Hidden Highlights 04.13.09: Issue #189
Posted by JP Prag on 04.13.2009
Santino Marella makes special art at the WrestleMania Fan Access, The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels repeat a bit of their performance from 12 years ago, CM Punk eyes John Cena with evil intentions, John Morrison calms the referee down, Velvet Sky likes to finish what she is working on, Cody Rhodes wins an awards for an abdominal stretch, and more!
Hidden Highlights
By JP Prag
Issue #189
Commentator: Previously, on Hidden Highlights…
Commentator: Sometimes, you talk a bit too soon.
icon zeke: ...and in a delicious bit of irony, Scott Steiner breaks character on Impact with JJ. Who knew had a promo like that in him. His "shoot" WCW rants were just screaming, stuttering, and mispronouncing. His "shoot" promo on Impact was light-years ahead and even set up the finish to his match. Steiner's "breaking character" was great promo work leading to a decent match culminating with finish that connected to the promo.
That show was his best work in years.
DD: I don't know if the HBK and Taker hats Hidden Highlight is really a Hidden Highlight. Shawn is a lefty so he certainly didn't think about which hand he put on top of the hat or on the bottom, he just did what came naturally to him. I'm left handed too and that's how I'd take off a hat like that.
JP: Well to each their own! Personally, I believe he was quite conscious of it which makes it a much better Hidden Highlight!
Commentator: And now, 411mania.com proudly presents…
JP: Hello everyone who is going to be a vegetarian (or at least a carbotarian) for the next week, and welcome back to Hidden Highlights! If you've never been here before, let me tell you what we are doing in these pages.
Hidden Highlights are about the little things that make the product great. They are about showing the positive motions all those involved in wrestling do to make a better show. The Miz may hold his opponents hands down to make a pin attempt better. Charles Robinson may let a little tear shed from his eye every time someone mentions Ric Flair. Mike Tenay may tell you about the 17 year history of a visiting wrestler and make them sound huge in one sentence. These are all examples of little things that make the product far better.
Every week this article spotlights up to the Top 15 Hidden Highlights of the week, whether the be from television (RAW, ECW of SciFi, iMPACT, SmackDown!, and a PPV or television special if there is one), the past, small shows, tapes, or the indy scene.
This article may have an author, but it is also dependent upon the readers and true fans of professional wrestling—those who love what they watch and want to tell the world what they have found. The Top 15 are chosen from what I see and what readers write-in. Whatever is the best is what you'll see!
And who am I? Well, I am JP Prag, and I bring you Hidden Highlights with one goal in mind: to appreciate all those little things that make a huge difference.
Now let's get on with the Hidden Highlights!
Classic Hidden Highlight
JP: In a week filled with WrestleMania, the fallout on RAW, ECW and SmackDown getting a new general manager, and TNA setting a new ratings record, we start out with absolutely nothing to do with any of them!
Michael: I've been watching a batch of old ROH DVD's that I got, and I found one that is appropriate, considering the events of the past weekend.
At Vendetta II, Jerry Lynn and Nigel McGuinness faced off in a non-title match, and from the get-go the two were going out of their way to play mindgames with each other. At one point, Lynn is on the outside doing jumping jacks, trying to show that "He's still got it." Nigel sits on the ropes to hold them open and let Lynn back in the ring, as a show of mock-respect. The Hidden Highlight here is that Lynn accepts the offer, but makes certain to hold on to the second rope himself as he is straddling the second rope to get in, so that if Nigel were to get up, Lynn wouldn't get the rope in the groin. This showed Lynn as a savvy veteran who knows all the tricks.
JP: There is honor hitting a man in the groin! HDNet has ruined you, ROH!!!
WWE WrestleMania 25 Fan Access LIVE
JP: Ok, let's move on to the main event already. WrestleMania 25 was this weekend and I (along with Jeff Small and a couple of other guys whose names have no meaning to you) were about the over 72,000 people there live. Among the weekend's festivities was the WWE Fan Access, an event where you got to call a match (but you needed a VIP pass to do it with Matt Striker), pose in a toy box (unless you are as tall as Small and your head sticks out of the top), buy merchandise (unless they were sold out of the ONE ITEM you wanted), go inside the Hell in a Cell (which also contained Hornswaggle's house under the ring), and plethora of other things.
