Straight Shooters

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...

Tweet It's been an eventful week in the world of professional wrestling, so Nick Piccone and Vaughn Johnson hit a myriad of topics this week.   First, Dean Ambrose notified WWE he wouldn't be renewing with the company and will finish up in April. That leaves it to the imagination of where he could wind up, or if he even goes to another company. He could decide to hang up the boots. He could decide...

Tweet The 2019 Royal Rumble pay-per-view event is shaping up to be a great one on paper. Will it deliver on screen on Sunday, January 27th?    The THIRD MAN! Brian Isley joins the show after a long respite to help Nick and Vaughn run down the Rumble pay-per-view and give you predictions on what they think will happen.    But before that, Nick (@nickpiccone) and Vaughn (@VaughnMJohnson) discuss how...

Tweet Vaughn Johnson (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) discuss the latest in the WWE Universe. WWE decided to shake up the Universal Championship Match at the Royal Rumble, as now it will be Finn Bálor instead of Braun Strowman challenging "The Beast" Brock Lesnar in Phoenix on the 27th. The guys discuss their thoughts on the sudden change and what they think could happen.   The WW...

Tweet Vaughn Johnson (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) discuss the latest on All Elite Wrestling after the company held its first rally this past Tuesday in Jacksonville. The guys discuss the current roster, the influx of talent from Oriental Wrestling Entertainment in China, the women's division and how the gender wage gap will be abolished, and their next big event happening in M...

Tweet Vaughn Johnson (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) celebrate the life of one of, if not the, greatest interviewers in the history of professional wrestling, "Mean" Gene Okerlund. Okerlund passed away on January 2, 2019.   Listen as Vaughn and Nick talk about their memories of Okerlund, favorite moments, and what exactly he meant to the industry of professional wrestling.   Then...

Tweet Vaughn Johnson (@VaughnMJohnson), Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) and Ryan Anderson (@gullyblanchard) recall the top stories in the world of wrestling during 2018.   You can also subscribe to The Straight Shooters on the following platforms: Apple Podcasts (please rate and review us!), Stitcher, Google Play, Spreaker, Spotify, iHeartRadio, TuneIn Radio, SoundCloud, Player FM and wherever else yo...

Tweet So WWE began a new era this past week. The thing is, it still looks and feels a lot like the same eras we've seen for over a decade. This week, Vaughn and Nick talk about the newest New Era in WWE and what they think fans can expect from it. They also go over all of the eras in WWE's company history for a good ride down Memory Lane.   Listen to The Straight Shooters every Friday at 2:00 P.M....

Tweet Former WWE creative writer Jimmy Jacobs sparked a conversation about writing a television show this past week in response to the criticism of how RAW's ratings have fallen off a cliff recently. With RAW setting record lows almost every single week, Jacobs thought that he should stick up for the creative writers that probably more often than not get their good ideas shot down.   In this episo...

Tweet This week, the guys are giving a gift guide for the world of professional wrestling to ring in the holiday season.   They also pay tribute to one of the greats, Dynamite Kid, who passed away. Listen to The Straight Shooters every Friday at 2:00 P.M. ET right here on WildfireRadio.com. You can also subscribe to The Straight Shooters on the following platforms: Apple Podcasts (make sure you ra...

Tweet WWE's made waves this past week in the United Kingdom by signing NXT UK talent to new contracts prohibiting them from working any independent promotions unless they are partners of WWE.   This has caused a bit of uneasiness over the pond with some fans saying U.K. professional wrestling is in turmoil.    This week, we discuss the whole situation in-depth.   Listen to The Straight Shooters ev...