5 best music gimmick WWE Superstars

The world of professional wrestling is renowned for its entertaining, at times outlandish, acts/gimmicks that are more often than not a satire on real life.

Right from the Gobbledy Gooker to the Boogeyman, from Papa Shango to Mantaur—the WWE has had its fair share of borderline bizarre gimmicks.

Sportskeeda is the one-stop destination for latest WWE rumors and wrestling news.

Nevertheless, when it comes to drawing inspiration from real-life, the WWE has time and again looked toward the world of the arts so as to create a WWE character. Most prominently, some of the best and worst WWE Superstar gimmicks have been derived from the music genre of arts.

The WWE has been praised by both fans and experts alike for coming up with a rather unique way of serving as a mirror to real-life, and in that process has witnessed several legitimate as well as pretend musicians grace the squared-circle.

While some Superstars made an impact on the WWE Universe during the Attitude and Ruthless Aggression eras, a few performers are currently wreaking havoc on the WWE roster with their musical prowess.

Today we look at some of the best music gimmicks WWE Superstars pulled off.

---

#5 Elias

Elias is the WWE's resident guitarist/singer whom the WWE Universe loves to hate

Elias is perhaps one of the most successful music gimmick professional wrestling performers of the modern era.

Blessed with the gift of gab—paramount to the success of a music gimmick—as well as fantabulous mat skills, Elias has managed to get himself incredibly over with the WWE Universe. A rather glaring sign which indicates Elias’ bright future, is that the 30 year old Superstar has ascended toward the upper echelons of WWE RAW despite only having made his main roster debut last year.

One of the biggest reasons behind Elias succeeding in the WWE, is that he’s well aware of the subtle art of playing to the gallery. In other words, Elias reads the pulse of the crowd excellently and seldom does he fumble while delivering his hard-hitting promos.

Add to that the fact that Elias is a legitimately skilled musician—deft at shredding the guitar—and that, in turn, serves to further his on-screen WWE character as more believable as compared to several other music gimmick performers that have preceded “The Drifter” in pro-wrestling history. Up next, we take a look at yet another breakout musician…

#4 Aiden English

Aiden English sings every day... with every day being "Rusev Day"

Aiden English—having performed for the WWE since 2012—has lately risen as the dark horse of the WWE SmackDown Live roster.

Initially having introduced his heel shtick to the WWE Universe as one half of The Vaudevillians, English broke through as a singles performer owing to his unquestionable athleticism and incredible work-ethic.

Nevertheless, it was English’s pairing with Rusev since late-2017 that has propelled both Superstars into true superstardom (pun intended). English is, in fact, a trained singer and has performed in several stage productions.

Furthermore, English has specialized in stage combat; honing his craft at Columbia College in Chicago. One of the few legitimate musicians who also happen to be pro-wrestlers, English is regarded by many as one of the best music acts in the WWE. Up next is one of the greatest WWE Superstars of all time…

#3 The Rock

The Rock and his "Rock concerts" have always been incredibly over with the WWE Universe

Known to both old-school fans as well as fairly new members of the WWE Universe, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is perhaps one of the most famous celebrities on planet Earth, and an oft-forgotten part of his rise to notoriety in Hollywood are his “Rock concerts”.

Back in 2003, The Rock had already broken through as a big-time action star in Hollywood—what with his movie “The Scorpion King” having received top-notch reviews in the entertainment industry.

The aforementioned ‘concerts’ would witness a heel Rock berate the fans in attendance at WWE shows—whereby he would hurl outlandish insults at people of the host city. The Rock—guitar and mic in tow—would go on to trash talk his opponents as well as the WWE Universe by way of his songs; bragging about his blossoming Hollywood career.

The act served to garner The Rock incredible heel heat, and revealed yet another wrinkle to The Brahma Bull’s pro-wrestling game—with him successfully essaying the role of a villainous musician in the WWE.

Rocky is without a doubt one of the best music acts in WWE and professional wrestling history.

#2 John Cena

John Cena essayed his "Doctor of Thuganomics" gimmick as a heel earlier in his career, as well as briefly during his feud with Brock Lesnar in 2012

After making his WWE debut as “The Prototype”, John Cena subsequently adopted the now-iconic “Doctor of Thuganomics” gimmick in 2002.

Cena’s aforementioned act was inspired by the hip-hop genre of music, and was parallel to the rise of world-renowned rapper Eminem. Cena skyrocketed in terms of popularity with his Doctor of Thuganomics character—rising to become one of the greatest pro-wrestling heels and subsequently turning into one of the all-time-great babyfaces.

For all the criticism directed at Cena by his critics, one simply cannot deny the fact that Cena could come up with rhymes and rap very well. In fact, till date, John Cena’s rapper act is regarded as one of the most successful gimmicks—musical or non-musical—in professional wrestling history.

#1 Jillian Hall

Jillian Hall managed to rile up the WWE Universe with her bad singer gimmick

Jillian Hall is perhaps best known to professional wrestling fans for her time with the WWE from 2003 until her departure from the promotion in 2010.

Hall gained considerable notoriety with her music gimmick, whereby she would essay the role of a terrible singer, all while pretending as though she’s great at the art of singing.

Hall’s portrayal of said gimmick has often been compared by fans and critics to that of international pop star Brittney Spears—with Hall’s WWE character being a parody of Spears.

The gimmick received mixed reviews in the professional wrestling community, however, is said to be one of the most effective music gimmicks of all time—what with the fact that the very aim of Hall’s annoying singer act was to garner her character tons of heel heat.

Honorable mention: Jeff Jarrett—Double J will forever be remembered as the pro-wrestling legend who smashes guitars on his opponents.

While his music gimmick was incredibly successful, it was his usage of the gimmick all through his career that made Jarrett stand out, unlike performers such as John Cena and The Rock who’ve only used their musical gimmicks sporadically.