10 Times A Wrestler Came Out To Their Rival's Entrance Music

Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery but in the professional wresting world, it can be a great way to get the fans to dislike you. Trolling is a big part of wrestling storytelling as it is used to enhance an angle, though sometimes it is pettiness towards fans.

When done right, an entrance fake-out is spectacular between wrestling rivals. A parody is done in most instances but sometimes it is a no-nonsense walkout with a purpose. Expect the unexpected as an entrance curveball can be thrown at any time.

10 CM Punk Salts Long Island

When CM Punk debuted in AEW in August 2021, despite his first opponent being announced as Darby Allin, fans immediately began to anticipate a rivalry between Punk and quite possibly the industry's biggest heel, MJF. The two finally were paired up and would use each other's hometown as a stage to make a mark.

MJF has become a master of trolling and did so at Revolution 2022 by playing Punk's theme before his own; MJF did not actually enter to "Cult of Personality". The December 8, 2021, edition of Dynamite was in MJF's hometown of Long Island, New York. Punk decided to play the bad guy that night by having MJF's theme playing as he walked out on the stage. The crowd immediately become enraged which became worse when Punk ripped into their hometown hero.

9 WWE's Cult of Pettiness

It has now been 8 years since CM Punk infamously walked out of WWE in January of 2014. What was first thought of as a storyline was soon revealed to be a legitimate falling out. On March 3, WWE stopped in Chicago for the first Raw since Punk's departure. As expected, the night was immediately filled with "CM PUNK" chants. WWE decided to open the show by playing Punk's theme and titantron which received a tremendous ovation.

After a few seconds, out walked Paul Heyman. Heyman at the time was entering a storyline with Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker for WrestleMania 30. Although Heyman was not Punk's enemy in March 2014, Paul was the place-filler for WWE and Vince McMahon who were clearly was taking an intentional cheap shot at Punk and his hometown fans.

8 "The Showoff" Wants Next

A "past vs. present" match was stirring for SummerSlam 2019 involving Dolph Ziggler and a legendary opponent. Days before the event a big tease was made that Ziggler would face off against Shawn Michaels as the two were face-to-face in the ring on Raw. A swerve happened as Michaels revealed Dolph's opponent to be Goldberg.

A few years prior, Ziggler had a gimmick where he mocked entrances from the likes of Shawn Michaels, Ultimate Warrior, The Undertaker, John Cena, and even Naomi. On the August 6th Smackdown, 3 days before SummerSlam, Goldberg's theme and titantron played which brought the audience to their feet. The camera panned backstage to show Ziggler starting his "Goldberg" entrance.

7 The King (Booker) Of Kings

In 2007, WWE recycled an old storyline of who was the one true "king" of the company. After suffering a severe injury that January, promos began to air in July for the return of Triple H at SummerSlam. Taking exception to that was the reigning King of the Ring, King Booker, who was not pleased with Triple H being referred to as a "king" in regards to his "King of Kings" moniker.

The July 16th Raw opened with Triple H's theme and titantron playing in what appeared to be a surprise early return. After a few moments, King Booker and Queen Sharmell made their way out to the stage to express disdain about Hunter. Days later at The Great American Bash, Booker challenged Triple H for SummerSlam in what would be Booker's last major feud before departing the company.

6 Sexy Kurt

Being able to shift from a goofy comedic act to a frightening, no-nonsense, wrestling machine, Kurt Angle was able to get into his opponent's head on several occasions. One of Kurt's greatest feuds was against Shawn Michaels who first met at WrestleMania 21 in an interpromotinal showdown but getting there, the two made surprise appearances on each other's show for sneak attacks.

On the March 24th SmackDown, Shawn's music and titantron played which excited the crowd as interpromotional appearances were rare at the time. Instead of "The Showstopper", Kurt Angle came out hopping and spinning not unlike Michaels. Angle even had HBK-esque attire, Shawn's entrance pyro, and his former manager Sensational Sherri.

5 Lesnar 3:16

For what was supposed to be an interpromotional dream match at WrestleMania 20 turned out to be a dud memorable for the wrong reasons, that being Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar. The clash turned out to be a farewell match for both combatants and to ease the exit, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin was added as guest referee.

Lesnar made Austin's sh** list after an invading sneak attack on Raw in February 2004 resulting in an F5 on Austin. A week later Austin's ATV was stolen. On the March 4th SmackDown, the glass shattered on the blue brand for the first time in years. With Austin's theme playing and the crowd going nuts, Lesnar drove out on Austin's ATV.

4 Diamond Cutter Inc.

Despite having a Hall of Fame career, Undertaker was involved in several storyline stinkers. One came in late spring of 2001 with a "stalker" peeping on Undertaker's then-wife Sara. It definitely is a risky move to attempt voyeurism on the wife of WWE's "phenom" and the identity of the perp was revealed on the June 18th Raw.

Having conducted an "at-home" interview earlier in the show, it came as a big surprise to fans when the footsteps prelude began for 'Taker's "Rollin'" theme. With the crowd cheering to Limp Bizkit, a masked man noticably smaller than Undertaker rode out on a motorcycle to mimic 'Taker's entrance. The big reveal came to DDP who made his WWE debut in the process.

3 It Came Crashing Down And It Hurt Inside

WWE's trolling of CM Punk and Chicago in 2014 was not the first act of pettiness towards a rival outsider. The same fate was bestowed upon Hulk Hogan during The Attitude Era who as with rival company WCW at the time. Hogan's iconic theme "Real American" was a WWE intellectual property; WCW attempted to create their own similar theme but it could not compare.

While Hogan and WCW were still operating, WWE lent out "Real American" to three different people. The first two memorably were Mr. McMahon's "stooges" Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco who also mimicked Hogan's posing. The third was Big Show who used it at Backlash 2000 dressed as Hulk, complete with skullet cap. Like Paul Heyman, the "stooges" and Big Show were place-fillers for Vince McMahon mocking his rivals.

2 The Phenomenal Rise From The Dead

Turning out to be Undertaker's final career match, at least at the time of writing, WWE presented the cinematic Boneyard match at WrestleMania 36 between "The Deadman" and AJ Styles. The entire event was pre-recorded which did not neccesarily harm the match as it took place in a "boneyard".

As the story building up to the match took a turn into the real lives of both 'Taker and AJ, fans expected the match to be some sort of farewell. The match began with a hearse pulling into the boneyard to Undertaker's theme from the 1990s. A casket was then removed from the hearse which was opened to reveal AJ Styles who would then sit up laughing at his mockey of 'Taker.

1 The Stephanie Movement

The Stephanie McMahon-Brie Bella storyline in 2014 was exceeding many expectations, especially their match at SummerSlam. The match stemmed from the rivalry Brie's husband Daniel Bryan had with Stephanie and her husband Triple H that started in summer of 2013. 2014 was a rough year for Bryan who had to reliquish the WWE Championship due to injury after winning the title at WrestleMania 30.

While sidelined, Bryan watched Brie get betrayed by her sister Nikki at SummerSlam to allow Stephanie to get the victory. The following night on Raw, the show opened with Daniel Bryan's music and titantron playing that ignited a "YES!" chant. Duping the fans into think Bryan was making a surprise appearance and to really stick it to Brie Bella, Stephanie McMahon came out mocking Bryan's "YES!" taunts wearing a shirt parodying his. This was a moment of Stephanie McMahon brilliance.