Nick Piccone

Nick Piccone is a Pro Wrestling Contributor for PhillyVoice.com. Nick was the founder of the popular sports and pro wrestling blog Bleed Philly before joining Philly Influencer as Editor and Writer in 2015. He's hosted a weekly pro wrestling podcast with Vaughn Johnson, The Straight Shooters, since 2015. Nick also does editing, writing, and audio engineering for the only sports betting radio station in Philadelphia, Fox Sports Radio The Gambler. Nick graduated from nearby Neumann University after growing up in south Philadelphia and southern New Jersey. His family history is entrenched in Philadelphia culture, as Nick's great aunt Dolly's house was used as Rocky's and Adrian's new home in Rocky II. Nick is a huge Philly sports fan, and he has watched professional wrestling since he was five years old; he has not only a strong passion, but also an abundance of knowledge about the industry. Follow Nick on Twitter: @_piccone.

January 22, 2021

Wrestling

Straight Shooters: Deep dive into the 1991 WWF Royal Rumble

by Nick Piccone

On January 19, 1991, the World Wrestling Federation ran their annual Royal Rumble pay-per-view from the Miami Arena in Miami, Florida. Two days prior, the United States launched a military offensive against Iraqi troops occupying Kuwait which was known as Operation Desert Storm.

December 11, 2020

Straight Shooters

Straight Shooters: Deep dive into WCW Starrcade 1997

by Nick Piccone

Over a year of build to Sting vs. Hogan at Starrcade 1997 fell completely flat once Nick Patrick completed a normal three-count as Hogan pinned Sting clean in the middle of the ring. Not even a Bret Hart involvement in the "new finish" saved anything. It was unequivocally the worst ending to a WCW main event in that era, and perhaps of all-time.

November 16, 2020

Wrestling

Straight Shooters: Deep dive into Survivor Series 1997

by Nick Piccone

Nick Piccone and Vaughn Johnson take a deep dive into one of the most infamous nights in wrestling history. There were multiple parts moving this night in Montreal, and the screwjob was just the cherry on top.

October 29, 2020

Wrestling

Straight Shooters: NXT Halloween Havoc live commentary

by Nick Piccone

Halloween Havoc returned after 20 years away on Wednesday night, and the guys brought you live commentary of the event every step of the way.

October 21, 2020

Wrestling

Straight Shooters: The Greatest Hell in a Cell Match of All-Time Elimination Bracket

by Nick Piccone

WWE's Hell in a Cell pay-per-view is upon us, but unfortunately it's one that has lost a lot of its luster through the years. It used to once be that the Hell in a Cell match would become the blowoff of a blood feud with the match serving as a gruesome, but lovely, scene.

October 15, 2020

Wrestling

Straight Shooters: Deep dive into WWF's IYH Buried Alive

by Nick Piccone

The Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Ind. was the setting for the very first Buried Alive Match between the Undertaker and Mankind on October 20, 1996. The In Your House pay-per-view, then around two hours approximate running time, was the epicenter for the World Wrestling Federation trying out anything new to compete with World Championship Wrestling and the nWo at the time.

October 8, 2020

Straight Shooters

Straight Shooters: Deep dive into WCW's Halloween Havoc '98

by Nick Piccone

World Championship Wrestling had maybe its best year fiscally in 1998, but by the time Halloween Havoc rolled around on October 25, things weren't looking too great. The build for the big matches was *pretty good* but still left a lot to be desired. As you'll hear, this show basically was everything bad, minus the main event.

October 1, 2020

Wrestling

Straight Shooters: Deep dive into WCW's Halloween Havoc '97

by Nick Piccone

World Championship Wrestling was white hot in 1997, and the culmination of a lot of feuds took place on October 26 of that year as Eric Bischoff's WrestleMania, Halloween Havoc, took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It was two month before Sting would ultimately "dethrone" Hollywood Hulk Hogan in one of the worst finishes in pro wrestling history - but this show had its own finish that left us scratching our heads.

September 24, 2020

Straight Shooters

Straight Shooters: Deep dive into Clash of the Champions XXXV

by Nick Piccone

The last WCW production of Clash of the Champions took place on August 21, 1997 in Nashville, Tenn. at the Municipal Auditorium. It drew just over 4,000 fans and popped a 3.64 rating on TBS, which was still a good number in 1997. It didn't go head-to-head with any WWE shows that night, but it was one of my all-time favorite shows in wrestling history, let alone WCW history.

September 18, 2020

Wrestling

Straight Shooters: Deep dive into Clash of the Champions I

by Nick Piccone

The very first Clash of the Champions took place on March 27, 1988 in Greensboro, NC at the Greensboro Coliseum. It drew 6,000 fans and popped a 5.6 rating on TBS. Oh, and it also went head-to-head with WrestleMania IV.