The Hidden Highlights 11.06.05: Issue #10
Posted by Prag-Thomlison on 11.06.2005
TNA Impact, WWE RAW, WWE RAW’s Taboo Tuesday, TNA Impact Primetime Special, and WWE SmackDown!... you have got to be kidding us! Plus the winner and runner-up of Rant Wars II spill all! All this plus ROH DVDs and Christian are inside!
Hidden Highlights
By JP Prag and James “JT” Thomlison
Issue #10
Intro
Hello people who didn’t have to find an alternative source for RAW this week, and welcome back to Hidden Highlights!!
Hidden Highlights is designed to look at the wrestling we watch each and every week and point out all of those understated things that go into making the shows great. This could be anything from a wrestler making a facial expression to an announcer talking about the history of a belt to the production guy timing fireworks just right. There are just so many unsung heroes of wrestling that it is impossible to cover them all. So every week we will take the top 3 Hidden Highlights from the top 3 wrestling shows on television (and maybe a PPV if there was one. And there was one! Just not where one normally is.).
Who are we? Well, I’m the One and Only JP, and you might recognize me better as the ultimate defender of the truth for In Defense Of…! My cohort in crime is the venerable and often underappreciated Byte This! recapper James “JT” Thomlison! Together we are the most positive duo to ever step foot in the IWC… if stepping foot into an imagery realm made up of a mass network of computers and people sitting in their mom’s basement were possible.
Still, we bring you Hidden Highlights with one goal in mind: to appreciate all those subtle bits that make a huge difference. JT?
JT: …
JP: Ummm… JT?
JT: [whimper]
JP: Are you… are you all right?
JT: … Chris… tian…
JP: Oh… well… I…
JT: CHRISTIAN!!!!!
JP: It’s ok, buddy! It’s gonna be all right. Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered!
JT: [sob]
Please, before engaging in the Hidden Highlights, and to make JT feel better, be sure to read:
JT’s ByteThis! Report featuring The Rowdy One, Roddy Piper! ...oh yeah, Mickie James calls in to.
Hidden Highlights for TNA Impact: Saturday, October 29, 2005 by JP
JP: One of the absolute most important things to me in any form of entertainment is continuity. One thing needs to lead to the next, and so on and so forth. This week’s episode of Impact has a lot of great wrestling, and I’d love to highlight every funny facial expression that Alex Shelly did or every move that AJ Styles pulled off. But I want to delve deeper, and that’s why TNA’s Hidden Highlights all have the same theme: finding meaning through the past.
(3) Sell the history, let the fans pick up the tab:
First up is Mr. Don West. That’s right, Don West. West has come a long way in three years, and he is generally excited and interested in the product he calls. The thing that many seem to miss about him is that he brings a fans perspective to the booth. He may not have a database built into his head like Mike Tenay, but he remembers things that are important to him, as any fan would. During the Christopher Daniels vs. Jerrelle Clarke match, Don West let us in to what he remembered. He said something to the effect of it must be tough for Christopher Daniels to have lost to AJ Styles in the Iron Man match at Bound for Glory, since it was the SECOND IRON MAN MATCH HE LOST TO AJ! And then he proposed that Daniels would have to prove himself again, and was probably taking a lot of that frustration out on Jerrelle.
I love this Hidden Highlight for so many reasons. First off, it brings up history. Second off, it makes it ok to lose. Yes, he lost a match, big deal! The guy is still one of the best. Third, it lets the fans decide what they want to think about this. He’s now lost the same match to AJ twice. What does that mean? He didn’t try to cover it up or make excuses for Daniels, he just said what had happened. Excellent work.
(2) Arriba la historia numero dos:
Meanwhile backstage, the 3 Live Kru were arguing with Larry Zbyszko that they wanted Team Canada, and then Kip James came in. Larry allowed the match, and Kip offered to be ref. BG James of course thought it would be a great way for Kip to prove himself to his other friends. Killings gave in as Kip had been doing a lot recently, and he didn’t have an argument to counter. But Konnan, he was riled up! He brought up every time that Kip is around, trouble follows. And then he started bringing up specific instances, including all the times he (Konnan) got hit with a guitar!
This is another great moment of bringing up history. What makes this one especially good is it brings up the history of who Kip has associated with, and brings up old storylines. Sure, Kip may not be a lackey of Jarrett’s now, but Konnan will not forget!
(1) Class:
But there is one bit of history that stood out over all the rest on Impact: the NWA Heavyweight Championship. Our main man Dave Sahadi produced another excellent video, this time putting over the history and meaning of the NWA Championship, dating back to George Hackenschimidt at the beginning of the 20th century (don’t worry, we’ll get to this in In Defense of… The World Heavyweight Championship [Issue #47] and For Your Reference [Eventually]). But this video did more to put over the championship and what TNA and the NWA means then any match, any angle, or any Mike Tenay talking about it. No, the championship should be the cornerstone of any wrestling organization, and TNA made their championship jump ten steps higher in prestige.
