Awesome Truth: A Wrestling Book Club

The hardcore legend Sabu passed away on May 11, 2025; in his honor, we're watching what's probably his most famous match, the 1997 barbed wire showdown with Terry Funk at ECW's Born to Be Wired event. It's a grotesque bloody mess that also perfectly illustrates what made Sabu special and why teenage Walt and Steve thought he was one of the coolest wrestlers in the world.

WrestleMania III, the Pontiac Silverdome, Hogan versus Andre. It's where everything changed, at least according to the new book by friend of the show Keith Elliot Greenberg. Keith's been on before talking about the book's genesis; now we've read it and we're breaking down his latest opus. Join us as we discuss Bigger! Better! Badder!, aka the story of pro wrestling in the mid-1980s.

Who asked for a feature-length documentary on WrestleMania 9? Nobody, of course, which makes it even more wild that this thing is somehow fun. WrestleMania IX: Becoming a Spectacle gives us exclusive backstage footage of Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Undertaker, and a ton of other wrestlers at the first-ever Vegas Mania. It also, unfortunately, features a ton of Hulk Hogan's world-famous "exaggerations" about the day he magically regained the WWF title. Join us as we dissect this doc on the first time Vince (and Terry) screwed Bret.

WrestleMania 41 dropped the ball with Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena — flat, forgettable, and included heavy involvement from Travis Scott. So to wash the bad taste out of our mouths, Awesome Truth decided to revisit a more memorable main event match from WrestleMania XL between Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes! Does last year's epic showdown stand the test of time? 

We've been begging for WWE documentaries to focus on more than just the same old wrestling stories, and they finally listened ... for better or worse. Superfan: The Story of Vladimir follows Vladimir Abouzeide, a lifelong New York wrestling enthusiast whose fandom was upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. But is it a story of celebration, or are they exploiting Vlad for content? Is WWE even equipped to tell these types of wrestling-adjacent stories? Join us as we ask these questions and more.

It's 2025 and we're still talking about WrestleMania III. It was one of the biggest nights in wrestling history: Hogan versus Andre, Savage versus Steamboat, Butch Reed versus Koko B. Ware ... OK, not every match was a banger. But what exactly made that show in Pontiac, Michigan so special? And why did it so thoroughly reshape the industry? Friend of the show Keith Elliot Greenberg joins us to discuss his new book, BIGGER! BETTER! BADDER!: WRESTLEMANIA III and the Year It All Changed, in stores now.

Remember the first time John Cena faced Cody Rhodes? That's right, WrestleMania 41 won't be the debut match between these two legends; for that, we have to go back to April 6, 2015, when Cena kicked off his US Open Challenge with a match against Stardust. And to start down the road to WrestleMania properly, we're watching along! Join us as we discuss what's been accurately described as "a pretty good Raw match."

It's our 200th episode! To celebrate this milestone, we are turning to a musical gem from deep in wrestling history: "WrestleMania: The Album." That's right, the 1993 album where Bret Hart, Macho Man Randy Savage, The Undertaker, and many more sing! Actually, it's more like talk-singing or spoken word. And they don't sing their theme songs; just odd, unexpected tunes about their gimmicks or occasionally love. It's a work of art! Listen along on YouTube and enjoy this very special episode.

Awesome Truth is once again going to the movies, aka the Shudder app, this time to watch the new hit Dark Match! It's a wrestling slasher film starring Chris Jericho as a psychotic cult leader and aspiring world champion. It's kinda bad! But kinda intriguing, and it does show a genuine love for the ins and outs of pro wrestling. Join us as we do battle with the forces of cinematic evil.

It's the 30th anniversary of one of the quickest, oddest Royal Rumbles in history, and we're watching along! It's the night Shawn Michaels became a main event star, and the first pay-per-view Walt ever watched. Join us as we rewatch the 1995 Rumble, when Bulldog and HBK went the distance and also Jacob and Eli Blu were there.

As Triple H, The Rock, Michael Cole, and 500 other people keep telling us, the Raw on Netflix era has begun. But how do we feel, two episodes in? Is it any different than what we've been seeing on cable TV for decades? And what do we think about "Final Boss" Rock suddenly reverting back to Netflix-loving Dwayne Johnson? Join us as we discuss the first two episodes of streaming Raw, including how great it felt to see Hulk Hogan get booed to death on WWE programming.

