Straight Shooters

Vaughn Johnson (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) discuss the legendary career of Harley Race, who passed away last week. What moments and memories stood out to you? The guys then discuss AEW coming to Philly on October 16 for a TV taping. But they're not heading to the Wells Fargo Center, they're heading to the site of TNA's 2011 Bound For Glory pay-per-view spectacular... the Liac...

Vaughn Johnson (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) live commentate one of the best wrestling matches in SummerSlam history as Bret "The Hitman" Hart defends the WWF Championship against his brother, Owen Hart, in a Steel Cage Match at SummerSlam 1994 in Chicago. Earlier in the year at WrestleMania X, Owen pinned Bret in the middle of the ring, so this was Owen's second chance to not...

Vaughn Johnson (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) discuss the bubble that hardcore wrestling fans often find themselves in. After RAW Reunion, is it possible that reaching to the casual audience is actually more important than reaching to the hardcore base? Has the hardcore base already turned on WWE completely? We talk about a phenomenon known as "The Wrestling Bubble" and whether...

Vaughn Johnson (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) discuss the things both SmackDown Executive Director Eric Bischoff and RAW Executive Director Paul Heyman can do to make their brands better. What can they do to stand out? The guys discuss in detail SmackDown's move to FOX especially, and what Bischoff can do with his program, given the freedom [hopefully], to make it what FOX visua...

Vaughn Johnson (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) discuss the weird confrontation at a Blink 182 concert between Enzo Amore and Joey Janela. The video doesn't show much, but it was the talk of Wrestling Twitter this week. That got Vaughn and Nick thinking... who would you take in a real fight? The guys list their favorites of the current crop in pro wrestling as to who would win a r...

Vaughn Johnson (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) discuss the Braun Strowman/Bobby Lashley angle from RAW, the Kofi Kingston/Samoa Joe promo from SmackDown and a few more tidbits about this week's WWE programming providing a tonal shift than we've seen in, well, years. The guys also discuss whether or not WWE can continue with adult-oriented themes in 2019, even if they don't go as...

Tweet Vaughn Johnson (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) take on a myriad of topics this week, the biggest being the bombshell announced by WWE on Thursday morning. Eric Bischoff and Paul Heyman are back working for Vince McMahon, and each of them will be controlling one of WWE's television shows. Bischoff will run SmackDown as its Executive Director, and Heyman will be running RAW w...

Tweet Vaughn Johnson (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) celebrate the 200th episode of The Straight Shooters! The guys discuss how the podcast got started, some of the best moments of the show, shout outs to all of our guests over the years, and more on this milestone episode!   You can also subscribe to The Straight Shooters on the following platforms: Apple Podcasts (please rate a...

Tweet This week, Vaughn Johnson (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) discuss WWE's reliance too much on aging superstars for some of their biggest shows. Goldberg vs. Undertaker? Match didn't turn out too well. What can WWE do to change its philosophical agenda and avoid using aging veterans that don't belong in a ring anymore?   You can also subscribe to The Straight Shooters on the...

Tweet This week, Vaughn Johnson (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) react to AEW's DOUBLE OR NOTHING pay-per-view. What was good? What was great? Was there anything bad? The ring ropes and turnbuckles were great! The guys discuss their thoughts on the show and what to look forward to come the summer.   Then, the guys dive deep into Jon Moxley's appearance on Talk Is Jericho [you can...

Tweet This week, Vaughn Johnson (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) preview in-depth the upcoming Double or Nothing pay-per-view that's got the wrestling world waiting in anticipation. All Elite Wrestling takes center stage this weekend, so the guys go match by match with their preview and predictions for the event.   While that takes up 90% of the show, the guys also discuss Brock L...

Tweet This week, Vaughn Johnson and Nick Piccone discuss AEW's television deal with TNT in great detail. After almost 20 years, professional wrestling will return to the Turner network in Fall 2019. What does this mean for pro wrestling? What type of rating should AEW aim for in the beginning? What about within the first year? What night will their show be on? Will TNT help AEW by giving them lead...

Tweet This week, Vaughn Johnson (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) discuss just how creatively bankrupt WWE is right now. With the Superstar Shake-Up happening just a few weeks ago, Vince McMahon basically decided to undo what his company did on RAW and SmackDown and introduced a "Wild Card" rule, allowing 4 RAW superstars to show up on SmackDown and vice versa.   The hell?   The gu...