JT: Can I go wrong with saying “I completely agree. History is very important, and TNA has seemingly not forgotten that.”? No? Good. I completely agree. History is very important, and TNA has seemingly not forgotten that
Hidden Highlights for WWE RAW: Monday, October 31, 2005 by JP
JP: Ok, so my DVR thought RAW was 31 minutes and that Futurama was 930. That makes it REALLY difficult to record ANYTHING when your hard drive is 97% full. By the way, my cable company has not responded to my letter, so they have already lost me as a customer. Therefore any satellite, DVR, DSL, or combination thereof company looking for a good plug, hook me up with a sweet deal and we’ll see what we can work out.
What? Ah, right, Ashish probably wouldn’t go for that whole me selling my own advertising spots. Well, since I didn’t get to watch RAW, and I’m out of town for the weekend so I can’t even watch the Spanish version, there’s only one other option: pillage the inbox! This section is all Reader Write-ins! Thankfully, it’s JT’s week to do the real Reader Write-in section. Oh, I am so evil!
(3) Show some pride:
Nate Stephens: In the scene where Bischoff is yelling at Edge and Masters about the Smackdown roster running in and how they can't be apart of Taboo [Tuesday], he was wearing a red shirt with a black suit. Red and black—Raw colors!
JP: If anyone knows about wearing colors to put over a storyline, it’s Eric Bischoff. Does the nWo ring any bells?
(2) You can interrupt me, dats cool:
Bill: After Mick Foley did his little 3 people promo, Carlito was a little perturbed as you know. The man with the HH goes to the Coach! I shall paraphrase:
"[Carlito, don't worry about whoever your facing, it's no problem at all.] I’m sick of waiting. I want Stone Cold Steve Austin, and I want Stone Cold right now. I’m not leaving till you come out here. And that’s the bottom line cause Stone Cold Coachman said so."
A HH for a couple reasons. #1, it isn't putting Carlito's match off as inferior to his own, rather he tells Carlito not to even worry about it. #2, after he tells Carlito to brush off the hardcore legend, he then in effect says, "Now if you'll excuse me I have to go call out the greatest draw in the wrestling." I'm all for confident heels, and this is quite good to see Coach like this, because he knows about his "enforcers".
Hope you like the highlights, I'm skipping an English paper to do this!
JP: Coach and Carlito together pulling off a double Hidden Highlight?!?! I hate my cable company!!!! Bill, it was well worth you failing English. Me fail English? That’s unpossible! Allz I knows is I’m gettin’ straight A’s, and that ain’t be not bad!
(1) Was it all in the master plan?:
Mike LaFave: Another Hidden Highlight that may not even be intended. The IWC are shitting all over the E for [influencing] the votes. But [let’s] think about this from a kayfabe point of view. Who sets the matches for Raw? Eric Bischoff. How does Eric feel about Taboo [Tuesday] and letting the fans do part of his job? He's not too happy about it. So wouldn't it be logical to think that he was setting up matches to influence the vote in the direction he would have booked things? See when you think about it, it works like that, plus, wouldn't you rather see HBK in that match anyway. [With] Shawn in the match it should be a damn good triple threat match[;] [with] either of the other 2, probably pretty average. See just another of the many examples of the IWC bitching before they think!!!
JP: I hadn’t really thought of this one either, but it suddenly made the storylines and matches leading into Taboo Tuesday make much better. See, this is a topic I’ve been meaning to cover for a while, but sometimes the best Hidden Highlights are the ones you make up for yourself. Hidden Highlights isn’t just about pointing out the little bits to others, it’s about finding what you enjoy about wrestling and letting it permeate to the rest of your psyche. Pretty intense, huh?
JT: Now, normally, I would have scrapped this idea (that’s right readers, go ahead and hate me, but the RAW and SD portions are ours, and I would have covered for JP). Due to the fact this is a positive article, I'll leave it at:
“I'm more than okay with leaving RAW to people who actually managed to find something positive to say about it.”
Hidden Highlights for WWE RAW presents Taboo Tuesday: Tuesday, November 1, 2005 by JT
JT: I didn’t order it.
JP: What? I thought you said you get all WWE PPVs!?
JT: No… I had to work all night on Tuesday. What I said was I get every WWE PPV on Sundays.
JP: That’s two weeks in a row. What the fu… Why are you grinning?
JT: Gotcha!
JP: Oh very funny, Mr…. funny guy.