Welcome to 2025! To kickstart the year, we are rewatching a match we both saw in person: Kenny Omega versus Chris Jericho at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in the Tokyo Dome. It's one of the reasons AEW exists and a reminder that Jericho was on top of the world a mere 7 years ago. Join us as we revisit our magical journey to Japan and this top-tier showdown.

Happy holidays from Awesome Truth! To celebrate, we turned to what seemed like a December treat: WWE's Ring in the Holiday special on Peacock. Instead, we got a steaming lump of coal, a collection of Mick Foley interstitials and unmemorable matches thrown together during the dying days of DVD. Pumped for Randy Orton versus David Otunga with a vague Christmas theme? How about a Xanta Klaus squash match? Join us as we discuss 120 minutes of true holiday torture.

It's watch-along time! As a rare treat, we're watching the main event of the most recent WWE pay-per-view: the 2024 Survivor Series. It's the OG Bloodline (Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn, the Usos, and ... CM Punk) versus the New Bloodline (Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, and ... Bronson Reed). Is it the blowoff to a months-long feud or the start of a whole new chapter? Does it ruin the match to shoehorn in Punk and Reed, or does it surprisingly work like a charm? Watch along with us and find out!

We're wrapping up Macho Month by watching along with a famous cinematic match: Bonesaw McGraw versus Spider-Man. That's right; we're watching the scene from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man where Macho Man Randy Savage takes on Tobey Maguire in, for some reason, a steel cage. It's a short scene, but is it the best wrestler acting performance of all time? Join us and find out.

Macho Month is here! For no reason in particular, we are devoting November to the extracurricular post-wrestling career of "Macho Man" Randy Savage, one of the all-time greats. Of course, that means starting with "Be a Man," his 2003 hip hop album in which he calls out Hulk Hogan, pays tribute to Mr. Perfect, and generally is very bad at rapping. How does Macho's debut album hold up? Join us as we go (kinda) track by track and break down Randy's rap career.

For this year's Halloween watch-along, we've found the spooookiest wrestling moment possible: a good Goldberg match! That's right; when Goldberg faced Diamond Dallas Page at Halloween Havoc 1998, people stopped and said, "Pretty good!" Were they unwell from the horrid Hogan/Warrior showdown that preceded it? Is it possible for Bill Goldberg to have an actual quality match, especially against DDP? Watch along with us and find out!

By now, you've probably started or even finished the new Netflix docuseries, Mr. McMahon. It claims to be a no-holds-barred look at the disgraced billionaire Vince McMahon, aimed at a broader streaming audience instead of wrestling freaks like us. But does it live up to the hype? Are there Vince stories in here that we haven't heard before, or just the same old sh*t from Hulk Hogan, Bruce Prichard, and Vince himself? Join us as we discuss the first 2 episodes and whether we're stick around for the final 4.

It's a match that Awesome Truth has discussed over and over: Shawn Michaels versus Mankind at In Your House: Mind Games, a show attended by none other than Steve Cimino. And we're finally watching along! Does this showdown live up to its reputation as one of the best '90s WWF matches? And what do we think of Michaels' post-WrestleMania 12 babyface title run? Join us as we discuss all this and more.

The spirit of the WWE Network lives on with WWE 24, a documentary series that's covered such luminaries as The Miz, Big E, Edge, and now Damian Priest. Does Priest deserve the full doc treatment? Has he truly become a main eventer and top-tier talent in WWE? And what is his future now that he's left Judgment Day and set out on his own? Join us as we discuss the Archer of Infamy for the very first time.

August 1997 was a quaint period in wrestling history: Before the Montreal Screwjob, before D-Generation X and Hell in a Cell and the Attitude Era, there was a tame little title match at SummerSlam 1997 that would redefine everything. It's Bret Hart versus the Undertaker with Shawn Michaels as guest referee, and it leads directly into a brand new era for WWE. It also partially inspired the recent Drew McIntyre/CM Punk match with Seth Rollins as ref, continuining the trend of Punk paying "homage" to the much better stuff that came before him. Join us as we rewatch this classic showdown.

