Awesome Truth: A Wrestling Book Club

When it comes to professional wrestling in popular culture, there are two eras: before and after The Wrestler . The 2008 film from director Darren Aronofsky changed the way wrestlers were perceived by the public. It used to be "out of sight, out of mind," but now everyone knows the toll pro wrestling takes on people's bodies, minds, and lives. In fact, we don't think there would be Dark Side of th...

With Goldberg heading toward his retirement match with Gunther, we thought it was time to revisit the moment he probably should've retired: His 2019 match with the Undertaker at Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia. Is it as bad as everyone says? Is it worse? And what was the ceiling for old man Goldberg versus broken-down Taker anyway? Join us as we grit our teeth and watch along.

For the last few weeks, the internet has been abuzz with talk of Ron Killings. Did WWE release R-Truth? Did they just decide not to renew his contract? How could Truth, a low-key legend and beloved locker room presence, get the axe? We may never know exactly how it all went down, but we at Awesome Truth knew the best way to honor our half-namesake was to watch him turn on the charm. That's why we'...

The hardcore legend Sabu passed away on May 11, 2025; in his honor, we're watching what's probably his most famous match, the 1997 barbed wire showdown with Terry Funk at ECW's Born to Be Wired event. It's a grotesque bloody mess that also perfectly illustrates what made Sabu special and why teenage Walt and Steve thought he was one of the coolest wrestlers in the world.

WrestleMania III, the Pontiac Silverdome, Hogan versus Andre. It's where everything changed, at least according to the new book by friend of the show Keith Elliot Greenberg. Keith's been on before talking about the book's genesis ; now we've read it and we're breaking down his latest opus. Join us as we discuss Bigger! Better! Badder! , aka the story of pro wrestling in the mid-1980s.

Who asked for a feature-length documentary on WrestleMania 9? Nobody, of course, which makes it even more wild that this thing is somehow fun.  WrestleMania IX: Becoming a Spectacle gives us exclusive backstage footage of Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Undertaker, and a ton of other wrestlers at the first-ever Vegas Mania. It also, unfortunately, features a ton of Hulk Hogan's world-famous "exaggerati...

WrestleMania 41 dropped the ball with Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena — flat, forgettable, and included heavy involvement from Travis Scott. So to wash the bad taste out of our mouths, Awesome Truth decided to revisit a more memorable main event match from WrestleMania XL between Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes! Does last year's epic showdown stand the test of time? 

We've been begging for WWE documentaries to focus on more than just the same old wrestling stories, and they finally listened ... for better or worse.  Superfan: The Story of Vladimir follows Vladimir Abouzeide, a lifelong New York wrestling enthusiast whose fandom was upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. But is it a story of celebration, or are they exploiting Vlad for content? Is WWE even equipped...

It's 2025 and we're still talking about WrestleMania III. It was one of the biggest nights in wrestling history: Hogan versus Andre, Savage versus Steamboat, Butch Reed versus Koko B. Ware ... OK, not every match was a banger. But what exactly made that show in Pontiac, Michigan so special? And why did it so thoroughly reshape the industry? Friend of the show Keith Elliot Greenberg joins us to dis...

Remember the first time John Cena faced Cody Rhodes? That's right, WrestleMania 41 won't be the debut match between these two legends; for that, we have to go back to April 6, 2015, when Cena kicked off his US Open Challenge with a match against Stardust. And to start down the road to WrestleMania properly, we're watching along! Join us as we discuss what's been accurately described as "a pretty g...

It's our 200th episode! To celebrate this milestone, we are turning to a musical gem from deep in wrestling history: "WrestleMania: The Album." That's right, the 1993 album where Bret Hart, Macho Man Randy Savage, The Undertaker, and many more sing! Actually, it's more like talk-singing or spoken word. And they don't sing their theme songs; just odd, unexpected tunes about their gimmicks or occasi...

Awesome Truth is once again going to the movies, aka the Shudder app, this time to watch the new hit  Dark Match ! It's a wrestling slasher film starring Chris Jericho as a psychotic cult leader and aspiring world champion. It's kinda bad! But kinda intriguing, and it does show a genuine love for the ins and outs of pro wrestling. Join us as we do battle with the forces of cinematic evil.

It's the 30th anniversary of one of the quickest, oddest Royal Rumbles in history, and we're watching along! It's the night Shawn Michaels became a main event star, and the first pay-per-view Walt ever watched. Join us as we rewatch the 1995 Rumble, when Bulldog and HBK went the distance and also Jacob and Eli Blu were there.

