Straight Shooters

Vaughn Johnson, Nick Piccone, Mark Henry Jr., and Jason Fanelli discuss their #WrestleMania weekend experiences and thoughts on Philly's spotlight from this past week and weekend as WWE and professional wrestling promotions from around the country took over the city.

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Recorded April 2021. Episode 278.

The Blue Meanie joins us to dive deep into the last WrestleMania that was in Philadelphia, WrestleMania XV! Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock headline what may not have been the greatest WrestleMania ever, but there's certainly no shortage of stories to come out of the March 28, 1999 pay-per-view from the First Union Center. ECW icon and WWF superstar The Blue Meanie joins the guys as we take not only a deep dive into the event itself, but a peak behind the curtain into the leadup, the WrestleMania Rage Party, his involvement in WrestleMania, icons who were involved in and around the show, and so much more on this episode. We'll hear behind-the-scenes stories from the Meanie, from his times going to WrestleMania as a kid to being a part of the event in his own hometown.

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#WrestleMania Week is here! On this week's episode, we're going back 25 years to the last WrestleMania to take place in Philadelphia, and live commentating the main event of The Rock defending the WWF Championship against Stone Cold Steve Austin.

BUT FIRST, IT'S OPENING DAY FOR THE #PHILLIES, BABAY!

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It's Part 2 of the Top 40 #WrestleMania matches of all time - and this week, we're joined by the Third Man, Brian Isley! Agree? Disagree? Let us know!

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This week, we're counting down the top 40 #WrestleMania matches of all time!

BUT FIRST, we talk the latest news in wrestling, including Corporate Officers 1-4 being identified in the Janel Grant/Vince McMahon/John Laurinitis/WWE lawsuit, Mercedes Moné's AEW debut, and an interesting WWE/GCW working relationship ahead? All that and MORE!

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The Wrestling Roundtable is back! This time, The Gambler's crew of Jon Jansen, Nick Piccone, Vaughn Johnson, and Jason Fanelli convene to discuss their thoughts so far on the Road to WrestleMania, and this weekend's Elimination Chamber premium live event from Perth, Australia.

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This week, the guys live commentate the very first Elimination Chamber match, which took place at Survivor Series 2002 in Madison Square Garden. Shawn Michaels DOES THE IMPOSSIBLE!

But first, we start off on a somber note and talk about the shooting at the Super Bowl parade for the Kansas City Chiefs.

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This week, the guys talk about the Vice story on Ashley Massaro's statement on Vince McMahon during the concussion lawsuit before her death, Scott D'Amore's TNA departure, and the saga of Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, and now The Rock, and what exactly is WWE trying to do here?

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This week, the guys are joined by author Dave Rueter, who wrote Kayfabe: A Love Story, a fantastic look at the insane world of professional wrestling as if it were real life. Because kayfabe is alive and well, brother.

Dave takes us through his journey, some behind-the-scenes stories of how the book came to be, some of his favorite stories, and much more. If you have a taste for the 80s and early 90s nostalgia of professional wrestling, press play!

Get your copy of Kayfabe: A Love Story here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1735637041/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=&sr=

"On February 5th, 1988, former World Wrestling Federation Champion, Hulk Hogan, made a damning allegation. He accused "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase of fronting the bill for a desperate man's risky and invasive procedure: facial plastic surgery to look like referee Dave Hebner.

And I believed him.

Paying homage to 1987's WrestleMania III, Kayfabe: A Love Story is a collection of 87 essays written in an alternate universe where professional wrestling isn't scripted, and the match results aren't predetermined. So step around the shards of glass from the broken barbershop window and cozy up next to your favorite top turnbuckle, because A Love Story is indeed a happening."

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EPISODE 23! Recorded January 15, 2016.

Live commentary of the entire 1992 Royal Rumble match with Vaughn Johnson, Nick Piccone, and Brian Isley.

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EPISODE 315. Recorded January 21, 2022.

Deep dive into the 1992 Royal Rumble.

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EPISODE 269. Recorded January 21, 2021.

Deep dive into the 1991 Royal Rumble.

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This week, the guys dive deep into the 1995 WWF Royal Rumble, because not only is it the next Royal Rumble event after the 1994 one - which we dove deep into last week - but it took place from Tampa, where this year's Royal Rumble will emanate from!

Pamela Anderson! Lawrence Taylor! The worst Royal Rumble match of all-time! Jam-packed episode!

BUT FIRST, we talk the latest nonsense in professional wrestling including Mercedes Moné, Kazuchika Okada leaving NJPW, TNA is back, and more.

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Fox Sports The Gambler's Mark Henry Jr. joins Nick and Vaughn to dive deep into the very newsworthy 1994 WWF Royal Rumble. The beginning of the Bret Hart/Owen Hart split in what can be described as one of WWF's best storylines ever, Undertaker ascending to the heavens after being stuffed into a casket by Yokozuna and friends, and Vince McMahon crowdsourcing whether Lex Luger or Bret Hart should carry the company for the rest of the year.

