Baron Corbin is a hot topic in the wrestling world right now, but for all the wrong reasons. By now, you've probably heard the rumors about his attitude getting him in trouble backstage, resulting in him losing the Money in the Bank contract right before he unceremoniously lost to John Cena at SummerSlam.
Corbin is by no means a jabroni (just yet). After all, he did have a prominent role in the main event of last week's SmackDown. On top of that, he's also come out to new entrance music over the last few years, which we'll be talking about on this week's #ThemeSongTuesday. But before we talk about that, a quick eulogy of his old theme, "Superhuman."
"Superhuman" was the type of theme that could actually suit Corbin as both a face and a heel. When he was a babyface in NXT, this was the type of theme you could rock along and play air guitar to. But as a heel, you'd get the sense that this guy was menacing, particularly with the hard percussions and guitar riffs.
This new theme feels very much like an edgelord evolution of "Superhuman."
It's still metal rock on steroids, which sounds like the type of music Baron Corbin would listen to, especially if you remember him being shown attending concerts of that nature in Breaking Ground. But this one just starts off weird with an intro very similar to *NSYNC's "Bye Bye Bye."
Admit it. Now you can't unhear "Bye Bye Bye" whenever Corbin's theme comes on, too. Now, the hook's actually a bit too long, lasting almost 30 seconds. Considering Corbin doesn't really do anything particularly elaborate during his entrance, the hook before the drop can be shortened.
The track itself is much slower, which is actually fitting for a big man, since it's rare for big men to be running to the ring during their entrance. Huger wrestlers generally take their time to walk, even plod, towards the ring, so a song like this actually works in the favor of a guy like Corbin.
Normally, I'd feel like an instrumental rock song like this would sound generic because it doesn't have any vocals, like the themes of Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. "New Rules" is an exception because for some reason, it feels right on its own with the gothic background complementing the visceral feel that the drums and guitars give off.
If there's one part of the song that's actually worth applauding, it's that kickass guitar solo at 2:07. In fact, it's a shame that it takes too long for the song to kick into a higher gear when the rest of it sounds uninspiring at best. For what it's worth, the guitar solo makes for a great high point in the track and allows it to have some added character.
Overall, though, I still can't help but think of the word "edgelord" whenever I hear this track. It really doesn't help that Baron Corbin's hair can best be described as "barely there" up top. If he wanted to go full on biker badass, he might as well just shave his head bald and grow a badass beard. Oh wait, this is a theme song column, not an okray one.
What do you think of Baron Corbin's new theme? Do you like it better than his old one? Let us know in the comments section!
Photo from WWE
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Stan Sy (@_StanSy) is the Editor at Large of Smark Henry, and is also a radio broadcaster, events host, a freelance writer, and one of the hosts of the Smark Gilas-Pilipinas Podcast. He also used to be one of the hosts and writers of The Wrestling Gods on FOX. He enjoys watching WWE, NXT, Lucha Underground, and the occasional New Japan match. You can also catch him every month attempting to keep order in a fancy suit as PWR's General Manager.
