WWE Anthology
WWE Anthology is a compilation album by WWE. Released on November 12, 2002 by Koch Records, it features entrance theme music of various WWE wrestlers and events. The album is the first on which the company is named WWE, after it was renamed from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in May 2002. The album was a commercial success, charting at number 13 on the US Billboard 200.
| WWE Anthology | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | November 12, 2002 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:29:41 | |||
| Label | Koch | |||
| Producer | Jim Johnston | |||
| World Wrestling Entertainment chronology | ||||
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Composition
The three-disc WWE Anthology was categorised by music website AllMusic in the genres of hard rock and heavy metal.[1] The album features entrance theme music of various WWE wrestlers from different eras of the company's history up until the album's release, including "The Federation Years" (such as Hulk Hogan's "Real American", Bret Hart's "Hitman" and Shawn Michaels's "Sexy Boy"), "The Attitude Era" (such as D-Generation X's "Break It Down", The Rock's "If You Smell..." and Stone Cold Steve Austin's "I Won't Do What You Tell Me") and the modern era.[1]
Release
WWE Anthology was released on November 12, 2002 by Koch Records in association with SmackDown! Records, a division of WWE.[2] Announcing the album, a WWE press release described the album as a "collection featuring the greatest hits, past and present, of WWE Superstar Entrance and Event themes", all but 38 of the featured tracks had never been previously released.[2]
Reception
Commercial
WWE Anthology was a commercial success. In the US, the album reached number 13 on the US Billboard 200, as well as topping the Independent Albums chart and reaching number two on the Top Soundtracks chart.[3] It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, indicating sales of over 1 million units, in only ten days of its release.[4] The album was also certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry in the United Kingdom.[5]
Critical
Music website AllMusic awarded WWE Anthology four out of five stars.[1] Reviewer Bradley Torreano praised the album for its comprehensive nature, noting that "for completists this is the premier collection of WWF/WWE music up to this point, bar none".[1] Torreano hailed the second disc (titled "The Attitude Era") as the highlight, but condemned the third disc (titled "NOW!") as documenting "the fall of the company", describing the music as "mostly boring".[1]
Track listing
All songs written and performed by Jim Johnston, except where noted. "Deadly Game", featured in the "Attitude Era" section, is labeled as the theme of In Your House, when it was actually the theme of the 1998 Survivor Series pay-per-view. "The End", featured in the "NOW!" section, is incorrectly noted as being the theme from Judgment Day when it is in fact from the Armageddon pay-per-view. "Brawl for All", featured in the "Attitude Era" section, is labeled as the theme for the Brawl for All tournament, when it is actually the theme song for the first incarnation of the XFL. "The Game", featured in the "NOW!" section, is labeled as Triple H's theme, when it is actually a rap-style lyrical, unused version of Triple H's 2000 "My Time" instrumental mix (the version used by Triple H was subsequently released in 2020 on the Uncaged XIV digital release under the title "Game Time"). Upon purchase of the album, buyers were provided with a code which, when entered on the website promoting the album, would allow download of a bonus track, titled "Billy Kidman". That track would later be released on ThemeAddict: WWE The Music, Vol. 6 under the title "You Can Run".
| No. | Title | Subject(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "World Wrestling Federation Signature" | World Wrestling Federation | 0:08 |
| 2. | "Real American" (written by Rick Derringer and Kenny Bernhard) | Hulk Hogan | 2:57 |
| 3. | "Hitman" (written by Jimmy Hart and J.J. Maguire) | Bret Hart | 2:00 |
| 4. | "Walkabout" | The Bushwackers | 2:01 |
| 5. | "Together" (written by Johnston, Hart and Maguire) | Macho Man Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth's wedding | 3:31 |
| 6. | "It's All About the Money" (written by Hart and Maguire) | "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase | 1:47 |
| 7. | "Snake Bit" | Jake "The Snake" Roberts | 2:08 |
| 8. | "Bad Boy" | Razor Ramon | 1:58 |
| 9. | "No Holds Barred" | No Holds Barred | 3:42 |
| 10. | "Unstable" | The Ultimate Warrior | 1:43 |
| 11. | "I Love You" | Brother Love | 2:01 |
| 12. | "Cool Cocky Bad" (written by Hart) | The Honky Tonk Man | 2:09 |
| 13. | "One Two Three" | 1-2-3 Kid | 1:38 |
| 14. | "Sweet Lovin' Arms" | Bertha Faye | 3:11 |
| 15. | "Can't Get Enough" | Flash Funk | 2:01 |
| 16. | "I Know You Want Me" | Sunny | 2:03 |
| 17. | "I'll Be Your Hero" | Lex Express | 4:29 |