Finally, WWE's long-awaited YouTube documentary about WrestleMania XL is live for the world to see. Is it weird to release a Mania documentary in July? You bet. Is it because The Rock had approval and took his sweet time to give a thumbs up? We'll never know. Fortunately, the story of Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, and the aformentioned Dwayne Johnson remains a fascinating one. Join us, one final time, as we revisit the backstage ins and outs of a truly historic WrestleMania,

Now that we've talked with Marc Raimondi about his upcoming nWo book, it's time to revisit the night that whole angle fell apart: Hollywood Hogan versus Sting at Starrcade 97. It should've been a nice clean Stinger win, capping off an epic chase of the cowardly Hogan, but instead it was a boring slog with a messy ending and a Bret Hart run-in that no one wanted or needed. It was the beginning of the end, though nobody knew it yet; it's time to rewatch one of the biggest letdowns in wrestling history.

New new new world order! Those 5 words (ok, 3) changed wrestling forever, and maybe pop culture as well? That's the thesis of the upcoming book Say Hello To The Bad Guys, written by ESPN reporter Marc Raimondi and chronicling the rise, fall, and wide-ranging impact of the nWo. Marc joins us on Awesome Truth to discuss the book's origin story and how it'll differ from the many, many other WCW obituaries published throughout the years.

We've talked about Becky Lynch's new book, now we're revisiting one of her classic matches. It's Becky versus Sasha Banks versus Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 32, by far the best match on that card and also maybe the first time women were truly taken seriously in a WWE ring. Does watching this triple threat help answer last episode's big question: "Is Becky Lynch good in the ring?" Join us and find out!

The written word is back on Awesome Truth! This week, we're talking about the hottest wrestling book of 2024: Becky Lynch: The Man: Not Your Average Average Girl, by the one and only Becky Lynch. How did Becky go from a young Irish upstart to maybe the most popular female wrestler of all time? What was it like to wrestle in the main event at WrestleMania? "The Man" answers all these questions and more, and we're chatting all about it.

The King (and Queen) of the Ring is sometimes a thing in WWE and sometimes not, but once upon a time it was new and different and actually mattered. To revisit those glory days of 1993, we are watching one of wrestling's most quietly celebrated matches: Bret Hart versus Mr. Perfect. It's a mere quarter-final match in that year's tournament, but it's no surprise that Bret and Curt Hennig, two of the best to ever do it, made their 18 minutes count.

Bray Wyatt was a truly unique wrestling character, and Windham Rotunda was a unique man. The deep complexities of his personality and creativity are examined in the latest feature-length WWE documentary on Peacock, Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal. Almost a year after his death, what is Bray's wrestling legacy? And what happens next with the rumored Wyatt 6 stable, seemingly designed to honor and build on his legacy? We break it all down on today's Awesome Truth.

For years, David Penzer was one of the voices of WCW, the man with a microphone in the center of the ring for every episode of Monday Nitro and Thunder. Now, in his new book Sitting Ringside Volume 1, Penzer shares his stories of WCW, the Monday Night Wars, and more. And we're getting a sneak preview on Awesome Truth! Join us as we talk to Penzer about how he got started in the business, why he wrote a book, and the best ribs he ever saw played.

April is usually the quietest month on the wrestling calendar, but not on Awesome Truth! Instead of digging through the archives to find the 'best' ho-hum Backlash match, we're watching a legendary showdown from Extreme Rules 2012: John Cena versus the returning Brock Lesnar. It's the rare semi-recent Lesnar match that doesn't feel like one of his fast-paced MMA-style bouts; instead, these two beefy boys beat the heck out of each other for nearly 18 minutes. Join us as we revisit a classic.

Awesome Truth's Road to WrestleMania finally stops here; we're departing from our usual format to recap the 2-night spectacular, especially the showdown between Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes. Did it live it up to the hype? Was it too much Rock or (surprisingly) too little? And what's next for Triple H and WWE now that the Bloodline story is at least on pause? Join us as we discuss WrestleMania 40 in detail.

