The Wrestling Album
| Company type | Soundtrack album |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | November 9, 1985 |
| Founder | World Wrestling Federation |
| Products | Wrestler theme music |
| Parent | Epic Records |
The Wrestling Album represents the inaugural soundtrack album released by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, currently WWE), debuting on November 9, 1985, through Epic Records. This launch coincided with the height of the Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection period. The collection primarily consists of wrestler theme music from the WWF roster of that era and reached a peak position of No. 84 on the Billboard album sales chart. However, none of its singles achieved notable radio rotation or broke into the Top 100.
Production
The majority of tracks were crafted under the production guidance of Rick Derringer, while David Wolff—who was managing and dating Cyndi Lauper at the time—served as executive producer and conceived the album's concept. The track "Hulk Hogan's Theme," featured in the Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling animated series, was written and produced by Jim Steinman. Lauper lent her backing vocals to U.S. Express's entrance tune "Real American" (later adopted as Hulk Hogan's entrance music) and to "For Everybody." She also produced a track for "Captain" Lou Albano, credited under the alias "Mona Flambé."
In 1998, Koch Records re-released the album on CD under license from Epic/Sony, followed by a 30th-anniversary edition issued in June 2015 through Sony's Legacy label.
The album features spoken interludes with commentary from WWF executives Vince McMahon, Gene Okerlund, and Jesse Ventura. Three singles were issued: "Land of a Thousand Dances?!!?," "Grab Them Cakes," and "Don't Go Messin' with a Country Boy," each backed with "Captain Lou's History of Music/Captain Lou." The song "For Everybody," performed by Roddy Piper, is a censored rendition of Mike Angelo & The Idols' original composition. In 1986, Steinman transformed "Hulk Hogan's Theme" into "Ravishing" for Bonnie Tyler's album Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire. Additionally, Meat Loaf makes a brief appearance playing drums in the music video for "Land of a Thousand Dances?!!?."
The gatefold artwork displays most members of WWF's 1985 lineup within a recording studio environment, including McMahon, Okerlund, Ventura, and ring announcer Howard Finkel. On the back cover, Lauper is pictured wearing a black wig while holding a Rickenbacker guitar.