in the country. It was their then-new song, “Rollin” that provides the soundtrack to The American Bad Ass’ second theme. Fred Durst and company came to WrestleMania XIX to get Seattle going nuts for The Deadman’s entrance, since that was the best part of Taker’s night that night - he had a mediocre match against A-Train and The Big Show.
4 Best - Living Color, “Cult Of Personality”
After finally achieving main eventer status in WWE, CM Punk got the star treatment. Not only did the company shell out the money for the rights to Living Colour’s “Cult Of Personality,” they shelled out the money for the native New York rockers to let loose with their hit at WrestleMania 29 to play the Second City Saint to the ring for his attempt to end The Streak.
3 Forgot About - Rev Theory, “Voices”
There was so much happening at WrestleMania XXX - Hogan, Rock, and Austin all in the ring for the first time ever, The Ending Of The Streak, and Daniel Bryan overcoming all obstacles.
You can almost forget that the defending WWE champion heading into the event was The Viper, Randy Orton. Rev Theory was on hand in New Orleans to play The Legend Killer to the ring for his defense against both Bryan and Batista.
2 Best - Jones High School Marching Tigers, “The Time Is Now”
It’s ok to admit it, everyone can admit it. Plenty of people love to watch a good marching band play some iconic staples. The Jones High School Marching Tigers were out in full force in Orlando for WrestleMania XXIV.
The band and the baton twirlers were out in full force to introduce John Cena for his challenge against Triple H and Randy Orton for the WWE title.
1 Forgot About - San Francisco Taiko Dojo, “Out From The Shadows”
Some naysayers would say that the WWE buried Sting by booking him to job out to Triple H, and some would say that is a correct statement. But at least The Icon got the grandiose WrestleMania entrance treatment on the way to his burial.
The world-renowned San Francisco Taiko Dojo got to put on a brief performance welcoming The Vigilante to his first-ever WrestleMania.