Straight Shooters

Vaughn Johnson (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) review the first-ever head-to-head Wednesday Night War between AEW's Dynamite on TNT and NXT on the USA Network.

Which show was better? What were the ratings? The segment-by-segment deep dive into what was going up against what on each show and plenty more this week!

You can subscribe to The Straight Shooters on the following platforms: [Apple Podcasts](please rate and review us!), [Stitcher], [Google Play], [Spreaker], [Spotify], [iHeartRadio], [TuneIn Radio], [SoundCloud], [Player FM] and wherever else you get your podcasts!

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Vaughn Johnson (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) watch NXT on the USA Network live as they discuss Bray Wyatt's Fiend character and if it's really groundbreaking. Why is it so popular right now? Are we overhyping its popularity?

The discussion then moves to whether or not we are on the precipice of another boom period in wrestling. Is this the same type of boom period we saw in 1998 and 1999? Is more television programs a boom period? Or is it more the mainstream factor? The guys discuss all that and more on Episode 212!

You can subscribe to The Straight Shooters on the following platforms: [Apple Podcasts](please rate and review us!), [Stitcher], [Google Play], [Spreaker], [Spotify], [iHeartRadio], [TuneIn Radio], [SoundCloud], [Player FM] and wherever else you get your podcasts!

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Twitter: [@ShootersRadio]

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Vaughn Johnson (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) discuss NXT's debut on the USA Network and its rating. Was it good or bad? What will AEW's debut on TNT look like in terms of ratings?

The guys also discuss Brock Lesnar vs. Kofi Kingston for the WWE Championship being official for the first SmackDown on FOX. Will Brock win? What can WWE do that's newsworthy enough and not give Brock the title?

Bray Wyatt is also challenging Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship inside Hell in a Cell. There's no way he loses, right?

Right?

You can subscribe to The Straight Shooters on the following platforms: Apple Podcasts (please rate and review us!), Stitcher, Google Play, Spreaker, Spotify, iHeartRadio, TuneIn Radio, SoundCloud, Player FM and wherever else you get your podcasts!

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Vaughn Johnson (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) discuss AEW's All Out pay-per-view, make predictions, and end the show discussing how they view AEW as a wrestling company right now.

You can subscribe to The Straight Shooters on the following platforms: Apple Podcasts (please rate and review us!), Stitcher, Google Play, Spreaker, Spotify, iHeartRadio, TuneIn Radio, SoundCloud, Player FM and wherever else you get your podcasts!

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Vaughn Johnson (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) discuss the move of NXT to the USA Network beginning September 18 and becoming a live television program to go head-to-head with AEW weekly.

For the fans who wanted a wrestling war, they got it. And, there's a lot of them. Of course, when someone gets what they want, sometimes they second-guess exactly what they wanted and begin to regret it. There's not much difference regarding this.

AEW also announced TV tapings for October 23 and October 30 in Pittsburgh (Petersen Events Center on the University of Pittsburgh campus) and Charleston, West Virginia (Charleston Coliseum), respectively. They're selling out their TV taping venues, which is great. But where will they be in one year? Running the same venues? Bigger venues? What's the goal and for how long?

You can subscribe to The Straight Shooters on the following platforms: Apple Podcasts (please rate and review us!), Stitcher, Google Play, Spreaker, Spotify, iHeartRadio, TuneIn Radio, SoundCloud, Player FM and wherever else you get your podcasts!

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Vaughn Johnson (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) discuss how the crowd in Toronto reacted to Kofi Kingston and Randy Orton this past Sunday at SummerSlam, which was parroted by some people who said Kofi Kingston's reign has been boring and it's time for a new champion.

The guys discuss Kofi's reign and why it's not boring, and also why it's one of the best title reigns in recent WWE history. Also, when is it time to decide a new champion is needed?

And King of the Ring is back! The tournament will take place over the next few weeks on RAW and SmackDown Live, with the Finals at WWE's Clash of Champions pay-per-view in September. What are some names you think will be in the tournament and have a good chance to win? And will it mean anything?

But first, we send our thoughts to the Philadelphia Police Department.