Among those other things was an area showcasing superstar art. If you know anything about Jerry Lawler, you know he loves to paint Christmas scenes. Walking around I learned that Tony Atlas can draw but has a very unhealthy obsession with an overdeveloped male form. Or maybe that is healthy for him, who am I to judge? Jeff Hardy had typical modern cubist art that had no real meaning (exactly what I would expect from him), but the real winner of the show was none other than Santino Marella!
Now all of these guys—whether you liked their styles or not—put out serious pieces of art that they worked on. And what did Santino Marella do? He made collages of Beth Phoenix using magazine cut outs, construction paper, and yarn! I about hit the floor dying of laughter. That man is always playing the character, even for a throw away art piece in the corner of the Fan Access, something a very limited number of people would ever see. I wish the picture I took came out better to show you, but you'll have to take my word on how awesome it was!
WWE WrestleMania 25
JP: With the Fan Access and Hall of Fame done, the only event left of the weekend was WrestleMania 25 itself. And that included the 25 Diva Battle Royal!
Chris Roberts: Santino's Hidden Highlight prowess even rubs off on his sister! After he/she won the match to be crowned Miss Wrestlemania, Santino made sure to drop his hands and hold the skirt down while jumping up and down so people wouldn't get a good look at the front of the upskirt and notice some not-so-feminine features.
Santino really is very smart when it comes to pro wrestling and playing characters well, even if he's not the best wrestler around. His mannerisms and one-liners to Beth Phoenix on RAW the next night were great, but him making sure to hold his skirt down while jumping for joy following his WM25 victory really caught my eye as a Hidden Highlight.
Ghost of JT: Just admit that you were watching Santina's skirt to see if would go flying up!
Jeff Small: You know I was!
WWE WrestleMania 25
JP: Well for those looking less at Santina, there was also an extreme rules match between the former brothers Hardy.
Rachel Pritchard: At Mania, during the Hardy vs. Hardy match, what I believe (though my memory could be failing me here) was Jeff's only attempt to pin Matt was broken up not by a kick out, but by a foot on the ropes.
This Hidden Highlight has been the better part of a decade in the making. Way, way back at Vengeance 2001 Matt and Jeff had a one-on-one match with Lita as the referee, which ended with Jeff pinning Matt with Matt's foot on the ropes, but Lita failing to notice. May not have been intentional, but it was very nice to have this little reminder of that here, and it also goes to show that not just anyone can referee a match well.
JP: An interesting thought process here, one I'm willing to entertain (especially for you). I just like that we are referencing back to earlier Hardy fights. I have seen these guys fight quite a few times, so I'm glad to bring back a few of those memories.
WWE WrestleMania 25 LIVE
JP: As mentioned above, I was live at the show (for the third year in a row). One of the standout moments for me at the show that you definitely did not see at home was during the Undertaker's entrance for his excellent match with Shawn Michaels.
When the arena went dark, there was one light source from every single person in my visual range. Everyone you could see had taken out their digital camera's and the backlights from them gave an amazing effect in the same line as lighters used to at rock concerts. It really hit me how much the world of technology has changed since the Undertaker began his streak, and this moment just had an appearance that could not be beat.
WWE WrestleMania 25
JP: Of course, the match itself had to contain at least one thing, right?
Fixxer315: While not necessarily hidden, there was a nice callback in the HBK/Undertaker match.
IMO, the spot where UT wiped out the cameraman was a nice homage to the HBK/UT Hell in the Cell match from 1997, where a cameraman was also wiped out, leading to the cell-door being opened (to take care of the cameraman), and the killer spots that lead from the two wrestlers outside (and on top) of the cage.
JP: And I respect your opinion enough to agree that it could very well have been an homage. Now what does it say that they wiped out Sim Snuka?
WWE WrestleMania 25
JP: With the unenviable task of following up that match, John Cena, Edge, and the Big Show fought in a triple threat for the World Heavyweight Championship.
Jimmy Garoufalis: After John Cena FU'ed Edge onto the Big Show, Edge bounced to the ropes. As the referee was about to start the count, Edge realized that he was in the camera shot, so he rolled himself to the mat. This gave John Cena his Wrestlemania moment and the WWE their money shot.
