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.

October 25, 2016

Wrestling

WWE Raw: Sasha Banks, Charlotte sign the contract

by Nick Piccone

The last Raw before Sunday’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view took place in the Target Center in Minneapolis Monday night. The card featured a non-title Triple Threat main event, a contract signing for what might be the most important women’s title match in recent history, and the return of “The Beast” Brock Lesnar.

October 19, 2016

Wrestling

WWE SmackDown: James Ellsworth makes history; Styles-Ambrose set for next week

by Nick Piccone

For the second night in a row, WWE invaded the Pepsi Center in Denver on Tuesday for a live edition of SmackDown. James Ellsworth, who defeated the WWE World Champion, AJ Styles last Tuesday – with a bit of help from Dean Ambrose – would get his first shot [and maybe only shot] at WWE gold as he and Styles would go one-on-one again.

October 18, 2016

Wrestling

WWE Raw: Goldberg tells Brock Lesnar, 'You’re next!'

by Nick Piccone

Eleven o’clock was the time. Denver’s Pepsi Center was the place. And the USA Network was the channel. After 12 years outside of WWE, Goldberg made his return Monday night on Raw to accept the challenge of Brock Lesnar, through his manager Paul Heyman, for a fight.

October 17, 2016

Wrestling

Straight Shooters Podcast 63: Banks-Charlotte; Goldberg-Lesnar & more

by Nick Piccone

On the 63rd episode of The Straight Shooters, we're talking about Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar, which is likely happening at November's Survivor Series pay-per-view. We talk about why it's not a bad thing and take on the criticism from some of the fans on this match taking place in 2016.

October 12, 2016

Wrestling

WWE SmackDown: AJ Styles’ pick for his next opponent backfires

by Nick Piccone

Hot off the heels of a very good No Mercy pay-per-view on Sunday night, SmackDown invaded the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. With no pay-per-views in sight until November’s co-branded Survivor Series, the importance placed on television the next few weeks was in full effect. We’re getting a World Title match next Tuesday, a Women’s Championship match November 8 from Scotland and I’m sure we’ll continue to see feuds build and maybe end on the road to Survivor Series.

October 11, 2016

Wrestling

WWE Raw: Goldberg is coming; Sasha-Charlotte inside Hell in a Cell confirmed

by Nick Piccone

With 20 days to go until Raw’s next pay-per-view, Hell in a Cell, Monday night was used to stack the card in what looks to be another promising event for the Raw brand later this month.

October 10, 2016

Wrestling

No Mercy review: Dolph Ziggler saves his WWE career; Wyatt Family member returns

by Nick Piccone

In a truly unique pay-per-view offering, No Mercy was another home run for WWE’s SmackDown brand on Sunday night. There were a few advertised matches that didn’t happen and match times were switched around, but overall, it was a solid effort by WWE. Three matches pretty much carried the pay-per-view, and there was maybe one match that was less than good. I’ll take that every time.

October 6, 2016

Wrestling

No Mercy preview: Cena goes for No. 16; is this Ziggler’s last stand?

by Nick Piccone

WWE’s SmackDown brand will present No Mercy this Sunday night from the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif. The brand’s four championships will all be on the line and the main stories being AJ Styles defending his title in a Triple Threat Match and Dolph Ziggler trying to prolong his WWE career in a match for the Intercontinental Championship.

October 5, 2016

Wrestling

WWE SmackDown: Styles, Cena, Ambrose face off; Goldberg returning?

by Nick Piccone

The go-home show to Sunday’s No Mercy pay-per-view took place on Tuesday night from the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego. The two biggest storylines right now on SmackDown surround the WWE World Championship with AJ Styles, John Cena and Dean Ambrose, along with what could perhaps be Dolph Ziggler’s last few days as a WWE superstar.

October 4, 2016

WWE

WWE Raw roundup: Sasha Banks reclaims her throne in the main event

by Nick Piccone

With Hell in a Cell now at the forefront, the Staples Center in Los Angeles hosted Monday Night Raw, which already has one Hell in a Cell match confirmed for the October 30 pay-per-view. I’m sure we’ll see another one added soon, as we have almost a full month before the event. This edition of Raw was supposed to highlight the women’s division as Charlotte would defend her championship against Sasha Banks. It was confirmed early on in the show that the match would be the main event of the evening.