BUT FIRST, we talk Tony Khan being way too online, whether it's all fun and games because it's 2024 or whether it's really stupid because it's 2024, and more.

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Fox Sports The Gambler's Jon Jansen joins Nick and Vaughn to talk Rock/Roman seeds, NJPW Wrestle Kingdom, a spoiler-free review of "The Iron Claw", and more!

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CLASSIC EPISODE. Recorded 2020.

The guys dive deep into WCW's biggest mistake.

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CLASSIC EPISODE. Recorded 2020.

The guys dive deep into WCW Starrcade 1998, but first, a tribute to Jon Huber.

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CLASSIC EPISODE! Recorded 2021.

The guys dive deep into WWF In Your House 12: It's Time, from the West Palm Beach Auditorium in West Palm Beach, Florida, on December 15, 1996. Bret Hart had his first WWF Championship match since losing to Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XII earlier that year, the Undertaker and Executioner faced off in an Armageddon Rules Match, and things got funky when Flash Funk opened the show against Leif Cassidy.

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CLASSIC EPISODE! Recorded in 2021.

The guys dive deep into the WWF In Your House from December 1995, where Bret Hart defended the WWF Championship against his brother-in-law, the British Bulldog. It was an... event.

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This week, we dive deep into the 1993 Survivor Series as 30 years ago, it was headlined by the All-Americans vs. the Foreign Fanatics. Owen Hart also began his ascent into wrestling lore by starting to turn on his brother Bret, FOUR DOINKS, and more!

BUT FIRST, we discuss the latest stories in pro wrestling, including our immediate reaction to CM Punk's rather pedestrian return promo on Raw Monday night.

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CM PUNK IS BACK IN WWE! Here's our emergency podcast talking about our instant reactions, what it means to everyone involved, and will it be any different this time around.

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Sid vs. Shawn. Mankind vs. Undertaker. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart. Sid vs. Shawn Michaels. We dive deep into it all this week! --

1995 WWF was quite a time. At the 1995 Survivor Series, we had a Wild Card Match, Bret Hart regaining the WWF Championship from Diesel, and the President of the United States making an appearance. Kind of.

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We're very lucky this week to bring you a deep dive of WCW Fall Brawl: War Games 1993. Lucky because it was the PPV debut of The Shockmaster. Lucky because we get to hear how The Shockmaster debuted in WCW on Clash of the Champions in August 1993 (Lex Express eat your heart out) and lucky enough to hear Dusty Rhodes talking about it on the Legends of Wrestling Roundtable during the WWE 24/7 days.

Yes, we're very lucky. Oh, there was other stuff on this show, too. Join us for this week's episode for it all!

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The deep dives are back! And we head into Thanksgiving season by diving deep into the 1994 WWF Survivor Series -- perhaps one of the worst pay-per-views not only of that era, but... ever? Bob Backlund becomes WWF Champion, Chuck Norris should just referee every single match, and Owen Hart hoodwinked, bamboozled, lead astray, run amok and flat out deceived us!

AND WE GOT THE ROYAL FAMILY VS. CLOWNS R US! Nick loved the match, Vaughn not so much. All that, current wrestling nonsense, and more on this week's episode!

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After an unfortunate early #RedOctober exit, the guys get caught up on all things wrestling on this week's episode as they also watch the November 1, 2023 episode of AEW Dynamite.

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25 years ago, Stone Cold Steve Austin attacked Vince McMahon inside a hospital room. This week, we record a watch along of that episode of Monday Night Raw, which aired on October 5, 1998, but was taped on September 29, 1998.

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WE'RE BACK! And we got an All-Star crew with us this week as Mike Powers of The Divide Live and Fox Sports The Gambler along with Brian Isley of the High IQ Basketball Podcast join Nick and Vaughn as we host a Watch Party for AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam as MJF defends the AEW World Heavyweight Championship against Samoa Joe in the main event!

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The guys live commentate NXT Heatwave '23 - this time with LIVE AUDIO! And maybe a little Phillies walk-off audio, too!?

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This week, we're live commentating the next installment of "Blood & Guts" from AEW on the July 19, 2023 edition of Dynamite on TBS. The main event was the Blood and Guts match, in which the Golden Elite (Kenny Omega, "Hangman" Adam Page, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, and Kota Ibushi) defeated the Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta), Konosuke Takeshita, and Pac.

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27 years ago, we saw one of the most memorable moments in wrestling history, if not *the* most memorable. Hulk Hogan had finally turned his back on all of his fans and turned on WCW at Bash at the Beach to christen the New World Order (or Organization) on July 7.

But we're here for the real action - Joe Gomez, Disco Inferno, THE NASTY BOYS, and more!

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25 years ago, we saw one of the most memorable moments in wrestling history. The Undertaker threw Mankind off the top of the Hell in a Cell and created one of the most significant moments not only in the Monday Night War era, but in the history of wrestling, period.

Oh, yeah, there was also a King of the Ring tournament that night and Stone Cold Steve Austin lost the WWF Championship. It was a busy night! And we're diving deep into it all on this week's episode, but first, we discuss our thoughts on the AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door PPV as well as the upcoming WWE Money in the Bank premium live event from London!