JP: Although I may have chosen more tactful words, Edge is a smart guy who knows when it is time for others to be in the spotlight. He's always aware of his surroundings, and this was another example.
RAW
JP: Cena took his championship and had a tag team match on RAW featuring many of the all stars (including the surprise of night in Ricky Steamboat who performed amazingly at WrestleMania). But one member of his team may have been up to no good.
Mike Boynes: As Cena entered the ring for the big tag match on RAW, Punk stared at the belt all the time, never taking his eyes off it. Good to see that even though they were partners, Punk is now focused on the belt.
neverAcquiesce: After the match's conclusion a briefcase-clutching CM Punk glared at World Heavyweight Champion John Cena. He was clearly measuring him up, deciding if Cena was ripe for the picking. Apparently he wasn't, but it's an awesome continuity moment and something I'd love to see him do up until he finally cashes in.
JP: I hope you also noticed that Punk was always separate from the rest of the team. He was always slightly off to the side of the back, looking like he was contemplating if it was time to cash it in!
RAW
JP: That match filled with so many guys had a couple of more Hidden Highlights!
The DaGreene: Big show had Punk in the heel corner and told everyone to "shhhhhh" so they could hear how loud his chop to Punk's chest was going to be. The Hidden Highlight came from Edge. Edge was not only impressed with the sound of The Big Show's chop to Punk, but also with the height of Punks spit as he watched the lugie fly.
JP: While gross, totally appropriate!
RAW
JP: There was even more from Edge and Big Show, though…
neverAcquiesce: Not only would Big Show and Edge not tag each other, they wouldn't even stand on the same side of the apron together. Furthermore, Show didn't enter the ring to save Edge late in the match until Cena, the man who beat him the night prior, was the one inflicting punishment.
JP: Actually, there was one point late into the match where Edge did tag the Big Show. He was holding CM Punk and made the tag. As he did so, The Big Show came in and just glared at Edge before making a threatening step towards him. Edge quickly bailed from the ring, but it was still a great moment.
RAW
JP: You know, I really don't think we've talked about Santino Marella enough this issue.
Chris Roberts: Santina's theme music when leaving after beating Beth Phoenix is shared by another male group that seemed to have some feminine features about them in Billy & Chuck.
JP: When I heard the music hit I really had to jog my memory to figure out who it belonged to before I realized it was Billy and Chuck's. The subtext was not lost on me and I had a good chuckle at that one.
RAW
JP: Finishing up RAW, Vince McMahon decided to get in the ring with the Legend Punter in the Head Randy Orton.
Adman Piggott: Just writing to point out part of last night's (6th April) RAW. During the Vince/Orton match, when Orton staggered over towards the announce table, you could see Cole mouthing "what are you doing?" I thought that was a nice change from the usual get-up-and-move-out-of-the-way-quietly they usually do.
JP: Vintage! Oh wait, no, that was new and interesting. My bad!
ECW
JP: Over in the land of the extreme, the men who SHOULD be the Unified Tag Team Champions Miz and John Morrison teamed up with Tyson Kidd to take on The Colons and Evan Bourne. During the match, Miz was in the ring with Borune and was laying in the closed fist hits. The ref eventually pull Miz off and yelled at him to stop doing that. In a moment that was very easy to miss, John Morrison yelled back to the ref, "You got it, man!" This was one of those moments where Morrison had stayed involved in the action and decided to help his hot headed partner out while still staying in character. A nice moment there by the Shaman of Sexy.
iMPACT
JP: Morrison was not the only one talking back to referees. On iMPACT, The Beautiful People had jumped Raisha Saed in the back (who covered her face with a towel, very nice). Once the Beautiful People got a chunk of Saed's hair, the refs pulled the girls off of her and said, "That's enough!"
And what did Velvet Sky respond with? "I'm not done yet!" It was a classic and timely response, one that is deserving of kudos.
SmackDown
JP: The week wrapped up on SmackDown where the team of Legacy/Priceless in Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase took on the Unified Tag Team Champions Carlito and Primo Colon. Late into the match, Cody Rhodes put Primo in an abdominal stretch. When he did so, though, Rhodes actually took his wrist bone, shoved in to Primo's side, and then wiggled it around to dish out the extra damage. That's right: Cody Rhodes has won the prestigious William Regal Award!
