WWE: Wrestling's Top 10 Greatest Entrances of All Time (2024)

WWE entrances have a life of their own. It starts with a simple introduction to a jingle made to correspond accordingly to the wrestler's character, but in some cases generates highly measurable amounts of emotion and drama into the match at hand. Get ready to see wrestling's top 10 greatest entrances of all time.

There are some songs that are better than others, some themes we remember more. Whether it be for our favorite wrestler or whether it was just a catchy tune, we have our reasons for holding some moments higher than others.

But what about those special individual moments that stood out on top? I'm talking about the ones that changed the face of wrestling. Don't think that such an entrance is possible? This top 10 should make a believer out of you.

Honorable mention is something withprestigeon this countdown. So many top entrances to choose from, there's really no right answer, just ones that are further away from being wrong.

RETURN OF THE LEGION OF DOOM

Shown in the above video, this is the moment that just missed the countdown.Arguablythe greatest tag team of all-time returned on RAW in 2003, and were putimmediatelyinto a title match with Kane and RVD.

L.O.D. would not win the titles on this day, but their simple return was felt for quite some time.

"STONE COLD" STEVE AUSTIN AT WRESTLEMANIA XIII

A solid entrance, easily the first one brought up when talking about Stone Cold's greatest entrance ever. The ongoing feud with Bret Hart helped propel the "Texas Rattlesnake" to stardom, and one of the most successful WWE wrestlers of all time.

TRIPLE H AT WRESTLEMANIA XXII

One of Triple H's more emotion-packed entrances, from a guy who is a master of them. It's amazing to me that none of his entrances made the countdown, a testimony to the quality of entrances that were picked. With no furtherado, I give you one of the more interesting top 10 lists ever.

At the end of this episode of RAW is WAR, Vince McMahon was in the ring expecting to have a confrontation with Stone Cold Steve Austin.

What he got was something a little bit different.

The Rock had taken a leave ofabsence, mostly to film the box office hit The Scorpion King.

It didn't take The Rock long to make an immediate impact upon his return. Just over a month later atVengeance, he won the WWE Championship.

Hischarismaticreturn here is good enough for No. 10 on this list.

The Undertaker is by far and away, one of the greatest draws wrestling has ever had.

His entrance does plenty to help him on this.

Seen here in one of his more dramatic entrances of all time, many druids and pyrotechnics aid in the overall bang of the presentation.

The Undertaker, seen going slowly all the way down the aisle, arrives with intense presence in the ring, usually taking his hat off to reveal eyes rolled back.

A littleforeshadowinghere, this isn't the last you've seen of the Undertaker on this countdown.

Once upon a time in wrestling, WCW had a chance to not only swim with the WWF, but they had a chance to grab them by the throat and take the top spot.

Their best asset, however, was not at all used correctly.

Sting hands down blew away anything that WCW ever came up with, even thinking of changing his image to the dopey Crow "wanna-be" he has become.

But this entrance at Starrcade 1992 in the Tokyo Dome, was the best entrance a WCW wrestler ever got on the epic scale.

If Sting had stayed with this gimmick, would WCW have gone further? We'll never know.

For several weeks on WWE programming in mid-1999, a countdown clock was displayed that kept humming with the same space-agefluctuation sound.

On Aug. 9, 1999, the clock ran out, right in the middle of The Rock making an open challenge to The Big Show on RAW.

The clock came on the Titan Tron at about 15 seconds remaining, and began to countdown. As it did, the fans joined in.

Some people did obtain spoilers and knew in advance that the surprise would indeed be Chris Jericho. Many others, including yours truly, had no idea who it was going to be.

This entrance may have the single biggest pop ever in the history of pro-wrestling. The time that the name "Jericho" comes across the screen, until the majority of the crowd processes what this means, is just under one second. After that second, the place explodes.

WWF had just stolen one of WCW's biggest stars.