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Classic episode recorded June 2021.

Nick and Vaughn dive deep into the 1997 WWF King of the Ring.

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Classic episode recorded June 2021.

On June 23, 1996, the World Wrestling Federation invaded the MECCA Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for their annual King of the Ring pay-per-view. This would be the first year where only semifinals and the finals took place on the actual pay-per-view, with more stacked matches than ever before. It certainly was, to date, the greatest WWF King of the Ring card ever. There certainly were seeds planted well before the Federation would head into the Attitude Era more than a year later, and many of them were seen during this show. So join us and dive deep into the 1996 King of the Ring!

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This week, the guys head back to the circus of 1998 WCW and dive deep into the Great American Bash. Sting vs. Giant for... the WCW Tag Titles? Goldberg against the nWo Wolfpac, Eddie Guerrero and Chavo with a family feud, Heenan cutting off Schiavone, and more!

BUT FIRST, they discuss AEW/NJPW's Forbidden Door PPV this coming Sunday, CM Punk/Elite beef, and more.

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CLASSIC EPISODE... 328!

Recorded originally on June 15, 2022, things get extreme AGAIN as we dive deep into ECW's One Night Stand 2006. This was the beginning of the new ECW brand that would be headed by Paul Heyman as GM and Rob Van Dam as the ECW Champion... only for it to fall apart literally weeks later. But first, we talk about Cody Rhodes wrestling at Hell in a Cell with a torn pec, Jon Moxley vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the AEW Interim World Heavyweight Championship at Forbidden Door now official, and more current nonsense.

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CLASSIC EPISODE... but first, we start with JEY USO turning on ROMAN REIGNS and causing a CIVIL WAR IN THE BLOODLINE!

Recorded originally on June 21, 2022, we head to 1996 WCW, just weeks after Scott Hall appeared for the first time on WCW Monday Nitro. He and Kevin Nash would have a surprise in store for Eric Bischoff at that year's Great American Bash. So would Kevin Greene with his monster promo skills, Steve McMichael making the most shocking turn in WCW in the summer of 1996, and plenty more good stuff! But first, we talk about Vince McMahon thinking he's literally a god that can get away with everything, and the passing of Tim White and Dave Hebner.

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This week, we head back to the golden era of 1997 WCW! It's the Great American Bash! DDP vs. Savage II in a Lights Out Match! Flair/Piper vs. the Outsiders for the WCW Tag Team Titles. Kevin Greene vs. Mongo! Madusa's career ends!? And much, much more!

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This week, the Third Man Brian Isley makes his return to the podcast to dive deep into one of the greatest wrestling documentaries of all time, "Hitman Hart: Wrestling With Shadows." Bret Hart was filmed from the fall of 1996 through the end of 1997 and this documentary sees it all through. Ever hear of the Montreal Screwjob? The guys dive deep into it all.

"Bret Hart recounts his life from his youth, through the start of his career and his years in the WWF, up to the present day. Bret discusses the high and lows of his career and shows the world of professional wrestling from a wrestler's perspective."
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This week, we head back to the Attitude Era and dive deep into WWF Over The Edge '98: In Your House. Stone Cold Steve Austin defends the WWF Championship against Dude Love with Vince McMahon as the special guest referee, Gerald Brisco as the timekeeper, and Pat Patterson as the ring announcer. Possibly the best Austin match of this era? John Layfield before he was a wreslter, Steve Blackman's first WWF run in 1988, and much more!

But first, we discuss the passing of Superstar Billy Graham, AEW Collision being officially announced for Saturday night starting in June, and more.

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IT'S CLASSIC EPISODE WEEK! We are uploading a classic episode every day of the week, and today is our WWF In Your House: Cold Day In Hell deep dive! Austin vs. Undertaker for the WWF Title with the Hart Foundation sitting in the front row. Ken Shamrock's WWF PPV in-ring debut against Vader. Triple H vs. Flash Funk. Rocky Maivia vs. Mankind. Ahmed Johnson vs. THE ENTIRE NATION OF DOMINATION!? PRESS PLAY!!!

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IT'S CLASSIC EPISODE WEEK! We are uploading a classic episode every day of the week, and today is our WWF In Your House: Beware of Dog Parts 1 AND 2 deep dive! Shawn Michaels vs. British Bulldog after a SEVERE STORM CUT OUT ALL THE SATELLITES FOR OVER AN HOUR! We talk all about it on this deep dive.

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IT'S CLASSIC EPISODE WEEK! We are uploading a classic episode every day of the week, and today is our WWF In Your House 1 deep dive, where Bret Hart pulled double duty against Hakushi and Jerry Lawler, and Diesel defended the WWF Championship against Sid.

WWF 1995. Right up Nick's alley.

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IT'S CLASSIC EPISODE WEEK! We are uploading a classic episode every day of the week, and today is our WCW Slamboree '97 deep dive. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Ric Flair, and Kevin Greene vs. Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Syxx. Eagles legend Reggie White makes his in-ring debut against Steve "Mongo" McMichael, and much more!

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