It's somehow been 6 years since AEW opened its doors, which means its time to chronicle the company's dramatic rise in book form. And there's no better man to do it than Keith Elliot Greenberg, author of This Book Is All Elite: The Inside Story of All Elite Wrestling. It's full of photos and stories that document how Tony Khan and a handful of truly elite wrestlers formed the first viable alternative to WWE in decades. Join us as we chat with Keith about this unique opportunity and debate what the future might hold for All Elite Wrestling.

I don't think anyone expected Braun Strowman to go from "pro wrestling goliath" to "food show host," but here we are! Strowman's new USA show, Everything on the Menu With Braun Strowman, has been a surprise hit for the beefy former WWE star and may end up being a solid second career. But is it any good? And are the tie-ins with wrestling even remotely organic? Join us as we follow Braun around Washington, DC, as he attempts to eat the whole dang menu.

It's true; my boy Terry has passed away. Hulk Hogan was pro wrestling's first megastar and arguably its most controversial; he couldn't give up the spotlight and loved to lie, the quintessential carny until the day he died. We've talked about him for hours and hours on this show, and we're gonna do it one more time. Join us as we discuss the life and legacy of the Hulkster.

Just when you thought WWE was finally finished glorifying its Ruthless Aggression Era, now there's a season 2! We previously covered all things Ruthless Aggression when the first season of the docuseries debuted more than 2 years ago, and with big topics like John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and Evolution already addressed, us viewers are left with scraps. Are "Hollywood Rock," the return of Shawn Michaels, and the creation of the Elimination Chamber enough to justify additional episodes? How much more meat is left on the proverbial Ruthless Aggression bone?

Tony Schiavone's comic book has arrived! Butts in Seats is the story of the voice of WCW and AEW as he travels from pro wrestling fame to obscurity and back again. Does Tony's story work in the graphic novel format? Can he recapture the magic after telling many of these same tales on What Happened When with Conrad Thompson? Join us as we crack open the life and times of Tony Schiavone.

For years, the feud between "Hangman" Adam Page and Kenny Omega (featuring The Young Bucks) has captivated wrestling fans and helped AEW become a legit first-tier wrestling company. To commemorate the feud's finale at Full Gear 2021, a YouTube channel called Outside Interference documented every major twist and turn in a series called "The Good, the Bad, and the Elite." And surprisingly, it's pretty good! Did this series reignite our faith in YouTube wrestling content? And now that Page/Omega is complete, how did their rivalry shape All Elite Wrestling?

What's it like to try out for AEW? Indie wrestler Leroy Patterson knows all about it; the Freakshow Wrestling alum had a match on AEW Dark in December 2021 and recently came by the Awesome Truth studios to chat about this unique opportunity. What was it like to take on the Dark Order? How does it feel to pop Tony Khan during your debut? Join us for some unparalleled insights into the All Elite Wrestling backstage experience.

We're kicking off 2022 by revisiting one of the greatest matches in WrestleMania history: Kurt Angle versus Shawn Michaels. The terrific WWE Untold series covered this beloved showdown a few years ago, so we watched both the doc and the match to see if it's worthy of such legendary status. Spoiler: it really is. Join us as we break down the backstory behind this classic Mania battle.

Well, it's the holidays! And to celebrate, we are revisiting the final episode of Paul Wight's The Big Show Show on Netflix, entitled "The Big Christmas." Did Big Show's sitcom end up on the naughty or the nice list? Is Show a true TV leading man? We've invited friend of the show (and Big Show expert) Matt Reis back on to determine if this Christmas special belongs in the pantheon of holiday classics.

The most anticipated wrestling book of 2021 is here! Our apologies to Drew McIntyre and the Young Bucks, but the tale of Jon Moxley is the one fans have been waiting to hear. From the Cincinnati indies to wrestling as Dean Ambrose in the Shield and finally finding peace in his career at AEW, this autobiography provides a truly unique look into what makes the deathmatch-loving wildman tick. And of course, there are enough Vince McMahon and Triple H anecdotes to satisfy even the hungriest dirtsheet fans. Join us as we talk all things MOX.

A few months ago, Awesome Truth asked the eternal question, "Should you watch Heels on Starz?" Well, we did, and now we're back to talk all about season 1. What did we ultimately think about Stephen Amell as Jack Spade, Alexander Ludwig as Ace Spade, and the Duffy Wrestling League? Did we enjoy Chris Bauer's turn as the Ric Flair/Randy Savage mashup Wild Bill Hancock? And how does the final episode's "shocking" twist involving Crystal set things up for season 2 and beyond?