(3) Welcome to RAW, Joey Styles?:
A little into the opening match (Snitsky / Masters vs. Hardy / Rey), Rey bounced off the ropes, came back, and went for a jump-into-body scissors. One problem. He sort of hit a little off, forcing Masters to fall right on his ass. Masters immediately gets right back up, grabs Rey Rey, and slams his entire body face first into the mat. Now, from the surface this seems like a botch turned into a devastating move… which it is. But wait. As soon as Masters throws him down, Joey Styles says:
“Hey, simple counter. Throw your legs out from under you and Rey can’t take you down. Lower your center of gravity.”
What improvisational skills by Joey Styles, his FIRST night on the job no less. He recognized (as we all did) the botch, and within 3 seconds, had us covered.
I will be honest. His comment was so convincing, that until I watched it a 2nd time, he practically had me convinced the botch move was done on purpose.
(2) Man-ing up to your mistakes:
About halfway through his match, Batista goes to give Vader a spinebuster. But he doesn’t quite get him up enough, and is forced to drop him, which Vader sells. What does Dave do? Immediately looks off and screams “Fuck!”. Now, normally, pointing out a botch is completely forbidden in the world of sports entertainment. Wrestlers and announcers both will act as if it didn’t happen. Dave knew it was Pay Per View. Dave knew he fucked up. Dave called himself out. And, while I usually would never give credit to ANYTHING related to a botch, it was nice of Dave to make the split second decision to remind us, despite the fact he’s only lost .3 times in the last year, that he is human, and he, like everyone else, makes mistakes.
(1) Selling your character counts, even after 30 years:
NOTE: THE FOLLOWING HIDDEN HIGHLIGHT HAS A SERIOUS AMOUNT OF VULGAR LANGUAGE IN IT. ALL THOSE NOT WANTING TO SEE IT, JUST GO AHEAD AND SCROLL PAST THIS PART.
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In the Ric Flair / Triple H Steel Cage match, I heard the following (this is not reading someone’s mouth, this was what came out of Ric Flair’s mouth during the match, in full audio range):
- Gimme your best fucking shot.
- Shit.
- God shit. (yes… God shit)
- God… ah shit
- God… dammit
- Jesus Christ
- ahh fuck
- God damn
- No you mother fucker, I’ll kill you
- You son of a bitch
- Fuck you
- ahh you mother fucker
- Fuck you (with middle finger)
- Fuck you (with middle finger)
- God damn my hand
Now, there isn’t much to say here. Obviously, if your 11 year old kid convinced you to buy this and let him stay up, this isn’t good. But we aren’t here for that. Saying things like that openly and within the microphones range was further proof that Flair was selling the fact that he has completely snapped. Flair went out of his way to say things we don’t normally hear from him. Not only is this a Hidden Highlight for selling the “I’ve snapped” character, but it’s a Hidden Highlight for another reason as well. ….but we’ll get to that later.
Bonus PPV Hidden Highlight: The whole F’n show… again?:
JP: You don’t get a fourth HH!
JT: Why not? Larry did it!
JP: You aren’t Larry.
JT: So? What difference does it make?
JP: Larry can fire me.
JT: Point taken. I’m still doing it. Besides, it’s a REALLY good one!
JP: Well, JT my good buddy, I cannot argue with good Hidden Highlights. Please continue.
JT: Thank you sir. Let's try this again.
Bonus PPV Hidden Highlight: The whole F’n show… again?:
Now, the whole show gets the Hidden Highlight this week for a MAJOR reason, which I will explain at the end. Here are things I saw at Taboo Tuesday you will not see on RAW (it's a RAW Pay-Per-View, hence the comparison)
- Rey and Matt in unison from the top ropes onto their opponents outside the ring – Not only the move, but the two superstars. With the exception of this little build for this match, and the build for Survivor Series (and possibly WrestleMania next year), you will not see brand specific superstars on the other show.
- Power moves from Snitsky – Bear with me here. It isn't that he doesn't do power moves. He just doesn't do THOSE KINDS of power moves on RAW. He keeps it basic. At Taboo Tuesday, he showed me some very impressive in-ring work (for a big man)
- Fan voting – This one is obvious in the fact it doesn't happen on RAW.
- Keyboard carpet on the stage – They always have the stage made up somehow at PPVs. They never do on RAW.
- Vince saying “I’m done changing your damn diapers” - Rarely do we get the golden nuggets like this from Vince on a Non-PPV show.
- Double Chokeslam – You don't see a lot of double chokeslams, period. With them as champs though, this comment may be an afterthought.
- Titles switching hands – Let me tell you the last time the RAW titles actually switched hands on RAW:
Women's Title – December 6th, 2004. Almost a year ago.
Tag Team Titles – February 7th, 2005. Almost 10 months ago.
