All Elite Wrestling celebrates their anniversary with their flagship Double or Nothing pay-per-view, with the revolutionary wrestling promotion making another trip around the sun on Memorial Day weekend. While nowadays, owner and CEO Tony Khan doesn’t shy away from licensing music for wrestlers to use for the entrance themes, the brand’s in-house composer Mikey Rukus puts out plenty of bangers, particularly those with a nu metal vibe. In celebration of the Jacksonville-based promotion, here are a handful of nu metal themes from All Elite Wrestling.
“Ghost Town” (Matt Hardy)
Matt Hardy brought his “Broken” brilliance to AEW in early 2020, and his theme for much of that run fit his eccentric character. Before long, though, his theme was changed to the very nu “Ghost Town” from Rukus’ Bring the Rukus album. With the help of Zardonic, this pinch harmonic-heavy track served as Hardy’s walkout tune through a rocky run, but at least fans of the elder Hardy brother had a banger of a track to look forward to when he was on the show.
“Cold World” (Eddie Kingston)
Someone has clearly never told Eddie Kingston that this wrestling business is only so real, because the hard-nosed New Yorker is one of the heaviest hitters in the game. As such, his theme “Cold World” sounds like DMX, Linkin Park, and Type O Negative had a baby, and it works. The organ melody, the aggressive vocal delivery, and the chugging guitars never fail to elicit a very loud reaction for the self-professed “king of the bums” and former ROH World Champion.
“Choke (ft. Butcher Babies)” (Skye Blue)
Skye Blue has been out with an injury since July 2024, and one thing that has robbed fans of is hearing this track week to week. Butcher Babies lend their voices and vigor to this driving theme, which came with Blue’s turn to the dark side following her partnership with then-TBS Champion Julia Hart. It may be a little tame compared to the rest of Butcher Babies’ catalog, but it’s still a memorable track nonetheless.
“(All About Tha) BOOM!” (Adam Cole)
The Undisputed Era’s theme in NXT went a long way in solidifying that group as one of the greatest factions of the modern era. As such, Rukus cued up this track that sounds just enough like Rage Against the Machine to make folks do a double-take. It is instantly recognizable and iconic, with plenty of crowd participation moments built in to whip audiences into a frenzy whenever that vocal sting hits.
And I would be remiss to leave out the incredible Better Than You, Bay-Bay mash-up from Cole’s partnership with MJF:
Christian Cage (which might be a “My Last Breath” rip-off?)
The version that the leader of The Patriarchy uses these days is a take on his theme from TNA Wrestling, back when he was “The Instant Classic,” and that song has itself been accused of being a ripoff of Evanescence's “My Last Breath,” so this may arguably the most nu of AEW’s entrance themes, at least those not done by Rukus.
“Join the Dark Order” / “He Is Exalted” (Dark Order / Mr Brodie Lee)
The Dark Order was, at one time, the home team faction of AEW, riding a fine line between serious act and comedy gold, and part of their presentation came with their ominous theme. The downtuned, slightly slowed-down version that the late Brodie Lee used for his entrances is as grand as the presence he cut, giving the overall presentation of the cult-like group that much more gravitas.
POP! (Dynamite theme)
A television theme should get viewers hyped up and ready to settle in for the action, and the theme for Wednesday night’s Dynamite does that. A driving pace and energetic guitar lines help make this a fitting theme for AEW’s flagship series.
“Dynamite” by No One Hero (OG Dynamite theme)
You only get one first impression, and the original theme for Dynamite made a great one. The tune, by Rukus’ previous band No One Hero, rang in the weekly action from October 2019 through February 2024, though it sounds like something that could have come from the heyday of nu metal.