If there's ever been a WWE wrestler who deserves a graphic novel, it's the Undertaker. His complicated, undead backstory feels tailor-made for the comic book treatment. Unfortunately, Undertaker: Rise of the Deadman does not quite capture what made Mark Calaway so special. Why exactly does the Undertaker graphic novel stink so badly? Join us and find out!

When it comes to professional wrestling in popular culture, there are two eras: before and after The Wrestler. The 2008 film from director Darren Aronofsky changed the way wrestlers were perceived by the public. It used to be "out of sight, out of mind," but now everyone knows the toll pro wrestling takes on people's bodies, minds, and lives. In fact, we don't think there would be Dark Side of the Ring, The Iron Claw, or all these nostalgia podcasts without it. Join us as we discuss Mickey Rourke's performance, the movie's legacy, and which pro wrestler likely inspired Randy the Ram.

It's the story Dark Side of the Ring was destined to tell: the Plane Ride from Hell. From Jim Ross to Rob Van Dam and (gulp) Tommy Dreamer, the Vice series has gathered a cavalcade of 2000s wrestling executives and talent to discuss this infamous flight. Did they do the story justice? What do we think about the post-ep uproar that engulfed Dreamer and Ric Flair? Join us as we dissect the retelling of one of WWE's most salacious tales.

For the first time ever, you are listening to a live, in-person recording of Awesome Truth! To celebrate this momentous occasion, we decided to answer the question on everyone's lips: "Should I watch Heels on Starz?" The Stephen Amell show recently premiered on the premium network; is it worth hunting down a subscription? Does this Friday Night Lights-style wrestling drama have anything new to say?

Before The Ringer and The Masked Man Show, before becoming a WWE talking head, David Shoemaker was writing "Dead Wrestler of the Week" for Deadspin and telling tales of the many pro wrestlers who'd lost their lives. This week on Awesome Truth, we're revisiting those days and discussing The Squared Circle: Life, Death, and Professional Wrestling, the 2013 classic that covers pro wrestling's finest dead men (Undertaker not included).

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin's podcast-turned-TV show is streaming on Peacock and features top guests like AEW's Chris Jericho, Kevin Nash, and the Undertaker, but is it any good? Austin was one of the pioneers of wrestling podcasting, but is his interview style better suited to an audio format? Join us as we dissect Steve Austin's Broken Skull Sessions and ponder the future of wrestling nostalgia.

A&E, long the home of hit show Storage Wars, has dipped their toe into the world of wrestling memorabilia with the weirdly titled WWE's Most Wanted Treasures. But instead of collectors going wild over Undertaker's urn and Ric Flair's robe, it's Triple H and Stephanie McMahon trying to collect lost items for the WWE archives. Is this type of wrestling-themed reality TV too little too late, or is it a hidden treasure of its own?

Brian Pillman's story is so influential and consequential that it took Dark Side of the Ring two episodes to tell it fully. Well, we're topping them and making it three! Years after we read Crazy Like a Fox and talked to author Liam O'Rourke, we're discussing the recently aired two-part Pillman saga and reflecting on how magnetic it still is to watch the Loose Cannon perform.

He was arguably the second-biggest star of the 1980s, and then it all came apart in spectacular fashion. The rise and fall of the Ultimate Warrior is a wrestling story for the ages, which is why it's not surprising that Vice's Dark Side of the Ring and A&E's Biography both recently covered it in detail. But is either documentary any good? Do we still need to be telling the Warrior's tale in 2021, or have wrestling fans digested it in full already? Join us as we dissect the life and times of the late Jim Hellwig.

In roughly a dozen years, Drew McIntyre has gone from Scottish upstart to "The Chosen One" to 3MB to the indies to the WWE Championship. He's had a wild ride for a wrestler in his 30s, one very worthy of an autobiography despite being a superstar still in his prime. Join us as we discuss A Chosen Destiny: My Story, Drew's inspiring redemption tale that unflinchingly dissects the highs and lows of a modern pro wrestling career.

WWE 24 is back with another installment, and it's AWESOME.

Awesome Truth finally talks about one-half of its namesake as we dive deep on all things Mike "The Miz" Mizanin. We discuss his origins in reality TV, his struggles to break into wrestling (specifically, the WWE locker room), and his most memorable moments since becoming a main roster mainstay. We're looking to talk smack and ask the tough questions, like "Is Miz a top-10 wrestler of the last decade?" "What are his greatest career successes?" and "Why does his dad look so goofy?"

With Goldberg heading toward his retirement match with Gunther, we thought it was time to revisit the moment he probably should've retired: His 2019 match with the Undertaker at Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia. Is it as bad as everyone says? Is it worse? And what was the ceiling for old man Goldberg versus broken-down Taker anyway? Join us as we grit our teeth and watch along.

