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With hardcore-rules in place, AEW's latest Anarchy in the Arena match delivered a mix of innovative and outright violent action between The Elite and Team AEW. Before the true chaos ensued, though, "The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson made a special request for the AEW production team to play what he considered to be the greatest theme song in professional wrestling history — "The Final Countdown" by Europe. As such, the upbeat rock song was immediately blasted through the speakers of the MGM Grand Garden Arena while The Elite and Team AEW resumed their in-ring brawling. On a recent episode of "83 Weeks," former WCW President Eric Bischoff weighed in on this decision.
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"It was a bold move," Bischoff said. "I've had conversations with a number of people over the years along the vein of, 'God I wonder if we should try that. What would that be like if we had music playing and a soundtrack going to the action?' Never did it. AEW did it [last weekend]. I kind of dug it, particularly because 'The Final Countdown' was the majority of the soundtrack for that match. It's a perfect kind of fight song. It got the crowd up. They were animated. They were into it, they're singing along. They're a part of the show. And from a production point of view, and creating a motion point of view, [it was] big, bold and I think pretty successful move."
Danielson notably utilized "The Final Countdown" as his entrance song on the independent circuit prior to his lengthiest run in WWE (2010-2021). Due to the high cost of the track, AEW has leased it on only one other occasion, that being AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door in 2023. AEW EVP Matthew Jackson referenced the high price tag of "The Final Countdown" at AEW Double or Nothing, dramatically stating that it cost the company $200,000 every time it was played during the respective match.
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If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "83 Weeks" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