The last stop on Awesome Truth's Road to WrestleMania is all about the Tribal Chief himself, Roman Reigns. His episode of WWE Evil examines the life of the real Joe Anoa'i, including the recent bout with leukemia that led to time away from wrestling and his eventual return as sports entertainment's biggest heel. But is this half-kayfabe, half-reality docuseries the best way to tell Roman's story? And is WrestleMania 40 going to be the apex of Roman's career and ultimately the end of his incredible run on top? Join us as we discuss The Big Dog.

Our next stop on the road to WrestleMania 40 is yet another look at the rise of Cody Rhodes, namely his showdown with Seth Rollins at Hell in a Cell 2022. You may know this as "the one with Cody's fully torn pectoral muscle," but it's also a match that Walt and Steve have never seen. Does it live up to the 5-star hype? Is it an integral part of Cody's still-forming WWE legacy? Join us and find out.

Cody Rhodes is about to main event two WrestleManias in a row, and his return to WWE from AEW has been about the biggest success story one could imagine. So it's no surprise that, in summer 2023, they released a documentary about his life in and around pro wrestling. But how does that doc hold up in the midst of this build to a Roman Reigns rematch and the likely involvement of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson? Join us as we dissect American Nightmare: Becoming Cody Rhodes as we continue down the road to WrestleMania 40.

As Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson threatens a return to the ring and a leap into the WrestleMania main event picture, we felt we owed it to our fans to revisit the last time he had a true wrestling match. That's right, we're watching along with John Cena versus The Rock at WrestleMania 29, a show we actually attended in person. How did Rock look in the squared circle 11 years ago? And what do we think he'll look like now, at age 51? Join us as we talk over this finisher-heavy Mania showdown.

As Will Ospreay prepares to make his full-time debut with AEW, we thought it was time to revisit his ascent through the ranks of wrestling via the 2020 documentary Ospreay: The Rise of an International Pro Wrestler. Is it a good, well-made doc? Not necessarily, but it does spark some great conversation about the hotly desired Ospreay and if his signing could be the spark that AEW desperately needs.

If it's January, then it's time for a Rumble watch-along. Awesome Truth is revisiting a recent classic and maybe the best of all time: the 2020 Royal Rumble. It's one of the best-booked matches in Rumble history, from Brock Lesnar's attempt to take on all 30 entrants by himself to Drew McIntyre's coming-out party. And don't forget the exciting return of Edge! And the less exciting return of MVP. Join us as we journey back to that magical year of 2020.

Despite being incredibly depressing, A24's The Iron Claw is one of the winter's biggest movies, and you better believe the Awesome Truth boys bought themselves two tickets during Christmas break. The tale of the Von Erichs has been told before but there's something special about seeing wrestling depicted on the big screen, especially when the movie has legit Oscar buzz. Join us as we discuss Zac Efron, Zac Efron's muscles, Jeremy Allen White, Holt McCallany, a horrific Ric Flair impersonation, and all the other elements that made up Sean Durkin's well-done pro wrestling tragedy.

Happy holidays! To celebrate the season, and the end of 2023, we're watching one of the Attitude Era's defining matches: the 6-man Hell in a Cell featuring Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Undertaker, Kurt Angle, HHH, and Rikishi. It's the infamous match with the "big" bump onto a flatbed truck, and it's indicative of a lot of the bloat and excess that made the era both famous and infamous. But is it any good? Join us and find out.

What does everybody want?! That's right; Al Snow (minus Head) is on Awesome Truth. The living legend and 'star' of Wrestlers joins us to talk about his Netflix-fueled return to the wrestling spotlight, what it's like to book Ohio Valley Wrestling, and how it felt to perform in front of thousands of screaming ECW fanatics during his in-ring heyday.

It's our November Watch-along! Awesome Turth celebrates WWE's favorite November gimmick matches by revisiting one of our favorite Survivor Series matches from recent history! 2014's Survivor Series main event has it all: The Authority, a Big Show heel turn, the Bludgies, and Dolph Ziggler putting on a wrestling clinic to the delight of everyone (but probably not Vince McMahon). Plus, it has one of WWE's biggest superstar debuts of all time! 

