The only thing better than watching wrestling and complaining about wrestling is reading about wrestling. That's why we have Awesome Truth, the internet's finest pro wrestling book club. On every episode, your hosts will discuss a classic wrestling book, movie, or documentary. WWE, AEW, even WCW, and ECW; they've got it all covered.
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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. H…
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Goldberg's Best Match Ever?! It's the Halloween Havoc Watch-Along
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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…
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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…
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Mankind vs HBK in Philly: The Mind Games Watch-Along
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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 …
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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 w…
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Bret vs Taker w/ HBK in Pinstripes: The SummerSlam 97 Watch-Along
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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 er…
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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 …
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The Night WCW Ruined Hogan/Sting: An nWo Botch-Along
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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 …
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ESPN Reporter Marc Raimondi Discusses His New nWo Book
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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 ho…
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When Women Stole the Show at WrestleMania: The Becky Lynch Watch-Along
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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…
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Becky Lynch: The Man: Not Your Average Average Girl
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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 Wrestl…
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Bret and Perfect Put on a Wrestling Clinic: The King of the Ring Watch-Along
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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'…
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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 W…
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WCW Ring Announcer David Penzer on His New Book and a Life in Wrestling
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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 a…
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Cena and Lesnar Bleed a Lot: The April Watch-Along
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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 …
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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…
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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-reali…
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Cody's Torn Pec Makes History: The Road to WrestleMania 40 Watch-Along
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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 Cod…
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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…
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Twice in a Lifetime: The Rock/Cena II Watch-Along
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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 …
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Ospreay: The Rise of an International Pro Wrestler
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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 sig…
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Brock Lesnar Takes On Everyone: The 2020 Royal Rumble Watch-Along
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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 retu…
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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…
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Austin, Rock, HHH, and Undertaker in a Cell: The Holiday Watch-Along
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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 exces…
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The Legendary Al Snow on Netflix's Wrestlers, OVW, and His Top ECW Moment
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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.…
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