As Triple H, The Rock, Michael Cole, and 500 other people keep telling us, the Raw on Netflix era has begun. But how do we feel, two episodes in? Is it any different than what we've been seeing on cable TV for decades? And what do we think about "Final Boss" Rock suddenly reverting back to Netflix-loving Dwayne Johnson? Join us as we discuss the first two episodes of streaming Raw, including how g...

Welcome to 2025! To kickstart the year, we are rewatching a match we both saw in person: Kenny Omega versus Chris Jericho at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in the Tokyo Dome. It's one of the reasons AEW exists and a reminder that Jericho was on top of the world a mere 7 years ago. Join us as we revisit our magical journey to Japan and this top-tier showdown.

Happy holidays from Awesome Truth! To celebrate, we turned to what seemed like a December treat: WWE's Ring in the Holiday special on Peacock. Instead, we got a steaming lump of coal, a collection of Mick Foley interstitials and unmemorable matches thrown together during the dying days of DVD. Pumped for Randy Orton versus David Otunga with a vague Christmas theme? How about a Xanta Klaus squash m...

It's watch-along time! As a rare treat, we're watching the main event of the most recent WWE pay-per-view: the 2024 Survivor Series. It's the OG Bloodline (Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn, the Usos, and ... CM Punk) versus the New Bloodline (Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, and ... Bronson Reed). Is it the blowoff to a months-long feud or the start of a whole new chapter? Does it ruin the ma...

We're wrapping up Macho Month by watching along with a famous cinematic match: Bonesaw McGraw versus Spider-Man. That's right; we're watching the scene from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man where Macho Man Randy Savage takes on Tobey Maguire in, for some reason, a steel cage. It's a short scene, but is it the best wrestler acting performance of all time? Join us and find out.

Macho Month is here! For no reason in particular, we are devoting November to the extracurricular post-wrestling career of "Macho Man" Randy Savage, one of the all-time greats. Of course, that means starting with "Be a Man," his 2003 hip hop album in which he calls out Hulk Hogan, pays tribute to Mr. Perfect, and generally is very bad at rapping. How does Macho's debut album hold up? Join us as we...

For this year's Halloween watch-along, we've found the spooookiest wrestling moment possible: a good Goldberg match! That's right; when Goldberg faced Diamond Dallas Page at Halloween Havoc 1998, people stopped and said, "Pretty good!" Were they unwell from the horrid Hogan/Warrior showdown that preceded it? Is it possible for Bill Goldberg to have an actual quality match, especially against DDP?...

By now, you've probably started or even finished the new Netflix docuseries, Mr. McMahon . It claims to be a no-holds-barred look at the disgraced billionaire Vince McMahon, aimed at a broader streaming audience instead of wrestling freaks like us. But does it live up to the hype? Are there Vince stories in here that we haven't heard before, or just the same old sh*t from Hulk Hogan, Bruce Prichar...

It's a match that Awesome Truth has discussed over and over: Shawn Michaels versus Mankind at In Your House: Mind Games, a show attended by none other than Steve Cimino. And we're finally watching along! Does this showdown live up to its reputation as one of the best '90s WWF matches? And what do we think of Michaels' post-WrestleMania 12 babyface title run? Join us as we discuss all this and more...

The spirit of the WWE Network lives on with WWE 24, a documentary series that's covered such luminaries as The Miz , Big E , Edge , and now Damian Priest. Does Priest deserve the full doc treatment? Has he truly become a main eventer and top-tier talent in WWE? And what is his future now that he's left Judgment Day and set out on his own? Join us as we discuss the Archer of Infamy for the very fir...

August 1997 was a quaint period in wrestling history: Before the Montreal Screwjob, before D-Generation X and Hell in a Cell and the Attitude Era, there was a tame little title match at SummerSlam 1997 that would redefine everything. It's Bret Hart versus the Undertaker with Shawn Michaels as guest referee, and it leads directly into a brand new era for WWE. It also partially inspired the recent D...

Finally, WWE's long-awaited YouTube documentary about WrestleMania XL is live for the world to see . Is it weird to release a Mania documentary in July? You bet. Is it because The Rock had approval and took his sweet time to give a thumbs up? We'll never know. Fortunately, the story of Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, and the aformentioned Dwayne Johnson remains a fascinating one. Join us, one final tim...