You may remember Ohio Valley Wrestling from countless mentions in other wrestling documentaries; it's the company where Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Batista, and Randy Orton cut their teeth. Now, however, it's gone from WWE minor league to barely surviving regional Kentucky promotion, and it's up to Al Snow and a sports talk radio host to save the day. That's the conceit of Netflix's Wrestlers anyway, a new docuseries that follows the misfits of OVW and lead booker Snow as they pursue their dream of a pro wrestling career. We've watched countless docs and TV shows for Awesome Truth; is this one worth your time? Join us for a surprising answer.

We really had no choice for our October watch-along: It's the spookiest match of all time, Hulk Hogan versus The Giant in a monster truck showdown at Halloween Havoc 1995, followed by an impromptu battle featuring the bearhugging debut of The Yeti. This is the apex of the "Hogan versus the Dungeon of Doom" era, one most wrestling fans would like to forget but perfect for amateur wrestling historians to revisit. Join us as we watch along with this two-part match that probably should've buried WCW for good.

Pro wrestling has returned to the silver screen, or at least the streaming screen. Cassandro, the new biopic of a beloved exótico played by Gael García Bernal, is now on Amazon Prime Video, and we're talking all about it. Does the film provide a deeper understanding of lucha libre and the luchador lifestyle? How does an acclaimed actor like Bernal look in the ring? And does the appearance of WWE's own Bad Bunny add anything to the experience? Join us as we once again do our wrestling-centric Siskel and Ebert impressions.

It's our September watch-along! On the heels of the recent third installment of AEW's annual Grand Slam event, we went back to the first-ever Slam to watch what many considered the modern dream match: Kenny Omega vs. Bryan Danielson. Relive this instant classic with your favorite pod as we break down the match, talk about AEW as a promotion, and rate Kenny's HHH-inspired facial hair.

Kurt Angle's Olympic medal wasn't a gimmick; in 1996, he won the gold in Atlanta and became the best amateur wrestler in the world, a journey that's covered in detail in Peacock's new documentary, Angle. Peacock is taking a broader approach with their recent wrestling-centric docs, focusing on more than just the squared circle, and Angle is no exception. Join us as we discuss Kurt Angle's incredible wrestling career, amateur and professional, and debate where he ranks among the greatest pro wrestlers of all time.

Against all odds, Heels is back on Starz for a second season. But just because the pro wrestling drama has returned doesn't mean we're watching; should we all stick around for another helping of the Duffy Wrestling League? Join us as we discuss the Stephen Amell-led series and try to figure out if Ace and Jack Spade deserve another 8 hours of our time.

SummerSlam 2023 may be over and done, but it's still August so there's still time for a watch-along! Join us as we revisit a 5-star classic from 1992: it's the "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith versus Bret "The Hitman" Hart in front of nearly 80,000 fans at Wembley Stadium in London. It's the Intercontinental Championship being defended in a '90s WWF main event, a bizarro world Vince McMahon decision that paid off like gangbusters. Is the match as good as everyone remembers? Join us and find out.

It's rerun time on Awesome Truth! Steve had a baby and Walt is being worked to the bone, so let's revisit an old episode that made everyone smile: an in-depth discussion of The Marine 6: Close Quarters. Yes, just a few years ago, The Miz, Shawn Michaels, and Becky Lynch all starred in the final (we hope) chapter in a Marine saga that once featured mega star John Cena. Special guest Andrew Johnson joins us to break down the ups and downs of this WWE-centric action movie.

For this month's watch-along, we're revisiting one of the best main events in In Your House history: The Hart Foundation versus Stone Cold Steve Austin and friends. That's right; it's Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Davey Boy Smith, Jim Neidhart, and Brian Pillman against Austin, Ken Shamrock, Goldust, and the Legion of Doom. It should've been a 10-man snoozer, but the hottest Calgary crowd in history turned Team Canada into babyfaces and sparked a memorable classic. Join us as we discuss one of the last matches before the Attitude Era overtook WWE.

Against all odds, the A&E network keeps churning out high-level WWE documentary programming, including this excellent episode of Biography: WWE Legends on "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes. With Cody's return and subsequent rise to the top of WWE, it's the perfect moment to rexamine how the Rhodes clan has risen, fallen, and risen again over decades in professional wrestling. From the NWA and WCW to NXT, Cody, and Dustin, this doc is worthy of the Dream and his legacy.