Hidden Highlights 05.25.09: Issue #195

Posted by JP Prag on 05.25.2009

Santino Marella has a little trouble shaving in a short amount of time, Zack Ryder learned something from everyone’s teach Matt Striiker, Jonathan Coachman still remembers who his boss is, Kofi Kingston does not let a free leg get away, Mick Foley redecorates the office, JR makes a references to John Morrison’s archetype, and more!

Hidden Highlights
By JP Prag

Issue #195

Commentator: Previously, on Hidden Highlights…

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Commentator: A joke that no one in this article was even aware of surfaced in full force.

RVD: I guess some other wrestler had to take over to be the joke for people who can't write their own material.

Miss One Meeting…. Missed the joke about Roma. But I'm sure it was just as original as the one about RVD.

Let's hope it lasts just as long too. I get bored reading entertaining original stuff on the internet.

Commentator: Despite this, there was actual discussion of wrestlers of that era.

Guest#7032: The thing about Bobby Eaton doing the JOB is that he always made the other guy look great.

Say what you will but the Midnight Express was one of the best and the constant in ring talent was Eaton.

Stenographer: It does help when you lose for 112 weeks in a row!

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Commentator: And now, 411mania.com proudly presents…





JP: Hello everyone who needs a holiday after the holiday, 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!


iMPACT – Retro 1 Week

JP: How come I'm always more exhausted after these so-called "long weekends" than a regular weekend? Oh right, trying to fit a weeks worth of events into 1 day. Could my different circles of friends start talking to each other so they don't all schedule things on the same day? Ah well, at least I get to use the negative time I don't have to watch 8 hours of wrestling and then spend a few more writing about it. But when I do, you really pay attention!

Jeremy from Palmdale: Last week, one of your Hidden Highlights was Don West wondering who was impersonating Daniels as Suicide. There is actually more to this which you did not mention. Back in 2000, when Edge and Christian were doing double duty as themselves and Los Conquistadores, there were several times when Edge and Christian would "hire" people to replace them to attempt to fool the Hardy Boyz as well as the fans. One of the guys that would don the gold masks was Christopher Daniels. So at one point in his career, Daniels was doing what Don West accused whoever was wearing the Suicide mask of doing for Daniels.

JP: How may bloody masked characters has Daniels played? There has to be some type of record for this. Maybe it will be the same number of write-ins Jeremy has this week?!


SmackDown – Retro 1 Week

JP: Sticking a little in the past, we move ahead just one day.

Guest#2567: During the Jimmy Wang Yang match, JR mentioned that Yang had on a brand new white shirt. The last time we saw Yang on SmackDown he was in a match against Umaga—who ripped Yang's shirt while pulling him up to deliver the SAMOAN SPIKE!

JP: What a random reference by JR! Maybe one of the agents told Umaga to rip off Yang's shirt because he'd been wearing it so long that it was starting to stink?


RAW

JP: Moving ahead to RAW this week we have… Jeremy?! Boy, that was quick!

Jeremy from Palmdale: I noticed when Hornswaggle came in the ring to help Goldust, his normally light blonde hair had areas of a more gold coloring in it, like he is starting to adapt the qualities of Goldust.

JP: What I don't get is the use of Hornswaggle with veterans. Goldust does not need Hornswaggle to get over, nor did Finlay. Both Finlay and Goldust are seemingly around to help the younger guys get more crisp in the ring. Yet now it looks like Goldust is going to have Hornswaggle on his side instead of one of the younger guys who could use something ridiculous to help them get over.


RAW

JP: We'll continue to move in RAW to a man who needs no one to have the crowd love him.

icon zeke: I realize it's not hidden, but Santino's TP to cover the razor cuts was a classic highlight. The hidden part is that of course he cut himself. After all, scruffy Santino wrestled Chavo, and to be smooth and FAST for Santina's match against Vickie.

