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.

July 27, 2016

Wrestling

WWE SmackDown rundown: Dolph Ziggler and Dean Ambrose set to battle for WWE title

by Nick Piccone

Buffalo, N.Y.’s First Niagara Center hosted the first live SmackDown after the official brand extension Tuesday night, but I’m sure the audience was wishing for the same type of show we saw from Pittsburgh on Monday night. While SmackDown boasted a new theme song, a relatively new set, and brought the blue ropes back, the in-ring product wasn’t as good as what we saw on Monday night.

July 26, 2016

Wrestling

WWE Raw roundup: Finn Bálor, Sasha Banks begin new era with historic nights

by Nick Piccone

The official beginning of the brand extension occurred on Monday night at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, where Raw was reinvigorated with new theme music, a slightly new entrance set, the return of the red ring ropes and a new logo.

July 25, 2016

Wrestling

WWE Battleground 2016: Is this Dean Ambrose’s time?

by Nick Piccone

There were many questions heading into Battleground on Sunday night, and I think we’ve found some answers. There was no controversy surrounding the Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship, another NXT talent made their debut on the main roster, and we may have witnessed the best WWE version of Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn, which is always a treat.

July 23, 2016

Wrestling

Straight Shooters Podcast 50: Celebrating 50 episodes with clips, WWE Draft discussion

by Nick Piccone

This week’s packed episode features the All-Star cast of Straight Shooters guests. Brian Isley and Bill Matz join us in studio as we talk about this past week’s WWE Draft and what it means moving forward.

July 22, 2016

Wrestling

WWE Battleground preview: The WWE Championship match two years in the making

by Nick Piccone

While politically we can make many jokes about the state of Congress in the nation’s capital, WWE will present their own version of Battleground this Sunday night at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. Roman Reigns is back from his 30-day long suspension after failing a wellness test, Dean Ambrose is the WWE Champion after defeating Seth Rollins on SmackDown’s first permanently live episode on Tuesday night, so Reigns comes in without any fanfare. Will he walk out of Battleground with the title?

July 21, 2016

Wrestling

WWE’s Cruiserweight Classic: Round 1, Week 2 results

by Nick Piccone

The second installment of the WWE Network’s Cruiserweight Classic was aired on Wednesday night, and it had a little old school flavor to it in terms of one of the winners. Who would move on to Round 2 of the tournament? Let’s find out.

July 20, 2016

Wrestling

WWE SmackDown rundown: WWE Draft results; Ambrose, Rollins meet in title rematch

by Nick Piccone

The second-ever WWE brand extension draft was held on Tuesday night during the first-ever permanently live episode of SmackDown. At the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass., the landscape of WWE was supposedly changed forever. However, when all was set and done, it looked like Raw has the roster of superstardom while SmackDown was barren.

July 19, 2016

Wrestling

WWE Raw roundup: General managers selected; WWE title match ends in controversy

by Nick Piccone

The last edition of Raw before the newest brand extension in WWE took place in the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, R.I. on Monday night. We had the announcements of the new Raw and SmackDown general managers, a WWE Championship match with Dean Ambrose defending his title against Seth Rollins, a huge 12-man tag match and more.

July 16, 2016

WWE

Straight Shooters Podcast 49: WWE Draft approaching, John Cena at the ESPYS and more

by Nick Piccone

The WWE Draft is this Tuesday (!) and it looks like WWE still has no idea what it's going to do. Shane McMahon is in charge of SmackDown and Stephanie McMahon is in charge of Raw. That's about all we know.

July 15, 2016

UFC