If you were a teenage wrestling fan in the early '90s, you had to love Shawn Michaels and Diesel. Both men went onto bigger and better things, including D-Generation X and the nWo, but for a brief second there, nothing was cooler than HBK and Big Daddy Cool.

So when your hosts -- who grew up with the New Generation -- heard about WWE Untold: Two Dudes with Attitudes, we cleared Awesome Truth's schedule accordingly. Join us as we discuss that fleeting but everlasting moment when the Heartbreak Kid and Kevin Nash held every belt in the World Wrestling Federation.

Awesome Truth is back to the written word, but we're having a hard time labeling this episode's entry as a book. On March 16, 2021, ECW Press published a unique piece of wrestling literature, all about Stone Cold Steve Austin's life and career. Michael McAvennie's Austin 3:16: 316 Facts and Stories about Stone Cold Steve Austin is exactly what it sounds like. But can it keep our interest for hundreds of pages? Are there actually 300-plus stone cold facts about Steve Austin? Join us as we use this "book" to talk about the career of one of our favorite wrestlers ever. And that's the bottom line.

…What?

4 years. 100 episodes. 5 top wrestling books. Awesome Truth reaches a major podcasting milestone: 100 episodes! After years of reading books and recording pods, join us as we look back at them all and craft our definitive list of the top 5. We also give our hot takes on some of our least favorite entries into the book club.

Want to know more about the books we picked? Go back into the Awesome Truth archives of 100+ episodes to get a full breakdown of each one!

Yes, you read that right: in the year 2021, NBC is airing a sitcom about the childhood of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. And it's not just all about Rock; we get a little Andre the Giant, The Iron Sheik, and "Macho Man" Randy Savage to boot. But why is our favorite pro wrestler-turned-movie star dipping his toe into the dying medium of network TV? And is the show any good? To talk all things Rock, we've welcomed back our friend Holc to dissect this recap of how Dwayne went from boy to man.

We're back to the WWE Network for probably the last time (hello, Peacock) but luckily it's for a rare good cause. It's our second Big E episode in so many weeks, and this time we're talking about his installment of WWE 24. How did Ettore Ewen go from a self-professed introvert to the voice of the New Day and perhaps the most iconic Black WWE superstar? Join us we examine Big E's past, present, and future.

You may know Ettore Ewen as WWE's Big E, but if everything goes right, you'll also know him as the brains behind an animation empire. In tandem with his friends Jonathan Davenport and Andreas Hale, they've got a Kickstarter going called Our Heroes Rock, a potential 3D animated series that explores the heroes of Black history. The trio joins us today on Awesome Truth to discuss the project and Ettore's burgeoning legacy as one of the most prominent Black superstars in pro wrestling.

Alright hosers, it's time for another episode of the Awesome Truth Book Club That Totally Reeks of Awesomeness! For the benefit of those who enjoy reading, we're covering all things Edge pre-2005, as written in his autobiography, Adam Copeland on Edge. Adam chronicles his humble upbringing, his death-defying road trips while wrestling in Canada's independent wrestling scene, and his big break in WWF, including the historic TLC matches. So hold on tight as your hosts put the rocketstrapper to this totally bodacious book!

For anyone who grew up on '90s wrestling, Yokozuna was larger than life. He was the man who sat on Hulk Hogan, the foe of Bret Hart and the Undertaker, the behemoth who Lex Luger somehow slammed on the USS Intrepid. And now, on the first episode of WWE Icons, we finally get to hear his story. What made Yoko burn too bright too fast and become — literally — too big for wrestling? And is this new WWE Network doc series worth a watch?

Take a trip on the greatest wrestling nostalgia tour we've ever had on Awesome Truth! With Hardcore Gaming 101 Presents: Wrestling with Pixels as our guide, we discuss the features and nuances behind the most iconic wrestling video games of all time. From WrestleMania: The Arcade Game to Fire Pro Wrestling World, we discuss games from every era and console and decide once and for all which ones deserve to be called the best wrestling games ever made.

For the last few weeks, the internet has been abuzz with talk of Ron Killings. Did WWE release R-Truth? Did they just decide not to renew his contract? How could Truth, a low-key legend and beloved locker room presence, get the axe? We may never know exactly how it all went down, but we at Awesome Truth knew the best way to honor our half-namesake was to watch him turn on the charm. That's why we're discussing our first-ever Table for 3 episode, featuring Truth, Carmella, and Dana Brooke. It's the perfect example of Truth turning garbage into gold and justifying his existence on the roster.

Do we need another detailed history of WWE? That's the question we couldn't stop asking while reading Bill Hanstock's otherwise entertaining We Promised You a Great Main Event, and it's what we're talking about today on Awesome Truth. Who is this book for? Is there really a chunk of the fan base that wants to read about wrestling's recent past yet doesn't already know it like the back of their hand?