Intercontinental Title – June 20th, 2005. Okay, so they gave Carlito the push, but what about before that? October 27th, 2003. Over TWO years ago.
World Heavyweight Title – September 2nd, 2002... and that when it was GIVEN to Triple H. No match.
But JT, RAW has the WWE title now? Fair enough
WWE Title – September 18th, 2003
I think I've made my point.
- Steel Cage matches … (pause) … of this caliber – I am not going to ramble on about all the greatness of this match…but I will tell you that you'll NEVER see Ric Flair deliver a standing suplex on RAW
- Blood … again.. of this caliber – Seriously. I know we get some good blood on RAW, but NOTHING of this caliber. Both guys were bleeding PROFUSELY. There was so much blood going on in this match, I can safely say I have NEVER remember seeing that much spilled on RAW. The mat cover was practically crimson by the time this match ended.
- Joey Styles says “There’s a forearm to the balls. It’s a Pay-Per-View and I can say it!” - No explanation needed, he said it for me.
And now you're thinking “Okay, JT, you enjoyed the PPV. That's great. Where the hell is the Hidden Highlight?”. Well, if you ordered Taboo Tuesday, it's right there in front of you. Too often to we spend $35 bucks, and at the end of the show, say something like “SmackDown! was better than that this week”, or “I can see that for free”. Well, I gauran-damn-tee you that you will not see a show of this caliber, or this entertaining on free television. For once, the E remembered the reason we spend the money is to see STUFF WE DON'T GET SEE ON FREE TV. They didn't steal second base. They hit a home run.
JP: That was a lot of Taboo Tuesday talk. I don’t even know where to begin… so I won’t! Let’s keep it rolling!
Hidden Highlights for TNA Impact Primetime Special: Thursday, November 3, 2005 by JP
JP: All right, I have to admit this; I haven’t finished watching Impact yet. I had just finished watching Team 3D vs. Team Canada before I left, but I’m not home to watch the rest of it, so these Hidden Highlights are based on only the first hour and ten minutes. That being said, there are WAAAAAAY too many Hidden Highlights to cover already. Still, unlike some people, I’ll try to keep it to three!
(3) Pump up the volume:
Throughout the entire show, I noticed something different then normal Impact, but it didn’t hit me until Christopher Daniel’s entrance. The audio was really pumped up on the entrance music, ring movements, and crowd. While watching the normal Impact, the music is always drowned out and gives it that “taped” feel, a la WCW Saturday Night. At the same time, you can hear the crowd chanting, but it sounds like ten people. But not in Primetime! You could hear everything that was going on, and it just made the show more exciting. I cannot stress how important sound quality is to how the product comes across, and having this excellent sound mixed made TNA look ready for primetime, and not bush league as some (not me) like to say. Nice job the production guys, sounds manager, and editor for excellently produced, high quality product.
(2) Shhh… it’s a secret:
Let me just say that one of the biggest things that irks me in Sports Entertainment™ is the magical floating backstage camera. I hate that people have private conversations in front of the camera or wait for the camera to get on them to begin their conversation. It’s one of those things that makes wrestling seem fake, and makes it embarrassing to watch in front of other people. Now, before the Team 3D vs. Team Canada match, Team Canada was outside the ring working up their plan for the match. Well, a cameraman decided to head over and find out what they were talking about. And what did Team Canada do? Did they let a camera get close to them and find out about their secret evil plan? Of course not! Bobby Roode pushed the cameraman away and down, and then Coach D’Amore started screaming at him to get further away. That’s how a real person would react to a camera trying to come near them, especially when having a private conversation. Thanks for the realism, Team Canada, and thanks for telling that cameraman where he could go!
(1) Damn it, I can’t decide:
Fine, I lied. I couldn’t choose the final one so I’m giving it to the 6-man X-Division match. The whole thing! Why?
(1) A sample of everything – When people talk about the X-Division, they usually think of high risk moves and breaking necks. But these wrestlers, in one match, showed that the X-Division is really about no limits. They not only had high risk moves, but also had great submission moves (which the crowd applauded), along with brawling, reversals, and STIFF kicks. They had cruisers in there (Dutt) and heavyweights (Joe). There were former uber-champions (Styles) and future stars (Shelly). There was action, comedy, and drama. It was everything you could ever ask for, and proved the X-Division is not about car wrecks and does to tell a story… lots of stories.
(2) Sell the silly – I was watching Sonjay Dutt walk around the ring, waving his arms, bouncing off the ropes, and waiting 30 seconds to drop an elbow. It was painful. If Tazz were there, he’d be screaming about how Dutt was wasting time and it’s going to cost him. But someone in that match realized that was true, and that man was Samoa Joe. When Sonjay went for a reverse springboard dropkick, what did Joe do? He slowly walked away and smirked. That’s good storytelling right there! That’s saying “fine, you want to jump around and waste time, I’m going to just walk away and let you crash and burn.” Thanks Joe, I was getting really angry there. And I like Dutt!
