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.

June 24, 2016

Wrestling

WWE SmackDown rundown: Rollins and Zayn tear down the house in great main event

by Nick Piccone

The Tucson Arena in Tucson, Ariz., hosted SmackDown on Thursday night, days after WWE was flipped-turned upside down by the Lunatic Fringe, Dean Ambrose. The new WWE World Heavyweight Champion made sure he wouldn’t let Seth Rollins forget that he was the champion and that the Ambrose Asylum was ready to go whenever he gave the cue. More on that later.

June 21, 2016

Wrestling

WWE Raw roundup: Battleground main event set

by Nick Piccone

Sunday night’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view was still the talk of professional wrestling on Monday night as Raw invaded the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix.

June 21, 2016

Wrestling

WWE suspends ex-champion Roman Reigns for violating 'wellness' policy

by Nick Piccone

Roman Reigns was suspended 30 days by WWE on Tuesday after he violated the company’s wellness policy. WWE released this statement regarding the suspension:

June 20, 2016

Wrestling

WWE 2016 Money in the Bank: Ambrose cashes in and wins WWE World Heavyweight Title

by Nick Piccone

Money in the Bank on Sunday night was promoted for weeks by WWE as being the best Money in the Bank pay-per-view ever. Before buying into the hype, this reminded me of how World Championship Wrestling used to tout every Monday Nitro on TNT as being the “best ever in the history of our great sports,” thanks to Tony Shiavone.

June 17, 2016

Wrestling

WWE SmackDown rundown: Ambrose stands tall, but is he the favorite to win MITB briefcase?

by Nick Piccone

WWE’s last stop before Sunday’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view hit the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Miss. Thursday night. The stage is set for the big event and SmackDown featured all the big names on tap for Money in the Bank except for one – John Cena. WWE showed footage from Raw where Styles and Cena signed the contract to make their match official, and they proceeded to give Styles promo time and a match on SmackDown. With no Cena around.

June 16, 2016

Wrestling

WWE 2016 Money in the Bank preview: Styles and Cena clash in a dream match

by Nick Piccone

The T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas will host Sunday’s WWE Money in the Bank pay-per-view, and this will be the last pay-per-view before the WWE brand extension begins next month.

June 14, 2016

Wrestling

WWE Raw roundup: Jericho loses to Ambrose, but gains the Money in the Bank briefcase

by Nick Piccone

Money in the Bank is less than a week away and Raw on Monday night from the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans was the last chance WWE had to tie up loose ends to a big audience before then. The lineup looked great – a contract signing between John Cena and AJ Styles, an Ambrose Asylum segment featuring the WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns and his challenger Seth Rollins, and more Money in the Bank interaction between all six participants in the match on Sunday night – so it was clear WWE really wanted to hammer home the point that this is the biggest Money in the Bank pay-per-view ever. It sure feels that way.

June 11, 2016

Wrestling

Straight Shooters Podcast 44: NXT TakeOver: The End, Brock Lesnar back in UFC, and more

by Nick Piccone

On the 44th episode of The Straight Shooters wrestling podcast, Brian Isley joins the show again as the guys talk about TNA Slammiversary (!) and how many people won't be watching it.

June 10, 2016

Wrestling

WWE SmackDown rundown: Where’s the Women’s Championship Money in the Bank Ladder Match?

by Nick Piccone

With just over one week until Money in the Bank, which could arguably be the best pay-per-view card of the calendar year so far, WWE invaded Wichita, Kan. and brought us SmackDown from the Intrust Bank Arena Thursday night.

June 9, 2016

Wrestling

NXT TakeOver - The End: Samoa Joe, Finn Bálor settle the score in a steel cage

by Nick Piccone

NXT went back home to Full Sail University in Orlando, Fla. on Wednesday night for their latest TakeOver special simply subtitled, “The End.” Many people thought “The End” meant that was possibly the last NXT TakeOver special for the developmental brand due to the upcoming brand split of WWE’s main roster in July.