Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister left an indelible mark on the world. Be it metal, punk, or just plain old rock and roll, his influence is cited by countless musicians around the world. Lemmy holds a special place in my heart for about a million reasons, all of which, at this point, make me too sad to think about. So hey, why not think about all the times my music and wrestling worlds collided? Oh yeah, that’s way easier than actual feelings. Let’s take a trip(le H) down memory lane, and see how pro wrestling’s uber-fanboy got Motörhead to rock WWE.
Motörhead Performs ‘The Game’ At WrestleMania X-Seven
We all have secret wealth goals. You know, not how we’re going to get there, or any sort of feasible investment plan, but rather what we would do if we were so rich (or famous) that anything were possible. Being that now none of my goals can include Lemmy, I’m gonna stick with small things, like ‘never eating out of a can again,’ or ‘be rich enough that when I’m sad, Mark Harmon will call me and tell me everything will be okay.’ Look, he’s got a real soothing voice, all right?
Regardless, Triple H’s dreams of having Motörhead play him to the ring came true at WrestleMania X-Seven, right before his first ‘Mania loss to The Undertaker. The best part is Lemmy’s valiant attempt to remember the words, and…well, not quite succeeding. ‘The Game’ was written by Jim Johnston, not Motörhead, and outside of recording sessions, the band was largely unfamiliar with the track. It’s said that Lemmy didn’t even like the song, nor did he want it released as a bonus track on their 2002 album Hammered. The entrance theme did end up making it as a bonus track, and Lemmy would get another chance to perform the song a few years later.
Motörhead Performs ‘The Game’ Again At WrestleMania 21
WrestleMania 21 saw Triple H go head to head with former Evolution stablemate Batista, who had turned on the stable after Triple H tried to keep him from challenging for the World Heavyweight Championship by, amongst other things, running him down with a limo. Wrestling! Though Evolution as a group came to the ring to a different Motörhead tune (more on that later), Trips brought Lemmy back to play him to the ring one more time with ‘The Game.’ Was Lemmy a little better with the words? I mean, kinda! It definitely sounds more like the recorded version than the first attempt. That said, the beauty of Lemmy performing is that whether he’s singing the right words or not, he still makes everything sound so f*cking cool without even trying. And here he was…probably not trying very hard at all.
Motörhead Comes Back For Seconds, Records The Theme Music For Evolution
Evolution didn’t start off with Batista, so let’s jump back in time a little. The initial stable consisted of Ric Flair, Triple H, and Randy Orton doing their very best to be very, very cool. The stable was meant to represent the past, present, and future (Ric Flair, Triple H, then Randy Orton and Batista respectively), and the heel group aligned to win championships and run the table in WWE. They rode in bigger, cooler limousines, helicopters, and draped themselves with girls. They also never buttoned their shirts all the way — a universal red flag for single ladies and just a bad look altogether. But what’s one way to guarantee looking cooler than everyone else? Motörhead. Duh.
Triple H Evolves Into The King Of Kings
Behold, the King of Stans! I’ve heard Triple H described as a total mark when it comes to wrestling — not in the derisive way that gets thrown around, but just a total homer for great wrestling, and the wrestlers he loves. But also consider: he’s a total nerd. He gives himself nicknames (and we just let him get away with it!), he loves elaborate cosplay, he works really hard to make sure that he looks tougher and cooler than everyone else, and he can’t stop geeking out over Lemmy. With the (incredibly idiotic) “debate” raging about Mary Sues lately, I would contend that Triple H just might be Gary Stu-ing his own legacy. But hey, at least it has a god soundtrack, right?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxMz1WczSkw
‘Ace Of Spades’ Is Used As The Theme Song For NXT TakeOver: London
We all know that Triple H is very proud of his small sons and daughters in NXT, so of course he found a way to make Motörhead a part of the family in some way. Unlike the other themes, this has nothing to do with WWE songwriter Jim Johnston, meaning they actually had to shell out for this classic. But man, totally worth it. One of my favorite Lemmy anecdotes is about him singing ‘Eight of Spades’ sometimes, so picking a Motörhead song with an occasional slip in lyrics is still on-trend for WWE.
WWE Pays Tribute To Lemmy
Aaaaaaand here’s the part we all wanted to avoid. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m pretty sick of writing up beautifully packaged tribute videos produced by WWE in 2015, y’know? They always seem to be the thing that really hammers it home — makes it real. And you never want it to be real. You don’t want to think of a world without Roddy Piper’s smile, or Dusty Rhodes’s voice, or Lemmy’s growl, but here we are. And here is…so, so sad.
The Future Is (Posthumously) Loud
NXT’s Corey Graves posted this to his Instagram a few months back. He has a column called ‘Stay Loud’ over at Alternative Press, and the tags would lead you to believe that the sit down interview at the legendary Los Angeles rock hang out The Rainbow is for that. There’s no word on when we’ll be seeing that interview, or in what form, but hey, it’s still something to look forward to, y’know? And that’s more than we usually get.
Rest in power, rest in peace, Lemmy. You’ll be missed.