(3) Speaking of Joe – Also, back in the beginning of the match when the “heels” (I’ll get to this next week) were making their entrance, Shelly accidentally bumped into Joe. Immediately, he got all apologetic, walked away, went back to cockiness, and then went over to Daniels to assure him everything was OK with Joe. It all happened in the background, but was such fun to watch and showed the dynamically different and interesting characters in the ring.
Ok, I could go on forever in this one match, but my name isn’t JT or Larry, so I say we move on! Next week I’m dedicating the Last Word to the TNA crowd, who I also wanted to include here. For now, I’ll let JT throw in his three cents. JT?
JT: Sorry dude, my Primetime Impact tape was completely messed up.
JP: Tape?!?!
JT: Yes, I taped instead of DVR because I was watching something else.
JP: What were you watching? The Power Puff Girls marathon?
JT: Errr…
JP: Oh my… let’s move on to SmackDown!, please!
Hidden Highlights for WWE SmackDown!: Friday, November 4, 2005 by JT
JT: Ahhhh, the death of my boy. I swear I’ve been getting emails like “dude, you’ll be okay”, and “sorry to hear that”… Even JP made note of it in the intro. Well, don’t worry people. I am HAPPY that Christian left. I think it is a POSITIVE thing for him! As I said in my ByteThis! recap, best of luck to Mr. Reso. If I get to see him again one day, then that is awesome. If not, he entertained me for years, and I thank him for it. Now, let’s get moving on what was great about SmackDown!
(3) If you're going to be out there, make yourself useful:
Just about every single time Benoit pinned Booker T in their United States Championship match, when the count got to 2, you could hear Sharmelle yell “kick out!”. Now, we all know having been a wrestler for so long, Booker naturally has good kick out instincts. Why not add to this advantage? By this small, specific choice of words, she adds to all the other factors letting Booker know the ref is about to call 3. In addition to that, it adds to the current storyline that they are “like a team” out there.
(2) Taking your job seriously:
When Mr. Kennedy… came down to the ring and got on the microphone, he said “…weighing in at an amazing 245 lbs”. Last week it was “an impressive 244 lbs”. The week before, it was “an astonishing 246 lbs”. He is changing his weight. He is calling it as any ring announcer would, and that’s the weight on the day of weigh-in. Obviously, his day of weigh-in is Friday (Tuesday). Little bits like that sell that he is very serious about his job as a ring announcer. Nice Hidden Highlight for the rookie.
(1) Cause That's How I Roll:
A few minutes into SmackDown!s opening match. Rey Mysterio jumped out of the ring onto both his opponents (JBL and Christian) and his partner (Matt Hardy). Tazz then says “That's how Rey Mysterio rolls.” Much like Matt Hardy at RAW (we're getting to that), I believe this was a little nod to Christian for what the work he's put in, and the things he's given to this business, such as the catchphrase “Cause That's How I Roll”. But, JT, Tazz probably just slipped up. I don't think so. Tazz is friends with a lot of the guys, and he is very good about small things like this. Kudos to Tazz for saying goodbye to Christian in his only little way.
(**Writers Note** When watching this match the second time through, I caught something I didn't Friday night. Christian walks over to Matt Hardy (non-legal man), and pushes him off the ring. He then slaps his chest twice and says “That's how I roll”. Probably the last time we'll ever hear that one.)
JP: If I haven’t finished watching the TNA Impact Primetime Special yet, what makes you think I’ve watched SmackDown!?
Reader Write-in Hidden Highlight of the week
By the way, we aren’t just doing this article for our health. We want to make you the reader a more active and attentive viewer, and one who appreciates the hard work that goes into making all of the wrestling we have the privilege to watch. So don’t just sit there and stare, but take in everything that goes in to making the product this great, and tell us about it!
This week JT gets to pick our Reader Write-in Hidden Highlight of the week. Please keep in mind that any reader write-in for SmackDown! applies to LAST week’s show, because nobody is going to get it in on time for Friday’s column.
JT: First I want to apologize to the guys like Manu who hit us up every week, but I felt under the circumstances, this has to be noted. Don’t worry fellas, you’ve all made the show in the past, and you’ll make it again.
This submission is certainly a most deserved one. In the midst of the good Captain leaving us for at least 90 days, one of the wrestlers knew it was the last chance to show him some love.
