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.

August 4, 2015

Wrestling

WWE Raw roundup: Neville pushes Seth Rollins to the brink in title match

by Nick Piccone

Live from the SAP Center in San Jose, CA, WWE presented Raw for the first time in this arena since the night after WrestleMania 31, when Brock Lesnar was suspended for raising hell and Seth Rollins celebrated his championship win after cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase the night before.

August 1, 2015

Wrestling

Remembering the Hot Rod, 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper, the man we all loved to hate

by Nick Piccone

Remembering the Hot Rod, 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper

July 31, 2015

Wrestling

WWE SmackDown rundown: Cesaro shines in the main event spotlight

by Nick Piccone

SmackDown emanated from the BOK Center in Tulsa, OK on Thursday night, and it showcased some pretty good matches, despite no championships being on the line. Cesaro is getting plenty of television time since his partner, Tyson Kidd, will be out for the next year after having surgery on his injured neck. Honestly, Cesaro has taken that brass ring and held onto it. He’s has great matches with Seth Rollins, John Cena and Kevin Owens since his re-emergence as a key figure.

July 28, 2015

Wrestling

WWE Raw roundup: John Cena breaks nose, submits Seth Rollins to retain title

by Nick Piccone

The Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City was the host for Raw on Monday night, and half of the program I was fixated on my iPhone watching the high-speed police chase in Jersey, then Philly, then back in Jersey, then back in Philly. It was interesting to say the least, and I suggest you check out my Twitter timeline for a breakdown of the chase.

July 24, 2015

Wrestling

WWE SmackDown rundown: Kevin Owens and Cesaro are on a collision course

by Nick Piccone

Thursday night’s edition of WWE SmackDown was probably one of the few editions of the second-highest rated program for WWE that had three main event caliber pay-per-view matches in one show. Starting off with the announcements that Dean Ambrose-Sheamus, Kevin Owens-Rusev and Seth Rollins-Cesaro would all take place on this episode of SmackDown, I had to do a quick double take and check out what show I was watching.

July 24, 2015

Wrestling

WWE terminates Hulk Hogan’s contract after reported racist audio tape is leaked

by Nick Piccone

Hulk Hogan has been fired from WWE after reports of a leaked audio tape of him using the “N-word” have surfaced. Hogan, currently in a lawsuit against Gawker Media because they published a sex tape of a woman and Hogan, apparently uses the “N-word” when talking about someone working with his daughter, Brooke. That audio is set to be played in court.

July 21, 2015

Wrestling

WWE Raw roundup: War to settle score between Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker official for Summerslam

by Nick Piccone

The Undertaker surprised everybody by making his return to WWE on Sunday night at Battleground and taking out Brock Lesnar during his WWE World Heavyweight Championship match against Seth Rollins; and The Dead Man surprised everybody again by opening up Raw with a promo directed to the man who defeated him and ended the WrestleMania streak one and a half years ago.

July 20, 2015

Wrestling

WWE Battleground review: The Undertaker returns and destroys Brock Lesnar

by Nick Piccone

The Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO was the setting for WWE’s Battleground event on Sunday night, and going into it I had a great feeling about the possible outcomes I was expecting. Of course, those outcomes didn’t happen and I was left, along with many of you, scratching my head as to why WWE went a certain way with a number of their wrestlers. We had a huge surprise return, but it left us with more questions than answers as Battleground went off the air.

July 17, 2015

WWE

WWE SmackDown rundown: Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns trade advantages days before Battleground

by Nick Piccone

Three days in advance of WWE Battleground, WWE rode into the Legacy Arena at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex in Alabama for the final show until Brock Lesnar takes on Seth Rollins with a chance to regain his WWE World Heavyweight Championship. This SmackDown, however, was more about pushing the issue between Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns. And that was perfectly okay with me.

July 16, 2015

Wrestling

WWE Battleground preview: The Beast looks to regain his title

by Nick Piccone

Battleground comes to us this Sunday from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO. It has the potential to be one of the best July events WWE has ever produced because I think the card is stacked. We have The Beast, Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins, John Cena, Kevin Owens, Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt all in prominent matches, and that means nothing but good things for the fans.