Advertise on podcast: Awesome Truth: A Wrestling Book Club

Hot on the heels of reading Keith Elliot Greenberg's This Book Is All Elite, we're giving AEW an official Awesome Truth performance review. How has the company evolved from 2019 to today? How do the so-called Four Pillars hold up in 2026? Spoiler alert: Sammy Guevara is not quite pillar-y these days. Join us as we discuss the peaks and valleys of All Elite Wrestling.

Welcome to 2026! With Royal Rumble season right around the corner, we're watching a very famous Rumble singles match: The Rock versus Mankind for the WWE championship at the 1999 Royal Rumble. This is the infamous I Quit match that ends with a dozen chairshots right to Mick Foley's unprotected head; it's a tough one to revisit but also a reminder of how good Dwayne was at playing a total asshole heel. Join us as we cover our eyes and do our best to watch along.

Happy holidays from Awesome Truth! We are currently on Christmas vacation so please enjoy this classic episode from January 2024, an in-depth discussion of the very depressing feature film The Iron Claw.

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.

We all know November is Survivor Series month, so we're harkening back to when this event was truly about surviving: 1990, when the babyface and heel survivors of each match met in the main event. That meant Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, and Tito Santana (!) versus the all-star squad of Ted DiBiase, Rick Martel, The Warlord, Hercules, and Paul Roma. Sound like trouble for our all-star superheroes? You bet it wasn't. Join us for the squashiest main in Survivor Series history.

You knew we'd get to it eventually: It's time to review Dwayne Johnson's Oscar play, the 2025 film The Smashing Machine. How does Rock do as UFC original Mark Kerr? Is he finally showing off some dormant acting chops, or is he just playing another big fighter guy with slightly more emotion? And is this MMA movie actually an MMA movie at all?

As John Cena's very bumpy retirement tour nears its conclusion, WWE did the smartest thing since re-turning him babyface: They booked a match with AJ Styles. Cena vs AJ is quietly one of the best rivalries of the last 10 years, and it's exactly the kind of showdown Cena should be having as he sails off into the sunset. Join us as we rewatch this finisher-heavy instant classic (kinda) from Crown Jewel 2025.

We promised (or threatened) it and now it's here: Stephanie McMonth concludes with our first-ever Stephanie McMahon watch-along. It was tough to choose from all the exquisite Stephanie matches, but we finally found a hidden gem: Stephanie and Triple H versus Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 34. This is Ronda's debut, when hope was everywhere and a beautiful future seemed right around the corner. Did it all work out for everyone? Join us and find out.

With Stephanie McMahon announced as the next major inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame, there's no better time to sit back and review her ESPN+ show, Stephanie's Places. We totally planned this, you guys. Join us as we discuss Stephanie's latest foray as a WWE-adjacent personality and examine her first guest, Phil "CM Punk" Brooks.

With WrestlingPalooza right around the corner, it was time to revisit the most iconic showdown between Brock Lesnar and John Cena: SummerSlam 2014. Everyone expected your usual main event between two beefy legends, but instead we got a squash for the ages. Join us as we discuss this famous match and also speculate wildly about Cena's mediocre retirement tour.

Once Raw hit Netflix, you knew a documentary series couldn't be far behind. And now it's here: WWE Unreal, an intimate and up-close look at the inner workings of WWE. They'd have you believe it's unprecedented; we think there is tons of precedent, including dozens of backstage docs that previously aired on the WWE Network and Peacock. So is Unreal worth a watch, especially with the ho-hum year that WWE is having?

To "honor" the late Hulk Hogan, we decided to watch the most Hogan match in history: the Hulkster (and Randy Savage) versus 8 guys in a Doomsday Cage match at Uncensored 1996. That's right, to satisfy Hulk's massive ego, WCW put him up against Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Lex Luger, actor Tiny Lister, and professional beefy boy "Jeep" Swenson (amongst others) and ... he won. How did it all go down? Watch along with us and find out.

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.

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.