Tweet This week, Vaughn Johnson (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) discuss Jon Moxley (now formerly Dean Ambrose) and his future. Mere minutes after his WWE contract expired, Moxley posted a video on Twitter that got many people hyped. Is he AEW bound? The guys discuss Moxley's possibilities.   The duo also discusses Bill Goldberg, Brock Lesnar, and The Undertaker being advertised f...

Tweet This week, Nick and Vaughn discuss the fallout of the WWE Superstar Shake-Up on both RAW and SmackDown Live now that we've had the first two shows of the new brands since the talent exchange.   What's the deal with The Viking Raiders and all the name changes? The Viking Experience? Really? What was wrong with War Raiders? The guys discuss that issue and why names absolutely mean something re...

Tweet Vaughn (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick (@nickpiccone) are joined by ECW legend The Blue Meanie (@BlueMeanieBWO) as they take a trip down memory lane and celebrate the anniversary of ECW's first-ever pay-per-view, Barely Legal, live from the ECW Arena.   As we discuss how ECW showed up on WWF television in 1996, the invasion on RAW in February 1997 to April's Barely Legal pay-per-view, Meanie take...

Tweet Vaughn (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick (@nickpiccone) discuss some of the WrestleMania fallout with a focus on random superstars appearing on RAW and SmackDown randomly. Just what the hell is going on with the brand split?   They also touch on Pat McAfee's run-in with Michael Cole, Sasha Bank's social media post and more!   You can also subscribe to The Straight Shooters on the following platform...

Tweet Vaughn (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick (@nickpiccone) are joined by NJ.com's Mike Kaye (@mike_e_kaye) on this week's episode, which is a huge, almost two-hour long, in-depth preview of WrestleMania, which takes place this Sunday from MetLife Stadium IN THE SHADOWS OF NEW YORK CITY!   The guys go over all the matches in detail and make their predictions. But before that, they begin with a discussi...

Tweet Vaughn (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick (@nickpiccone) are joined by the good brother Sawyer on this week's episode, which begins with a look at KOFIMANIA!   That's right... Kofi Kingston's teammates in Xavier Woods and Big E helped propel him into the WWE Championship match at WrestleMania against Daniel Bryan after outlasting each team in a Gauntlet Match on this week's SmackDown Live. The guys...

Tweet Vaughn (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick (@nickpiccone) begin this week's episode looking at the storyline arc of Kofi Kingston and the WWE Championship from the past month.   We all thought Kofi would punch his ticket to WrestleMania on this week's SmackDown. It didn't happen. Will it happen next week? It's going to happen, right?   Nick also wrote about this on his Medium site.   The guys also di...

Tweet Vaughn (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick (@nickpiccone) begin this episode paying respects to King Kong Bundy and "The Destroyer" Dick Beyer as they both passed away this week.   They then discuss Jim Ross leaving WWE after his contract expires and the possibility of him going to AEW.   Tampa is hosting WrestleMania 36 in 2020. Will WrestleMania ever come back to Philly? There's one year that Nick...

Tweet It was a week of change in WWE... kind of.   Lots of news items inside and outside of the ring were touched on this week's episode of the pod.   We hit on Bruce Prichard being re-hired by WWE, the Becky Lynch/Ronda Rousey saga on social media, Roman Reigns returning, Batista returning and much more!   You can also subscribe to The Straight Shooters on the following platforms: Apple Podcasts ...

Tweet Some high-profile NXT talents made their main rosters debut this week... but why?   In what seemed more like a showcase rather than integrating these guys into the main roster, Aleister Black, Ricochet, Johnny Gargano and NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa appeared on both RAW and SmackDown Live this week, and were booked pretty strongly. But what was the purpose? What does this mean for future NXT...

Tweet Becky Lynch was suspended for 60 days by Vince McMahon, and was replaced by Charlotte Flair in the main event of WrestleMania 35 against Ronda Rousey.   This got some heated reactions. But why? Why's creating an interesting storyline between the Rumble and Mania being a bad thing? Vaughn Johnson (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) discuss the angle, why people are getting legit...

Tweet With WWE needed to string out the story for two months, Becky Lynch was suspended in storyline this past week. It sure seems like Charlotte Flair will eventually be added to the Lynch/Rousey match at WrestleMania to make it a Triple Threat. But Nick and Vaughn differ on whether that's a good or bad thing. Listen to their in-depth discussion about why Nick thinks adding Charlotte to the match...