This week’s first Hidden Highlight is brought to you by Todd Vote, who said (*GENERAL WARNING*:: may be edited for grammar, spelling, English translation)…
There was a hidden highlight on last nights Raw....well on WWE Unlimited anyway. [A]fter the Smackdown Stars invaded, during the commercial Teddy Long polled the audience, to see who they wanted at Taboo Tuesday. [T]he hidden highlight came as Rey, and Matt Hardy were in the ring appealing to the fans. [H]ere you can clearly see Matt point at Christian, and he says something. I couldn't hear what he said, but it appears as if he was acknowledging Christian's hard work in the E. It was nice to see him break character if only for a second.
JT:Gotta love this by Matt Hardy. These two are very good friends in real life, and Matt was smart enough to know that if he was going to break kayfabe for half a second, he had to do it while RAW was at a commercial break.
JP: Yeah, I go gotta say tha—gwaaa? Wait. What do you mean by “first Hidden Highlight”? Don’t tell me…
JT: Yup… another tie.
JP: We really need to start being more decisive.
JT: I’m a Gemini, what’s your excuse?
JP: I’m a Pisces. We’re a winning combination! According the astronomy book on my shelf (don’t ask) when dealing between Pisces and Gemini:
Both are so egocentric that there will be little attempt made at an accommodation.
Well I’ll prove you wrong, book! Go for it, JT!
JT: This one comes from our good buddy Ori, who’s graced this column before, and probably will again. I just couldn’t ignore this, because it was one of my Hidden Highlights until I saw the last three matches:
(*GENERAL WARNING*:: may be edited for grammar, spelling, English translation)…
The second HH from this match is Rey Mysterio's entrance, the fact that he didn't pop up outta nowhere like he usually does. Since it was up to the fans to vote, and they were all shown waiting in the back for the results, it would have made no sense if Rey would have had his usual entrance just 10 seconds after we see him in the back. The reason it is a HH in my opinion is cause it COULD TECHNICALLY be done, but not in kayfabe. So this was actually very logical booking by the WWE for once, that also sells the fact the voting was the legit and they "weren't prepared" for it.
JT: Can you blame me for adding that JP? I was thinking the same thing at the time, which was basically “he can’t pop out of the floor, because he’s waiting backstage to hear the results”… good stuff Ori.
JP: Nah, I guess I’ll let it slide, even though Taboo Tuesday has taken up FOREVER in this column. But besides that, it’s a great bit of continuity, reality, and thoughtfulness that makes a segment work. Good catch Ori!
Do you have a Hidden Highlight of the week? Or a Classic Hidden Highlight that you would like to share? Please e-mail JP..erT…er…us at jpjthidden@yahoo.com with your thoughts! Send them by Friday afternoon to be considered! And remember, they can be from any show, live or taped, or any house show, or anything you saw… we just like to know!
And speaking of Classic Hidden Highlights…
Classic Hidden Highlight
Every week we take a look into the past and remember something that was done to make a show that much better. Well, sometimes we don’t remember, but you remember for us. Anyway, without further ado JP presents the Classic Hidden Highlight of the week:
You’d be amazed at how far your voice can travel:
Since I’ve done such a terrific job of skirting writing my own Hidden Highlights, I thought I’d keep up the tradition and turn the Classic Hidden Highlight over to Matt Moses who said:
My roommate Kyle earlier in the year drove with a bunch of friends up to see Ring of Honor's show Redemption. This show is highlighted by James Gibson's title win over CM Punk in the main event. Well, as most fans of ROH know, it's the fan/wrestler interaction that makes it so much fun. The hidden highlight comes from the Homicide vs. Matt Hardy match. Part ways through the match, you can begin to hear the some members of the crowd chant "We want Jeff." On the DVD, look at the people in the farthest back row, dead center of the camera. Everyone is sitting down and you can distinctly see my roommate Kyle stand up, look in the direction of the people chanting, and say "Shut the fuck up." Well, some people around him repeated it in unison with him, starting a chant. The entire chant spread throughout the entire building. Even at one point, Matt Hardy stops what he is doing, looks in the direction of the people who chanted "We want Jeff." and does the "Shut the fuck up" chant himself. If you watch, you can even see Homicide get into the act a bit. Kyle tells me that this is one of his fondest memories because he started a chant that included the wrestlers AND you can see it on DVD.
JP: I said it before, and I’ll say it again, nothing beats the experience of a wrestling event live, especially a small arena show. Though arenas with less then 40 people in there isn’t as fun. But I digress. The real point of this is fan interaction. Because ROH is a small arena show, their guys are expected to interact with the fans more then usual. The fact that Hardy not only paid attention to what fans were saying, but actually got into the act, is a small thing that makes a huge impact. This is what the fans of ROH see in the product, and why they keep going to the shows and buying the DVDs. That was a good and off the beaten track Hidden Highlight. Good catch, Matt!