You can subscribe to The Straight Shooters on the following platforms: Apple Podcasts (please rate and review us!), Stitcher, Google Play, Spreaker, Spotify, iHeartRadio, TuneIn Radio, SoundCloud, Player FM and wherever else you get your podcasts!

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Vaughn Johnson (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) discuss the legendary career of Harley Race, who passed away last week. What moments and memories stood out to you?

The guys then discuss AEW coming to Philly on October 16 for a TV taping. But they're not heading to the Wells Fargo Center, they're heading to the site of TNA's 2011 Bound For Glory pay-per-view spectacular... the Liacouras Center. Nick talks about why this sort of leaves a bad impression on him while Vaughn tries to make sense of it since, you know, AEW is a brand-new company and selling out large arenas probably isn't as easy as it seems.

Then the guys close out the show by previewing SummerSlam and NXT TakeOver: Toronto.

You can subscribe to The Straight Shooters on the following platforms: Apple Podcasts (please rate and review us!), Stitcher, Google Play, Spreaker, Spotify, iHeartRadio, TuneIn Radio, SoundCloud, Player FM and wherever else you get your podcasts!

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Vaughn Johnson (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) live commentate one of the best wrestling matches in SummerSlam history as Bret "The Hitman" Hart defends the WWF Championship against his brother, Owen Hart, in a Steel Cage Match at SummerSlam 1994 in Chicago. Earlier in the year at WrestleMania X, Owen pinned Bret in the middle of the ring, so this was Owen's second chance to not only beat his brother again, but become WWF Champion.

We live commentate the interviews leading up to the match as it was a family affair at ringside as the British Bulldog returned to the WWF as a spectator with Jim Neidhart not lurking far behind.

We also take a look at one of the worst thrown together segments in WWE TV history this past week on SmackDown where someone tried to kill Roman Reigns? Maybe?

You can subscribe to The Straight Shooters on the following platforms: Apple Podcasts (please rate and review us!), Stitcher, Google Play, Spreaker, Spotify, iHeartRadio, TuneIn Radio, SoundCloud, Player FM and wherever else you get your podcasts!

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Vaughn Johnson (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) discuss the bubble that hardcore wrestling fans often find themselves in. After RAW Reunion, is it possible that reaching to the casual audience is actually more important than reaching to the hardcore base? Has the hardcore base already turned on WWE completely? We talk about a phenomenon known as "The Wrestling Bubble" and whether it's good to pop that bubble sometimes to get a view of the bigger picture.

Before that discussion, we touch on AEW officially announcing, via press release, that they'll debut on TNT on Wednesday, October 2. Should be a big week of pro wrestling news, as SmackDown is set to move to FOX on Friday, October 4. We'll talk about expectations for AEW and how much, if any, other programming that runs against it will affect its first night numbers.

You can subscribe to The Straight Shooters on the following platforms: Apple Podcasts (please rate and review us!), Stitcher, Google Play, Spreaker, Spotify, iHeartRadio, TuneIn Radio, SoundCloud, Player FM and wherever else you get your podcasts!

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Twitter: @ShootersRadio

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Vaughn Johnson (@VaughnMJohnson) and Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) discuss the things both SmackDown Executive Director Eric Bischoff and RAW Executive Director Paul Heyman can do to make their brands better. What can they do to stand out?

The guys discuss in detail SmackDown's move to FOX especially, and what Bischoff can do with his program, given the freedom [hopefully], to make it what FOX visualizes it is.

Vaughn was at Jim Ross' and Conrad Thompson's live show this past weekend in Philly before Extreme Rules. He talks about the show and has some poignant thoughts on Jim Ross. The guys also discuss their thoughts on WWE's Extreme Rules pay-per-view, AEW's Fight For The Fallen show, and also EVOLVE 131.

You can subscribe to The Straight Shooters on the following platforms: Apple Podcasts (please rate and review us!), Stitcher, Google Play, Spreaker, Spotify, iHeartRadio, TuneIn Radio, SoundCloud, Player FM and wherever else you get your podcasts!

Exclusive Patreon content: patreon.com/shootersradio

Twitter: @ShootersRadio

Facebook: The Straight Shooters

E-mail: [email protected]

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