Well everyone, that wraps up this week's show. Thank you for reading the 189th ISSUE of Hidden Highlights!
Do you have a Hidden Highlight from this or any week in history that you would like to share? Please e-mail this article at lookforme@mikefine.com with your thoughts! Send them by Saturday afternoon to be considered! And remember, they can be from any show, live or taped, or any house show, or anything you saw. The best of the best will be featured among the top 15 next week.
In the meantime, be sure to catch my very own Thursday morning news report The Hamilton Ave Journal: the only wrestling news report focused on the business of wrestling.
And don't forget to bookmark 411mania.com and perhaps even make it your home page. You can do that by clicking here!
Until then, you have just experienced the most positive article in all of the IWC: Hidden Highlights!
Cody Rhodes also had another one on Smackdown. When he was making the pin and he hooked the leg and the arm nearest the rope to make sure that Carlito could not make the ropes.
Then you Had Ricky Steamboat on raw at the end of the match rolling on the outside of the ring to make sure that the pin was legal since only one man of each team can be in the ring at once.
Posted By: Kyle (Guest) on April 12, 2009 at 11:19 PM
w00t!!1! 2nd post, yes
Posted By: seth rogan (Guest) on April 12, 2009 at 11:52 PM
my memory could be wrong here, and i haven't watched the match since it aired, but after 'takers brutal fall, i had thought that the ref actually counted to ten when 'taker fell back on his ass. and of course, i had thought that the ref counted 9 twice.
my buddy said that he didn't think so.
did anyone else think that they saw this, or was it just me??
Posted By: Csonkamaniac III (Guest) on April 12, 2009 at 11:54 PM
if i reember right, i think i was a tna shirt behind cole and the king
Posted By: promote synergy, like a boss! (Guest) on April 13, 2009 at 12:00 AM
"my memory could be wrong here, and i haven't watched the match since it aired, but after 'takers brutal fall, i had thought that the ref actually counted to ten when 'taker fell back on his ass. and of course, i had thought that the ref counted 9 twice.
my buddy said that he didn't think so.
did anyone else think that they saw this, or was it just me??"
No. I've watched it several times & I actually thought the same thing at first but no.
Posted By: Count of 9! Get back in!! (Guest) on April 13, 2009 at 12:26 AM
why have you changed "hidden highlights" to "obvious things a 4 year old could spot"?
Posted By: Guest#6852 (Guest) on April 13, 2009 at 06:57 AM
I hope Velvet Sky finishes with happy endings
Posted By: Peter North (Guest) on April 13, 2009 at 08:08 AM
"JP: And I respect your opinion enough to agree that it could very well have been an homage. Now what does it say that they wiped out Sim Snuka?"
Undertaker wiped out Jimmy Snuka to begin the streak.
Posted By: Hal Jordan (Guest) on April 13, 2009 at 10:40 AM
I could've swore that Santina's theme was also Rico's theme,and Tiffany now has Torrie Wilson's.
YAY FOR RECYCLED THEMES!
Posted By: Str8edgeCOOP (Guest) on April 13, 2009 at 11:09 AM
Rey Mysertio had one at Wrestlemania with his Joker outfit, as he made his way down to the ring he was licking his lips which was a common thing The Joker did in The Dark Knight due to his scars, Rey made sure he was portraying his character right down to the littlest detail and giving kids Joker cards.
Posted By: Michael (Guest) on April 13, 2009 at 11:23 AM
Wait, so if Taker starts the streak by wiping out Jimmy Snuka, and then wiped out Sim Snuka this year, does this mean that his streak has come full circle and will now end?
Wrestlemania 2010, the year the streak dies, BOOK IT
Posted By: D-Day (Guest) on April 13, 2009 at 11:30 AM
This may or may not be a hidden highlight to most but it is to me in a way. First, Taker and HBK each had some neat entrances at mania. What caught my eye however was Taker's entrance as it reminded me of a former WWE superstar who used to come up from the stage as part of his entrance that being Gangrel. Also its a bit of a coincidence since Gangrel was at one time part of the Undertaker's Ministry. I thought it was kind of a nice subtle reference to one of one of his old minions. For those who do not know or remember this guy. Gangrel was not really that great of a wrestler but he had probably the single most coolest entrance in the history of the attitude era. Comming up from the stage in a ring of fire. It fit his vampire characture very well.
