The Straight Shooters

We look at Kofi Kingston's title reign, King of the Ring returning, and a special shoutout to the Philly Police Department.

We look at the career of the legendary Harley Race, who passed away last week. We also discuss AEW coming to Philly for their third week of TV tapings on TNT at the Liacouras Center, and preview this weekend's SummerSlam PPV and NXT TakeOver: Toronto.

The WWF Championship was on the line in a Steel Cage Match as the WWF Champion, Bret Hart, defended the title against his brother, and the man who beat him earlier in the year at WrestleMania X clean in the middle of the ring, Owen Hart.

AEW debuts on TNT on Wednesday, October 2. And a peek into the wrestling bubble that many hardcore wrestling fans find themselves in... we included!

Eric Bischoff and Paul Heyman need to make SmackDown and RAW different. But how? Nick and Vaughn discuss the things they can do to make WWE better overall.

Enzo Amore and Joey Janela's confrontation at a Blink 182 concert got us thinking... who would you take in a real fight? Oh, and some huge NBA news broke again during the show.

This week had a little bit more adult-oriented content on WWE TV, which made for some entertaining shows. But can WWE rely on doing these things week in and week out in 2019 to gain popularity?

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 Continue Reading

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 Continue Rea...

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 Continue Reading

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 Continue Reading

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 Continue Reading

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 Continue Reading

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. Continue Reading

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 for Con...

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 Continue Reading

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 Continue Reading

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 Continue Reading

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 Continue Reading

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 Continue Reading

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 Continue Reading

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 Continue Reading

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 Continue Reading

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 Continue Reading

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 Continue Reading