JP: There was actually a lot more to this one that I wrote down as well. Don't let anyone tell you this is not a Hidden Highlight, because it was not just the TP on his face. If you noticed, several of the small pieces actually had blots of blood on them! It was barely noticeable, but an excellent detail.

Better than all that was the fact that NO ONE acknowledged that the TP was on her face! Vickie, Chavo, the announcers—nobody even mentioned that it was there. Some announcers will blatantly point out jokes making them far less funny. But just the fact that no one saw fit to say anything about it makes the joke that much better. Subtle humor is my forte.



RAW

JP: Of course, that was not the only thing Santio did.

Zeke Campbell: When Santino was out for his match with Chavo, he had a full unibrow. When Santina came out for "her" match with Vickie, the unibrow was gone. That must be the only difference between the two.

JP: Well, this has been basically covered before, but I'll let it slide in one last time so we never have to mention it again. That said, the difference between them is a pair of breasts!


RAW

JP: With the Hidden Highlight that got me distracted from actually writing this article, here's Jeremy!

Jeremy from Palmdale: During his promo on Cena, The Miz mentioned that Cena hangs with girls who look funny, while he (Miz) is in LA with a playboy bunny. Miz is actually dating a playboy bunny. Who? The woman who he was seen talking too earlier in the night, WWE Divas champion Maryse.

JP: Ok, there is no way to substantiate if those two are dating or not. Eight months ago the rumors were that she and John Morrison were going out. I'll leave these rumors served better up to a real expert, so please read the Small-for-All News Report tomorrow morning (assuming Jeff isn't taking another week off… slacker).

The real reason I got distracted was checking out those photos of Maryse. You know what? There are few women who look better without clothes, but she is one of them! Even if those photos are airbrushed (which of course they have at least some), there is only so much you can do just with a natural shape and form. Far be it from me to just tell you to go look at naked pictures of girls, for this is a classy article a—

Ghost of JT: Remember in Issue #2 when I posted all those half naked pictures?!

JP: Yeah… it took about 30 more issues to rebuild our credibility. Thanks again!


ECW

JP: Over in the land of extreme, Jeremy found something less sexy to talk about. Woo woo woo!

Jeremy from Palmdale: Zack Ryder finished off his opponent with a modified overdrive, in which he placed his knee on the back of Adam Green's neck and fell backwards driving Green's neck onto his knee. Matt Striker remarked after the three count that he wondered where Ryder learned that move. The reason for that is, when he was wrestling, that was Matt Striker's finisher. He called it the Golden Rule.

JP: You know, I was really wondering about that comment that Striker made. It really caught my attention and I was racking my brain trying to figure out what the story was. Thanks for the clarification on that one!


ESPNews

JP: The big news story of last week (that was covered quite well in The Hamilton Ave Journal on Thursday) was the debacle between the Denver Nuggets, the WWE, and the Pepsi Center. This led to WWE Chairman Vince McMahon making a plethora of interviews, including this one…

Sbrezeke: When Vince McMahon was on ESPNews about the whole double-booked debacle with the Denver Nuggets, The Coach referred to him as "Sir" throughout the whole interview. Don't know if it was force of habit, or an inside joke for wrestling fans, but it made me laugh.

JP: Knowing Jonathan Coachman, I'd have to say it was an inside joke for wrestling fans. The IWC never likes to give the Coach credit, but he was quite good at his job, especially after he turned heel. I always enjoyed the Coach's little digs and great references, much the same as I do Josh Matthews or Matt Striker.