Posted By: King Of Kings (Guest) on April 13, 2009 at 12:01 PM
Kingofkings, now that's stretching it.
Posted By: christiansbale (Guest) on April 13, 2009 at 01:36 PM
"I could've swore that Santina's theme was also Rico's theme,and Tiffany now has Torrie Wilson's.
YAY FOR RECYCLED THEMES!"
its a little different than billy and chucks, it has less words in it
Posted By: fat kid stuck in the internet (Guest) on April 13, 2009 at 03:23 PM
i thought it was cleaver to have shawn michaels coming down from "heaven" in all white and the undertaker rising from "hell" in all black.
pure awesomeness.
Posted By: (guest) (Guest) on April 13, 2009 at 03:39 PM
One HH I noticed on Raw was when Randy Orton and Legacy were leaving their locker room, I think before the last commercial break, you could see in the background, a backstage area that was dark, with only a red light! I assume that was Kane's home for the evening...
I'm just sayin'
Posted By: Jimmy (Guest) on April 13, 2009 at 06:39 PM
HH from Smackdown last Fri. Gail Kim vs. Michelle McCool, Michelle is kicking hell out of Gail's stomach in the corner, and Gail moves like she's gonna get kicked one more time, only Michelle changes her attack. Anybody else catch that? Still a good match.
Posted By: guest (Guest) on April 13, 2009 at 08:32 PM
Another one for HBK/Taker.
After hitting the Last Ride, Taker went for the cover. As the ref counted, the cameraman on the outside moved around the ring to get a different shot. He was attempting to frame Taker and the giant WM 25 sign on the ramp, obviously looking for a money shot. However, HBK kicked out, and the cameraman went back to the shot he had previously.
There's so much hidden here; cameraman selling kayfabe being my favourite.
Posted By: Jimmy (Guest) on April 13, 2009 at 09:29 PM
HH on tonight's RAW I caught during the battle ryal (yes, I'mn that astute to look for this stuff during a match that useless):
1)The heels for each team (Mike Knox and Big Show on RAW, Mark Henry on ECW, and Edge on Smackdown) all followed behind the faces.
2)During his entrance, MVP was primping and preening. As well, when the bell rang, he folded his arms, shrugged, and flashed a cocky grin before zeroing in on someone. His character is the type that is laid-back and arrogant and won't start a match just cuz the bell rings.
As we've stated before, just because MVP is now a face doesn't mean he's any less conceited, which is continuity and attenion to gimmick detail that I like.
Posted By: lilwayne1 (Guest) on April 13, 2009 at 10:09 PM
On the draft edition of raw the production guys were on the ball again. If you look at the faces in the raw roster when they show the blinking blocks during the draft pick you can see that they've added a square for "Santina".
Posted By: faythe (Guest) on April 14, 2009 at 02:56 AM
Last night I got a Hidden Highlight from ESPN. Jonathan Coachman, now hosting NBA Fastbreak on ESPN, called back to his wrestling past referring to the logjam in the middle of the Western Conference playoff picture a Fatal Four-Way. It might be rather blatant, but likely lost on the majority of the show's target audience.
I'm not sure about if the "[insert player/coach here] is lovin' life" line he used a couple of times was referencing those nonsensical Michelle McCool videos that lead to nothing back in the day, but for the love of all that's holy and WrestleCrap, I certainly hope so.
Posted By: Galaxy Express (Guest) on April 14, 2009 at 02:33 PM
I got a hidden highlight. Just watched Rated RKO vs. Batista and Undertaker from 2007 (a Smackdown match). After the match, Cena and Michaels comes to the ring and hits Undertaker and Batista with their finishers and Michael Cole says: Cena and Michaels (something I couldn't hear) with Edge from what happened last night on Raw... Isn't Raw on Mondays and Smackdown on Fridays?? (I know it's taped on tuesdays) Small slip-up. VINTAGE Cole!
Posted By: Thomas Hoffmann DK (Guest) on April 15, 2009 at 04:10 PM
I am a hidden highlight
Posted By: Paul Roma (Guest) on April 16, 2009 at 02:31 PM
