Forty years ago today, Hulk Hogan’s iconic entrance theme “Real American” debuted on WWE TV — just not for the Hulkster.
In the fall of 1985, WWE released its first full musical album, The Wrestling Album,
featuring songs performed by WWE Superstars. Highlights included a rare face-and-heel collab “Land of a Thousand Dances” and Junkyard Dog’s funky “Grab Them Cakes.”
But the standout track was “Real American,” originally written for former tag champs Barry Windham and Mike Rotunda — the U.S. Express. However, after Windham left the company, WWE was left with a great theme simply collecting dust.
By the end of the year, it found a new home with Hulk Hogan, replacing his previous theme, Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” from the movie Rocky III, which featured Hogan.
For trivia buffs, Hogan first used the song ahead of a match against arguably his greatest rival, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 30, 1985.
As WWE phased out licensed tracks in favor of original in-house themes, “Real American” rose to legendary status — the benchmark for all entrance music, even in 2025.
In a bittersweet twist, both Rick Derringer, who performed the song, and Hogan passed away earlier this year. Yet “Real American” endures — the eternal soundtrack of WWE’s golden era.