SuperStars

JP: Leaving the land of extreme, we move to the land of inexplicable match results as Kofi Kingston (not in any real program) took on William Regal (who apparently is going in to a US Title feud with MVP). At the end of the match, Kingston was able to hit "trouble in paradise" out of nowhere and rolled up Regal for the pin. At first, Kofi only hooked the far leg. But just before the two count, Kofi realized that Regal's near leg was lose and close enough to the ropes that if Regal moved he would be out of the pin cover. So it a very smart move, Kofi actually cradled the near leg as well, even though the count was well under way! Mr. Regal himself would have been quite proud if he wasn't unconscious.


iMPACT

JP: Besides all those WWE shows, TNA has their one show a week. Out back, Kurt Angle managed to finally track down Sting to confront him on why he worked his way into the championship match as Sacrifice. Sting then asked Angle if he even watched iMPACT, to which Angle reaffirmed that he did so. Did you happen to catch, though, how often Angle says he re-watches the show? Very quickly and almost under his breath, Angle chimed in that he sometimes watched it two or three times, "depending on how often I'm in it". That was classic egocentric Angle and it gave me a good chuckle. Nice little line to throw in there.


iMPACT

JP: Also out back, Mick Foley had again commandeering Jeff Jarrett's office, but looked to have been doing a little redecorating. Jeff Jarrett's picture that Foley had taken down last week to have the glass repaired was still sitting on the floor. In it's place, though, was another picture of Foley! Foley also rearranged the pictures on the wall so that more pictures of him would be in the general camera shots while guys he likes to use in his match setups also were around him. Then, over on the guitar stand was his baseball bat covered in barbed wire.

We used to spend a lot of time in this article watching the background of Jim Cornette's office to see what was new. We'll have to do the same in the Executive Shareholder's office because it looks like someone is spending a lot of time thinking about the details in the backdrop.


iMPACT

JP: Later in the evening, Matt Morgan got his chance to impress the Main Event Mafia by taking on Kurt Angle in the ring—and he did not waste the opportunity. During the match, Morgan had Angle in a simple chin lock, someone who is much more of a pessimist would call a "rest hold". Well, Morgan decided to not let that move be so simple or restful, but actually spent the time the move was applied moving Angle's hands behind his (Morgan's) knees. It was a really smart move because Angle is a master of moves and reversals and by taking away his hands Morgan could actually control Angle for a while.


SmackDown

JP: Coming up to SmackDown, there was one match that stood out for a variety of reasons. John Morrison and Cryme Tyme teamed up to take of Shelton Benjamin, Charlie Haas, and Ricky Ortiz. And until this match, I had no idea Ortiz was supposed to be a heel!

grant: Just picked up on a great Hidden Highlight from J.R on this weeks SmackDown during the "Shamen of Sexy" John Morrison's entrance prior to the 6 man tag team fun, JR mentioned Morrison looking to get his 'mojo rising'. "Mojo Rising" is, of course, a well known anagram for none other than Jim Morrison who John's character is based on. Looks like JR has been studying at the palace of wisdom this week.

Michael Tomas: Jim Ross noted that John Morrison needed to get his mojo risin' to defeat Benjamin, this is a reference to The Doors' song "LA Woman".

JP: JR must be taking tips from Matt Striker because it is usually Striker doing the musical references about Morrison!


SmackDown

JP: After the intro, there was an actual match to get to.

Jeremy from Palmdale: JTG tagged in Morrison, Morrison decided to go for the break dancing leg drop that he used to use, but before he did, he stepped over Ortiz and placed himself between Ortiz and his partners, obviously to prevent Ortiz from bailing to a friendly corner to avoid the legdrop

JP: I think we can fairly say that Morrison knows quite a bit about tag team wrestling.


SmackDown

JP: And finishing us off this week is the end of that aforementioned match.

Trevor Alexander: After the Six Man Tag, big Shad appeared behind John Morrison who got the pin. John froze and semi-hesitated before giving Shad the congratulatory hug. This makes sense since Cryme Tyme and the Miz and Morrison were in a bitter feud before the split. It was nice to see John still a little guarded around Cryme Tyme.

JP: What I thought was funny was that JR said during the match he thought the team of Cryme Tyme and Morrison would have more continuity than their opponents. I would say quite the opposite, given their history!


Well everyone, that wraps up this week's show. Thank you for reading the 195th 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 [e-mail] 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!