| 18. | "Sexy Boy" (written by Hart and Maguire) | Shawn Michaels | 2:49 |
| 19. | "Los Boricuas" | Los Boricuas | 1:57 |
| 20. | "Schizophrenic" | Mankind | 1:44 |
| 21. | "Smokin'" | The Smoking Gunns | 2:16 |
| 22. | "Sumo" | Yokozuna | 2:08 |
| 23. | "Snapped" | Sycho Sid | 2:05 |
| 24. | "Tell Me a Lie" | Shawn Michaels's "farewell" | 3:02 |
| 25. | "Enough Is Enough" | Owen Hart | 2:02 |
| 26. | "With My Baby Tonight" | Road Dogg | 3:49 |
| 27. | "Wild Cat" | Sable | 1:57 |
| 28. | "You Start the Fire" | Bret Hart tribute | 3:08 |
| 29. | "Diesel Blues" | Diesel | 2:20 |
| 30. | "Dude's Shack" | Dude Love | 2:20 |
| 31. | "Power" | Nation of Domination | 1:37 |
| 32. | "Corporate Ministry" | The Corporate Ministry | 3:55 |
| 33. | "The Dudester" | Dude Love | 1:53 |
| Total length: | 78:31 | ||
| No. | Title | Subject(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Attitude Signature" | WWE | 0:13 |
| 2. | "Break It Down" (featuring The Chris Warren Band) | D-Generation X | 2:13 |
| 3. | "I Won't Do What You Tell Me" | Stone Cold Steve Austin | 3:02 |
| 4. | "Ass Man" | Billy Gunn | 2:27 |
| 5. | "Brawl for All" | XFL | 1:15 |
| 6. | "Gold-Lust" | Goldust | 2:35 |
| 7. | "California" | WrestleMania 2000 | 2:22 |
| 8. | "Who I Am" | Chyna | 1:57 |
| 9. | "The Real Deal" | D'Lo Brown | 2:00 |
| 10. | "Deadly Game" | Survivor Series (1998) | 3:33 |
| 11. | "The Ultimate" | Ken Shamrock | 2:14 |
| 12. | "You Think You Know Me" | Edge | 2:23 |
| 13. | "Blood" | Gangrel | 2:06 |
| 14. | "The Ho Train" | The Godfather | 2:23 |
| 15. | "Fist" | DX with Mike Tyson | 2:22 |
| 16. | "Oh You Didn't Know?" | The New Age Outlaws | 2:06 |
| 17. | "Burned" | Kane | 2:33 |
| 18. | "Hello Ladies" | Val Venis | 2:27 |
| 19. | "Real Man's Man" | William Regal | 1:30 |
| 20. | "I Don't Suck" | Kurt Angle | 2:22 |
| 21. | "Latino Heat" | Eddie Guerrero | 1:46 |
| 22. | "It Just Feels Right" | Lita | 1:46 |
| 23. | "Sexual Chocolate" | Mark Henry | 2:29 |
| 24. | "No Chance in Hell" | Mr. McMahon | 1:59 |
| 25. | "Oh Hell Yeah" (featuring H-Blockx) | Stone Cold Steve Austin | 2:14 |
| 26. | "If You Smell..." | The Rock | 2:55 |
| 27. | "Bad Man" | Rikishi | 2:05 |
| 28. | "Bangin' It" | Scotty 2 Hotty | 2:07 |
| 29. | "13" | Tazz | 2:17 |
| 30. | "We're Comin' Down" | The Dudley Boyz | 2:35 |
| 31. | "My Time" (featuring The Chris Warren Band) | Triple H | 3:05 |
| 32. | "Rabid" | Chris Benoit | 1:58 |
| 33. | "How Do You Like Me Now?" | Hardcore Holly | 1:57 |
| 34. | "Dark Side" | The Undertaker | 3:47 |
| 35. | "Break Down the Walls" | Chris Jericho | 2:03 |
| Total length: | 79:07 | ||
| No. | Title | Subject(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "WWE Signature" | WWE | 0:19 |
| 2. | "Next Big Thing" | Brock Lesnar | 2:33 |
| 3. | "Dead Man" | The Undertaker | 3:11 |
| 4. | "At Last" | Christian | 3:05 |
| 5. | "I'm Back" | Eric Bischoff | 3:21 |
| 6. | "Eyes of Righteousness" | Reverend D-Von | 3:39 |
| 7. | "Fight" | SummerSlam 2002 | 3:14 |
| 8. | "(619)" | Rey Mysterio | 2:51 |
| 9. | "Time to Rock & Roll" (featuring Lil' Kim) | Trish Stratus | 3:19 |
| 10. | "Eye of the Hurricane" | The Hurricane | 2:51 |
| 11. | "King of My World" (written by and featuring Saliva) | Chris Jericho | 3:57 |
| 12. | "All Grown Up" | Stephanie McMahon | 2:56 |
| 13. | "Need a Little Time" | Torrie Wilson | 3:11 |
| 14. | "The Game" | Triple H (an unused rap-style lyrical version of his 2000 "My Time" instrumental mix) | 3:06 |
| 15. | "You're Gonna Pay" | The Undertaker | 3:19 |
| 16. | "You Look So Good to Me" | Billy & Chuck | 2:53 |
| 17. | "The End" | Armageddon | 1:38 |
| 18. | "Here Comes the Money" (featuring Naughty by Nature) | Shane McMahon | 2:51 |
| Total length: | 52:13 | ||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Billy Kidman" | 1:45 |
Personnel
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Charts
| Chart (2002) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200[3] | 13 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard)[3] | 1 |
| US Top Soundtracks (Billboard)[3] | 2 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Sales/shipments |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[4] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[5] | Silver | 60,000^ |
| ^shipments figures based on certification alone | ||
See also
References
- Torreano, Bradley. "World Wrestling Federation: The Anthology - Various Artists". AllMusic. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- "WWE and Koch Records Announce the November 12 Release of WWE Anthology". WWE. October 30, 2002. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- "World Wrestling Federation: The Anthology - Various Artists: Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- "RIAA Gold & Platinum Search "WWE"". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- "Certified Awards". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 6, 2015. Note: User must manually search for album title in order to see results.