Jericho comes out and establishes himself as a heel with the crowd right off the bat. The Rock proceeds to poke fun at Jericho, much to the delight of the crowd.

The greatest SummerSlam entrance of all time, it was the biggest meeting ever between the British Bulldog and Bret Hart.

This by no means is the greatest match for either competitor, as Bret's isarguablyhis WrestleMania VIIIIntercontinentalTitle win over Rowdy Roddy Piper, and I think the Bulldog's best match was some time in WCW.

But this entrance, with both of these guys being as popular as they were, represented the pinnacle of both careers very well.

Everything starts out with boxing legend Lennox Lewis accompanying the Bulldog to the ring, waving the Union Jack proudly, much to the pleasure of the mostly pro-Bulldog fans.

But cue Bret Hart's music, and it's hard to tell that he is the one the crowd is pulling against. Only after ring announcer Howard Finkel announces his name, do most fans realize that they're supposed to be cheering against him.

But Bret's core fans are still loud and showing their support.

Every single entrance beyond this point, including this one, was found to give this author chills, so that's how I knew we had some winners.

Again we meet, Undertaker.

You will very quickly notice on this video, that it is shot from someone's camera in the crowd.

No, I do not know the person who shot it. But it was chosen for two reasons. One, I could not find an actual broadcast copy of this entrance since it is so recent. Two, even if I did have that copy, it wouldn't properly show the major points of this entrance like this shot does.

Number five you say? Why?

We've already touched on how important the Undertaker is to the image of the WWE. But this particular entrance blows all of his other ones out of the water.

I watched at Survivor Series 1990 as the Undertaker debuted. I've seen his most amazing pyrotechnic stunts. Watched him enter at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas for WrestleMania IX. This one encompasses everything that is "Undertaker" and takes it to the next level visually.

Which is captured wonderfully by thegentlemanfilming the entrance.

No Paul Bearer. No casket. Rolling smoke greets the traditional sound of the bell-toll. The presence of the Undertaker coming down the ramp makes Triple H dwindle down to almost not even being there. Not a knock to his credit, just that the Undertaker is that amazing.

Fire bursts by the plenty are aided by the series of screens in the back that enhance the entrance. Smoke continues to roll from the ramp the whole time, almost as if the entire ring has been transported to a swamp.

The Undertaker is the only wrestler who is doubled up on this top 10, but I feel that it isjustifiablyso.

Let me say to all Warrior and old-school fans, that this isn't the Warrior's greatest match, as I think that was the epic "Title Vs. Title" match at WrestleMania VI.

With that out of the way, this entrance has to be his greatest.

I realize that he had many great and action-packed entrances, but this one had a little extra flavor.

After several years ofabsencethat stemmed from disputes with Vince McMahon, many were unsure if the Warrior would even show up for his scheduled match against Triple H (or Hunter Hearst Helmsley as he was known at the time).

No one had seen him on any WWE programming. He had done work in independent circuits, but not many people had actually witnessed it.

Rumors were, as Jerry Lawler indicates in the commentary, running rampant. The WWF AOL chat rooms were ablaze with rumors on the Warrior, including an absurd one that the Warrior was over 400 pounds, and he had shaved his head.

Lawler even states that he heard the rumor from "sources," a bit of humor to those in the WWF chat rooms prior to WrestleMania XII.

But as the music began to play, many people who disbelieved that he was going to come out (and there were many) began to stand and look.

"Ladies and gentlemen...his opponent," ring announcer Howard Finkel began, "Making his return to the World Wrestling Federation, from parts unknown, weighing 260 pounds, the Ultimate Warrior!"

More began to actually believe he may run out.

Then in an instant, the man who captivated television audiences and sold out large arenas for the WWE in the past, ran out into view, and The Pond in Anaheim exploded into not a cheer, but totalpandemonium.

I'm guessing this was the scene in any living room across America that had ordered this event on pay-per-view. Many fans needed a few moments to take in what was happening.

