Hidden Highlights 02.05.06: Issue #23
Posted by Prag-Thomlison on 02.05.2006
Why would you want to watch the SuperBowl when we’ve got all the best entertainment right here!
Hidden Highlights
By JP Prag and James "JT" Thomlison
Issue #23
Intro
Hello everyone who has gotten confused and somehow thought this was a football related column, 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 or television special if there was one. And since we hinted at it enough last week, yes there was one!).
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 under-appreciated (and soon to be former) 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: My finger hurts like a mother fu—
JP: We get it! Sheesh, can we have some restraint?
JT: You're right. What's up my good buddy JP?
JP: Oh you know, running all over existence, eating plates of food that may or may not have tentacles in it, forgetting to sleep a few times…
JT: Again?
JP: Yeah, it happens for various reasons.
JT: Would one of those be getting this draft to me so late that you had to be editing it at 3am?
JP: Yes!! Arg, totally my fault this time. You so get a free pass.
JT: Like a lateral pass?
JP: No way, dude. Even though you and I and about 90 million other people will be watching THAT today, we are not talking about it.
JT: Not even…
JP: Not for a second. We've got some wrestling to get to!
JT: Super Bo-
JP: I said not for a second!
Of course, before in engaging in Hidden Highlights, be sure to read:
Hidden Highlights for TNA Impact: Saturday, January 28, 2006 by JT
JT: I'm particularly psyched about TNA right now, but it's because I'm going to the house show in March. If that makes me biased, sue me. Shall we?
(3) Ocean? What Ocean?:
During the opening shot of the crowd at the start of Impact!, they honed in on a sign that said "I FLEW 9000 MILES FOR TNA". Now, this can go one of two ways. We do know that people provide signs, so it's possible that this was the case here. If so, then great job by whomever they have sitting around thinking up signs, because it still implies the same thing as if it was in fact someone who flew 9000 miles to see TNA… NINE THOUSAND miles people. That is a pure indication that somebody felt TNA was so important, they had to get on a plane and fly to A DIFFERENT CONTINENT just to see them live. With all the big news going on with TNA, this really helps enforce that they are doing some big things down there. Claiming to or actually flying across the world for a wrestling promotion really sells the fact that they are an enjoyable show. And enjoying the show is what Hidden Highlights is all about!
(2) Jobbers that actual job:
During the Team 3D match, they easily squashed the team of Kenny King and Buck Quartermain. What I love about this is that those guys are plain JOBBERS. They are there for no other reason than jobbing. They don't get storylines. They don't get face time. They are there strictly to do the job. One of the great things about TNA (in my opinion) is that they have an entire roster of jobbers. Unlike the E, whose willing to job out Matt Hardy one week then put him in a major storyline the next, TNA has a group of guys who are willing to do nothing but put the major players over, and do absolutely nothing else. This allows for guys like Team 3D (and others) to build up some real momentum heading into the Pay-Per-Views. I think Don West put it best: "I wouldn't want to be ANYBODY facing Team 3D". The HH? They have guys there will to do just that. I'm not even sure I'm explaining this right; I just think that having a separate roster of jobbers rather than bringing in squash Indy guys can be a very effective system when needing to put people over… Hell, I've lost myself now. JP? I think it's been a good 15 issues or so since this has happened, but I think I need a bail out for people who don't speak JT.
JP: Yes, I've got what you're saying. Here's the idea: We know that Buck Quartermain (who I thought got a WWE tryout match and was supposed to be going to Deep South Wrestling) and Kenny King are jobbers. Watching that match, we know they are going to lose. That is not a question. But during the match, there are just the moments of doubt. There are these brief moments when they do pull off a move and for a second, just a second, we think that it is possible for them to win. That's the difference. With indy guys who don't get intros, they don't stand a chance and never get offence. But these are people we know and are watching grow. It's ok that they lose, we expect that. Every week, though, they get better and better and one day we'll be ready to see them win.
JT: That's sort of what I meant, yes. At any rate, thank you… at least you understand me.
JP: It took a while.
JT: I'm told that often.
JP: I'm not surprised.
JT: Very funny, wise-ass. Can I continue?
JP: By all means.
(1) And the save by!... Don West?:
During the first three or so minutes between Abyss and Rhino, Abyss was standing near one of the ring posts, and Rhino charged him and well… essentially Gore'd him into the post. Mike Tenay said something like "WOW! What a G-" …and all of a sudden, there was a 2 ½ second period of silence. Tenay knew he had almost said it, but knew you can't really call that a Gore, because it isn't. And before any of us could blink, Don West says "Shoulderblock", to which Tenay IMMEDIATELY says "Shoulderblock".