JT: Excellent catch Matt, not only did you manage to find a Hidden Highlight from a live show, but your friend actually created it! Plus, you get the added bonus of actually watching Kyle on the DVD, which owns. I’m going to Survivor Series later this month, and I plan to catch 100 things not seen on TV. Now that that's out of the way…
Okay, so RAW and the Classic were by the readers... I want the truth… do you still watch wrestling?
JP: Look, it’s been a busy week! Heck, I’m not even home now!
JT: I’m surprised you found the time to e-mail this to me.
JP: Must you be such a Gemini drama queen?
JT: If I didn’t would it be me?
JP: This is true. Let’s move on.
The Second Chance New Beginning
You may have noticed a little thing going on for a while called RANT WARS II here at 411mania to help determine the newest member of the 411 community.
Well Rant Wars is over, but every week someone got voted off. In the final edition, Andy Clark was voted off by you, the readers. Well actually, he wasn’t voted off, he just wasn’t voted in. Damn changing the rules in the last week!
Larry: I do as a please!
Ah yes…
But, being the positive duo we are, JT and I have decided to give Andy a new beginning, right here in Hidden Highlights. Andy, this is your chance to shine. What would you like to tell the readers here at 411mania?
Andy: Andy Clark...will...not...DIE!
JP: Ummm… ok, anything else you would like to add?
Andy: Andy Clark...will...not...DIE!
JP: Right, right. It’s a wrestling reference. We just did a Matt Hardy Classic Hidden Highlight. I get it. No seriously, isn’t there something else you’d like the audience to know about you?
Andy: Andy Clark...will...not...DIE!
JP: Andy, I REALLY mean this. This is it! Come on man, I’m counting on you. WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY?!?!
Andy: Andy Clark...will...not...DIE!
JP: …?
Andy: Andy Clark...will...not...DIE!
JP: Sigh… I tried… Thanks Andy, we’ll be… uhh… seeing you… I guess. JT, how’s our other guest doing?
JT: Well JP, I have the winner of Rant Wars II with me, Bayani Domingo!!! Bayani, welcome to the family!
JP: Yes, I would also like to congratulate you on…
JT: Shush JP! This is my interview! Now Bayani… how the hell are you?
Bayani: I’m good, and just glad I could make a little cameo on your guys’ column. If for nothing else, to correct 90% of the readers who think I’m A> a girl, B> Hawaiian, or C> Mexican.
JP: You’re not Hawaiian? I had you pegged.
JT: I had Irish.
JP: Liar.
JT: Yeah… you caught me. Okay, Bayani, if you aren’t any of those things, what the hell are you?
Bayani: Like my brother from another mother, Batista, I am half Filipino. I can’t tell you how many times people look at that name Bayani and assume I’m a chick. Then again, if that’s what got me all those votes in Rant Wars, I can’t complain.
JT: Ummmm… the only chick in the mix was voted out week one.
Bayani: Oh…disregard that last comment then.
JP: Must you constantly bring up Ashley?
JT: Excuse me, sir. It was YOU who kept mentioning her, not I.
JP: Well, who asked her if she could fill in when we were getting stood up every week?
JT: That’s only because YOU asked me to get the e-mails from Larry and take care of it!
Larry: Don’t bring me into this.
JP: Dammit…. okay. Let’s all breathe a minute. We are here to talk to Bayani, because he is the one who won Rant Wars. Not anybody else. JT, please… focus.
JT: You’re right. My apologies Bayani… sometimes myself and JP get a little out of hand.
Bayani: No problem. But, do you actually have a question?
JT: Yes! As a matter of fact I do. Please tell us all about being the newest member to the 411 staff.
Bayani: Let me just start off by saying that since I won Rant Wars, it’s been like a dream come true. I mean the paparazzi, the autograph seekers, the best tables at Wendy's. Pure fairy tale. In all seriousness though, I was really excited and relieved when I got the news I won. Actually a buddy of mine called me last Wednesday night to congratulate me before I got Larry’s e-mail. There was some really stiff competition I was up against and there are definitely 1 or 2 contestants I hope to see on 411 in the near future. If it wasn't for Greg "The Hammer" Valentine showing up on Heat the week I said the "e" was sliding backwards, I think Andy Clark would be answering this question right now.
I got to give props to the guys who write the weekend columns because it’s tough to give the readers something new and interesting without rehashing the same stuff they’ve seen all week long. Which is why I’m not even going to try and just plan to cut and paste stuff from Randle and Larry’s columns. I’ll be spending that free time watching Rob Conway wrestle the likes of Max Moon and Naked Mideon on wwe.com. Just kidding. But not really. Mainly I hope to give the readers a couple of chuckles every Friday and maybe, just maybe, they’ll learn a little something new. I doubt it though, because let’s face it, if the TV can’t raise the youth of America, what chance do I have?