An amazing moment, and if you're worried that this countdown forgot the other WrestleMania XII entrance, we still have three spots left.

Here you go, new-gen fans. Justice.

For the old-school who is not happy with this pick and saying, "Um...this is better than the Warrior at WrestleMania XII?"

To you I say, "Yes. It is."

John Cena, whether you like him or hate him, whether you don't care for the new-gen or not, John Cena is by far one of the most exciting wrestlers ever.

To me, Stone Cold Steve Austin was one of the most exciting wrestlers of all time. He did not make this countdown because there are so many incredible entrances. You'd be hard-pressed to find one with more raw energy and emotion than this one right here.

Cena and this entrance, are what I believe represents the new generation of modern WWE fans.

And yes, I saw Cena's WrestleMania XXVI entrance that included the U.S. Marine riflemen, which was a very powerful entrance. This one was chosen over that one, and included so high in this countdown, due to the overwhelming response to this entrance by his fans when I asked on Yahoo! Answers.

Cena has several good entrances, but this one stands out above the others and represents the new WWE fans well, in at No. 3 all time.

This, many will argue, should be No. 1, and I understand your position as this entrance is also my personal favorite.

The set up to the Iron Man Match at WrestleMania XII was incredible. Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels had danced around the upperechelonsof the industry for a few years without having major confrontation in competition.

This changed for the main event at WrestleMania XII.

Michaels' long-time friend and trainingmentorJose Lothario entered along to Michaels' theme song, and then it turned off as he got to the center of the ring.

Immediately, fans feared for the worst. Was Jose coming out to say that Shawn could not compete? He had been attacked at a Syracuse night club just days before the match.

But as Lothario went to the corner of the ring and stood on the second rope, he pointed up to the rafters. That's when every eager eye saw the spotlight on Shawn Michaels.

His entrance after that was epic. Gliding down on a steel cable wire, Michaels landed in the middle of the crowd, and wasimmediatelyswarmed by WWE representatives as well as the local fire department to undo his harness.

This entrance, much like Cena's, defined an age of fans.

So we've seen them all but the best. I'm sure that this list will not match everyone else's, so please be sure to tell me how you'd rank them and why!

For the old-schoolers, this is one we recognize, but is it really the No. 1 entrance of all-time?

A part of the entrance, and what makes it memorable, is what was on the line. This match wasn't just for the World Championship, it was the ultimate possible clash of pro-wrestling with American culture.

You didn't need pyrotechnics or elaborate flips being performed for this one; just the simple anticipation from not just wrestling fans, but the boatload of "Hulkamaniacs" that Hogan had been able to collect over the years, were champing at the bit for this match like none other.

For those of you younger-gen fans who might be ready to write me a comment about how stupid this countdown is now, consider this...without this entrance, which set up the greatest match in history, that gained the most attention and outside money to establish the WWE before theirfinancialcrisis in 1997...without all of this, there is no John Cena, no CM Punk, no RVD and no Batista.

Yes, without the success Hulk Hogan had, more specifically without this match and entrance, the WWE as we know it, wouldn't be around, period. It's financially impossible.

What Hogan was able to do for wrestling has made it what it is today. This entrance, embodies everything that was successful during his time.

Over 90,000 at the Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan watched as Hogan entered withunparalleledpresence. Andre the Giant had not lost a match in 15 years, and the fans knew it.

What Hogan did on this day, wasn't just to provide the spectacle of show; he stunned the world by picking up Andre the Giant, and slamming him to the mat. You didn't need to be told wrestling was fake, or that it was just another match, not when Hogan had just achieved what the whole world didn't think was possible.

After the slam, Hogan finished The Giant off with his patented leg drop. Jesse "The Body" Ventura, who is calling the match ring-side, repeats "I don't believe it!"

With what was on the line, and with Hogan being at the height of the ultimate wrestling face gimmick in history, this entrance was a no-brainer for No. 1 all-time.