2021 is already shaping up to be Kenny Omega's greatest year in professional wrestling. So what better way to ring in the new year than to watch the Kenny Omega documentary? From Kenny's humble beginnings in wrestling to his decision to turn down a WWE contract and his incredible rise in Japan, Awesome Truth is here to dissect his journey thus far, from Kota Ibushi and the Golden Lovers to his top-dog status in AEW.

For a year and change, Bill Goldberg was the biggest name in wrestling. His unbeaten streak and championship win over Hulk Hogan captivated fans and gave WCW an aura of invincibility that felt endless...until it ended. In this episode of WWE Network's Untold series, Goldberg and frenemies like Kevin Nash and DDP dissect the phenomenon that was the streak, and we dissect the ins and outs of the angle that fueled and then signaled the end of WCW.

You've heard our interview with Matt and Nick Jackson; now it's time to go in-depth on their smash-hit book, Young Bucks: Killing the Business from Backyards to the Big Leagues. Would the Bucks have made it big in WWE? What do we think of their performance thus far in AEW? And are they the most important indie act of the last few decades? We break down all things Bucks as we review perhaps the year's best wrestling book.

It's a Superkick Party on Awesome Truth; the Young Bucks are here! Tag team champions of the world Matt and Nick Jackson join us to discuss their new book Killing the Business from Backyards to the Big Leagues and explain how they went from indie darlings to AEW executive vice presidents to best-selling authors — and how they documented that remarkable journey.

Vice's Dark Side of the Ring has become a surprise sensation, the network's highest-rated show and a much-needed alternative to WWE's stranglehold on the history of pro wrestling. To share how this engrossing docuseries came to be, we welcome Evan Husney, the show's co-creator and executive producer, as he discusses his favorite episode(s) and what it was like to tell the stories of wrestlers like Owen Hart and Chris Benoit.

Welcome to 30 Days of the Deadman, whatever that means. Though The Last Ride came out mere months ago, it's been 30 years since The Undertaker's debut at Survivor Series 1990, which means the WWE Network is once again awash in Mark Calaway content. Fortunately, this one is a good one: wrestlers remembering the first time they met The Phenom. Join us as we analyze what The Rock, Batista, Edge, and (sigh) Baron Corbin had to say about their initial Taker interactions.

It's a little weird to say, but this Chris Jericho autobiography from 2011 might be the best Vince McMahon book ever written. The shockingly honest Y2J dissects his Raw is Jericho debut, his uncomfortable first few years in WWE, and most importantly, his day-to-day interactions with the oft-manipulative Mr. McMahon. Plus, there are Fozzy and Hollywood stories! Nine years later, it holds up as one of the most insightful and intriguing wrestling books ever written.

Many wrestling fans think David Arquette winning the WCW championship killed the business, and the man himself doesn't agree. That's why the Hollywood actor decided to return to pro wrestling the right way, a journey documented in the 2020 documentary You Cannot Kill David Arquette. But is this really a doc? And who wants or needs a stylized, overproduced chronicling of the David Arquette story?

Ken Shamrock is a UFC Hall of Famer and a star from the early days of WWE's Attitude Era; he's also one of the few wrestlers to fall out with Vince McMahon so thoroughly that he's never, ever returned to the company. We sit down with Jonathan Snowden, acclaimed author of a new Shamrock biography, to discuss Ken's thoughts on pro wrestling and to dissect what makes the World's Most Dangerous Man tick.

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.

The rise of AEW and the rebirth of indie wrestling have changed the game for WWE and beyond, and the first great chronicle of this new world order has emerged: Too Sweet: Inside the Indie Wrestling Revolution by Keith Elliot Greenberg. We welcome Keith back to the show yet again to discuss the Young Bucks, Kevin Steen, Pro Wrestling Tees, PWG, and everything else over the last two decades that's given indie wrestling new life.

We've booked our first star of the small screen! Ben Giroux, also known as Coach Fener on Netflix's The Big Show Show, joins us to discuss acting alongside The Big Show himself, Paul Wight. Sadly, their show was canceled right after we recorded this interview, but that doesn't mean we can't all enjoy his stories of going toe to toe with Show on set for four glorious episodes.

Just because Netflix canceled The Big Show Show moments before we recorded this episode doesn't mean we abandoned our plans to talk Paul Wight's sitcom debut! It's not every day that a WWE superstar gets a starring role on TV, and surprisingly enough, Big Show proves up to the task. To talk about Show's fake family, I needed my family; my brother Chris and friend of the show Matt both stop by to break down Big Show's performing chops, Roman Reigns' handshake, and pro wrestler acting prowess on the big and little screens.