''WWE Originals'' is a

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( ...

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

. Released on January 13, 2004 by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

, it features original songs recorded by various WWE wrestlers. The album was a commercial success, reaching number 12 on the US ''Billboard'' 200.

Composition

Music website

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

categorised ''WWE Originals'' as "contemporary

pop/rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

" and

rap rock Rap rock is a music genre that developed from the early to mid-1980s, when hip hop DJs incorporated rock records into their routines and rappers began incorporating original and sampled rock instrumentation into hip hop music. Rap rock is co ...

, with writer Johnny Loftus identifying styles such as "soft-focus piano pop",

dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...

and

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

on the album.

Slam! Wrestling Canoe.com is an English-language Canadian portal site and website network, and is a subsidiary of Postmedia Network. The phrase Canadian Online Explorer appears in the header; the name is also evidently a play on words on canoe (or ''canoë'' i ...

's John Powell also identified the genres of

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...

and

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner. Balla ...

on the collection, while ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' magazine noted a dominance of "in-your-face rap".

Release

''WWE Originals'' was released by Columbia Records on January 13, 2004. Initial pressings of the album also featured a bonus

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

, which featured

behind-the-scenes https://www Googlefinans.co= In filmmaking, behind-the-scenes (BTS), also known as the making-of, the set, or on the set, is a documentary film that features the production of a film or television program. This is often referred to as the EPK ( ...

footage of the making of the album and more.

Reception

Commercial

In the United States, ''WWE Originals'' reached number 12 on the ''Billboard'' 200.

Critical

Music website AllMusic awarded ''WWE Originals'' three out of five stars. Reviewer Johnny Loftus criticised tracks such as

Stacy Keibler Stacy Ann-Marie Keibler (born October 14, 1979) is an American retired professional wrestler, cheerleader, dancer, actress and model. She is best known for her tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WW ...

's "Why Can't We Just Dance?" and

Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler and amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler. He first earned recognition for winning a Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, gold me ...

's "I Don't Suck (Really)", identifying them as proof of some performers' musical inability. However, Loftus praised the "amusing" skits performed by

Stone Cold Steve Austin Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson and later Steven James Williams; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, producer and retired Professional wrestling, profes ...

, as well as a number of tracks including "I Just Want You" by

Trish Stratus Patricia Anne Stratigeas (; born December 18, 1975), better known by the ring name Trish Stratus, is a Canadian professional wrestler, yoga instructor, actress and former fitness model. She is signed to WWE. An inductee of the 2013 WWE Hall ...

and "Put a Little A** on It" by

Rikishi A , or, more colloquially, , is a sumo wrestler. Although used to define all wrestlers participating in sumo wrestling matches, the term is more commonly used to refer to professional wrestlers, employed by the Japan Sumo Association, who par ...

. John Powell of Slam! Wrestling was more critical, describing the compositions on the album as "generic, cookie-cutter productions without any soul, character or style" and criticising the performances in general. In particular, Powell criticised songs such as

The Dudley Boyz The Dudley Boyz (also known as Team 3D) are an American professional wrestling tag team who consisted of kayfabe half-brothers Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley. The team was also joined by various Dudley Brothers, Dudley family members, notably ...

' "We've Had Enough",

' "I Just Want You", Lita's "When I Get You Alone" and Stacy Keibler's "Why Can't We Just Dance?"; however, he did praise the performances of

John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American actor and professional wrestler. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he is the current WWE Championship, Undisputed WWE Champion in his record 14th reign, which is ...

and

Lilian Garcia Lilián Annette Garcia (born August 19, 1966) is an American ring announcer, singer and podcaster. She is signed to WWE as a ring announcer for special events. She also announces for the Professional Fighters League (PFL).Doyle, Dave"Former WWE ...

. Michael Paoletta of ''Billboard'' magazine described ''WWE Originals'' as "mixed, very mixed". Paoletta noted a dominance of hip hop music on the album, claiming that the pop and rock songs were of higher quality, particularly those performed by divas Keibler, Stratus and Lita.

Track listing

Samples * "Basic Thuganomics" contains a sample of "Two, Three, Break" by The B-Boys.

References

{{Authority control Originals WWE Originals WWE Originals WWE Originals Albums produced by Mike Post