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.

September 4, 2020

Wrestling

Straight Shooters: Deep dive into 'No Holds Barred, The Movie'

by Nick Piccone

On June 2, 1989, No Holds Barred was released in the United States, and it featured professional wrestling hero Hulk Hogan acting as, well, a professional wrestling hero, Rip Thomas.

August 22, 2020

Wrestling

Straight Shooters: Deep dive into the Lex Express

by Nick Piccone

The summer of 1993 saw a lot of change for WWE. Hulk Hogan was gone, and now Vince McMahon needed a new American hero to push to the top of the babyface rankings.

August 14, 2020

Wrestling

Straight Shooters: Deep dive into SummerSlam 1990 at the Spectrum

by Nick Piccone

We're heading back to 1990 in this episode of The Straight Shooters and covering SummerSlam which took place in the Philadelphia Spectrum.

July 31, 2020

Wrestling

Straight Shooters: Deep dive into WCW Beach Brawl at MTV's Spring Break

by Nick Piccone

After tackling the WrestleMania Rage Party in Philly in last week's episode, we're staying in 1999 as WCW's Beach Brawl at MTV Spring Break in Cancún, Mexico takes center stage this week.

July 24, 2020

Wrestling

Straight Shooters: Deep dive into the WrestleMania Rage Party in Philly

by Nick Piccone

Back in 1999, WWE held a WrestleMania Rage Party the night before WrestleMania XV. At this point, WWE was arguably at its peak in terms of popularity in pop culture. With WrestleMania in Philly that year, the company decided to run a Rage Party with legendary musical acts such as Isaac Hayes, Big Pun, and ... the Cherry Poppin' Daddies?

July 17, 2020

Wrestling

Straight Shooters: Double champions, ratings, and flowers

by Nick Piccone

Keith Lee defeated Adam Cole to become the NXT Champion at the Great American Bash. The Winner-Take-All Match propelled Lee into wrestling lore as a double champion. That was the inspiration for this week's discussion on The Straight Shooters.

July 9, 2020

WWE

Straight Shooters: U.S. title design thoughts, great and not-so-great wrestling PPV posters

by Nick Piccone

WWE unveiled its new United States Championship design this past week on Monday Night RAW, and it's a beaut. Nick Piccone and Vaughn Johnson briefly discuss their thoughts on the new design and with WWE slated to introduce more new designs in the future, we'll hopefully see the end of those Tag Team Title designs soon enough.

June 6, 2020

Wrestling

Straight Shooters: Black Lives Matter

by Nick Piccone

Nick Piccone and Vaughn Johnson discuss what's been going on in the last week and a half, not just in the United States, but in the world.

May 22, 2020

WWE

Straight Shooters: Remembering Shad Gaspard and Owen Hart

by Nick Piccone

Shad Gaspard tragically lost his life this past week, but in doing so saved his son from a similar fate. The man is a hero, in every sense of the word.

May 15, 2020

Wrestling

Straight Shooters: Becky Lynch pregnant, Mike Tyson in AEW, and more

by Nick Piccone

Becky Lynch is pregnant! Mike Tyson will appear at AEW's Double or Nothing pay-per-view! The 25-year-anniversary of the very first In Your House pay-per-view is here!