I just hope I don’t disappoint the people that voted for me and want to thank 411 for giving me the opportunity to try to put out something entertaining to the readers each week. It might not happen each week, but I’ll try.
JT: I love that you went immediately after Randle and LC… those are the first two I took a shot at, and now I have job security… at least until Larry reads this. Oh, I also took a shot at Cook, but that’s not only allowed, it’s encouraged. And I’m allowed to say that because in the end, Cook will win by e-mailing me and reminding me that I cover ByteThis!... touché Steve.
JP: Thanks for filling us in Bayani! And I know what an ordeal it is to have to work with JT, so I know this interview wasn’t easy for you.
JT: Hey!
JP: Don’t worry JT, I’ve got something special for you, something that reminds me of you quite a bit:
Pointless Question of the Week
Sometimes wrestling is funny by the small things that shouldn’t be connected but somehow are. Last week I asked you the rhetorical question:
Do you think that Mickey James would be related to BG James and self-adopted brother Kip James?
Not thinking someone would actually take the time to think about it. But you readers never cease to amaze me, as Captain Amazo said:
Mickey James should totally be related to the TNA Jameses. And then she should try to marry Chuck Palumbo's sister. And The Gobbeldy Gooker should perform the ceremony, only to unmask as Muhammad Hassan and call in his terrorist squad to sacrifice Daivari, who would, of course, be in a dress.
Because of this, I was so inspired that I have to write another Pointless Question of the Week:
Do you think that Kerwin White can get into country clubs that wouldn’t take Raven, Dean Malenko, Barry Horowitz, and Bill Goldberg?
Think about it…
Last Page
The Last Page is where we get to express something else positive in the world of wrestling. For myself, JP, it is most likely an In Defense Of… Mini-Case. For JT, it’s most likely time for a Bi-weekly Rant! Who knows? Well, actually, you do…
Is WWE giving us a HH and we’re missing it?
By James “JT” Thomlison
I have been thinking about something, and just couldn’t decide, so I figured “leave it up to the readers!”. That’s right kiddies, you get to decide! I will present my suspicions, and then leave it in your hands!
FACT #1: WWE.com very briefly had a picture up of Ric Flair at the arena when he was supposedly at home recovering from injury, thus selling the attack.
FACT #2: WWE.com very briefly had a picture up of Eugene out of character, talking on a cell phone with his hair slicked back.
And now more importantly:
FACT #3: The WWE KNOWS that we knew Ric Flair was there. The WWE also KNOWS that we know Eugene is not really handicapped. The WWE KNOWS that we knew both of those things before we saw the pictures. SO...
Did they do it on purpose? Remember, WWE.com overhauled itself about 4 months ago in an attempt to provide more “behind the scenes” information, and make it more “participation” friendly for the fans. Why are they doing this? Simple. They want hits. Now, what is more “behind the scenes” info than two pictures of superstars that completely breaks kayfabe which “accidentally” gets put up for about an hour? While we were all thinking “Gee, they fucked that up, but it was still cool because I got to see Eugene in civilian gear”, maybe they were thinking “Haha, they think we fucked up two weeks in a row, and will come back next week to see if we do it again”. Get me? The E may have done it on purpose so we, the fans, think we’re getting a glimpse of something we aren’t supposed to be getting a glimpse of.
So why do I care? Because if the E did do it on purpose, then THAT my friends, is a Hidden Highlight! But, as I said, it seems a little nutty, and I couldn’t decide, so be sure to cast your vote! Results next week!
JP: To not influence voting and to end this column, I’m zipping it! But here is yet another person ripping off my voting gimmick, in my own column no less!
Exit, stage left!
JT: I think this might be the longest and most productive column yet. I’d like to say congratulations to you JP, on our 10th issue. I know it's a small feat, but considering how busy we've both been lately, us pulling this off every week is at the very least semi impressive. Nice work JP. Hopefully we can keep it up!
JP: Thanks JT, and despite everything I have said, currently say, and will say about you in the future, I’m glad to have you on board this little experiment. I was just thinking that next week there are no PPVs, no specials, no TNA, no second chances, no interviews… what are we going to do? Will next week be the shortest issue of Hidden Highlights ever, or do I have something evil up my sleeve? There’s only one way to find out!
But for now, thanks for joining us for the tenth issue of Hidden Highlights. Be sure to drop us a line and let us know what you think and all the other Hidden Highlights we missed. Plus, we want to hear your Reader Write-ins and Classic Hidden Highlights for all the moments you see this and every week.
We’ll catch you again next time for the most positive article in all of the IWC: Hidden Highlights! Until then!
Kennedy! I’m sorry JT, I couldn’t resist after you told me not to!
Larry: Children, did we learn nothing from last week? No one gets the last word on me!