Now, not to knock the E, because I love Tazz and Cole, and think they have developed an awesome rapore over the years; BUT, in a situation like this, usually one would just rib on the other for getting it wrong.
Not Don West. He recognized that Tenay was about to slip up, and completely bailed him out with the instant-save. I may in fact be OVERLY-excited about this edition of Impact, but with the announcement of primetime, plus the viewer boost (and if people don't think that a .2 jump is a big deal, why do I hear about it when RAW scored a low 4.1, yet had a great week with 4.5), I really liked what TNA did this week. And one of the big things that will be overlooked is that with having more viewers this week, they did it when it MATTERED.
JP: And I thought I was the only one who got excited over ratings and gets upset about the adjectives that get attached to them. Anyway, to follow up your #3, let's not forget that TNA is an international organization, and their ratings rival the WWE's over most of Asia and part of Europe, and even surpass the WWE in India some weeks. As Americans, we have traditionally been the largest most important market, but that does not hold true anymore. While still the most disposable income per person, we are mostly saturated in our purchasing power while India, China, Mexico, Brazil, Russia, South Africa, Korea, Chile, Egypt, and a plethora of others are growing at incredible rates. So yes, you can fly 9,000 miles to see TNA, but then again, TNA is probably coming straight for you.
Hidden Highlights for WWE RAW and SmackDown! present the Royal Rumble: Sunday, January 29, 2006 by JT
JT: What can you say, it's the Rumble. Myself and JP have both discussed our favoritism of this show, and you really can't hype it any more. Not only that, one of our favorite guys – whether it be for the wrong reasons or not – won the whole show…. er, at least the Royal Rumble part of the show.
(3) I'm Kurt Angle, bitch:
Before the "main-event" of the Royal Rumble (thank God this column is positive), Josh Matthews was interviewing Kurt Angle, which was going pretty normal. About halfway through, Kurt got serious, and said:
"I have beaten people in ways that haven't been ways that haven't been invented yet."
And
"If Diavari gets involved, I'll beat his ass too."
And ended with:
"Mark Henry, you suck!"
Now, the thing to remember is that Kurt was fairly normal for the most part, but as soon as he started talking about the match, he got serious. He got focused, and when you're facing a Mark Henry, you need to psych yourself up. Despite being the *face* here, he put himself back into that "I'm Kurt fucking Angle" mode, and it was a small touch that reminded us that whether we're cheering him or booing him, Kurt Angle is a man that will take you to the limits. As if we needed selling on the fact Kurt Angle is a beast, he still went through the motions to entertain and get us pumped for the fact that "I'm Kurt Angle, don't forget that". And, at the SAME TIME that he's reminding us that he's a bad, bad man, he still threw in the ‘you suck' to continue the crowd-play face / heel thing. It's a wonder Kurt Angle isn't in our column every week… I mean seriously, let me repeat it.
I've beaten people in ways that haven't been invented yet …does that even need explaining?
(2) Here's your gratuities:
As the Royal Rumble was getting underway, the familiar clock began counting down, and who was entrant number 3? Simon Dean! As the doors opened for him, he rode out about a foot, stop, turned to his right, and tossed a coin at the doorman. It was a tip! For one, this is exactly the sort of thing his 'arrogant, energetic fitness guru' character would do. Not only that, if thinking about it hard enough, it's also a play on words. What do fitness instructors do? They give tips! Health tips, diet tips, exercise tips... they're all about giving tips! Nice job by Simon Dean selling that part of his character in such a minor, unnecessary way. He may be stuck in mid-card limbo, but Dean always goes the extra step to entertaining.
*One of our readers, Brett, also caught part of this. The fact that you guys are catching the same things we are proves we're all doing our job!*
(1) It's my first time at the dance, but I'm the man! I got this!:
Bobby Lashley entered the Royal Rumble, and immediately started making an impact. By the next entrant, he had all three men down and was standing there waiting. By the entrant after that, he had all four men down and was standing there waiting. I mean, he was literally beating the Hell out of the E's top superstars. The problem, he didn't eliminate anyone. In fact, he didn't even attempt to eliminate anyone. He just threw bodies around, then stood there for twenty seconds waiting for the next man he could beat up. This is classic selling of the fact that he is a rookie, it was his first Rumble, and despite his power, it takes more than Body Slams to have any chance of winning the whole thing. I really liked that he didn't even try, as if he didn't have an inkling of what he was doing there. Great "rookie mistake" by Lashley.
JP: I think this goes back to what you were talking about with the TNA jobbers. They're young, they're inexperienced, but we like to watch them grow. It's ok for them to make mistakes, we want them to. Because with time, they'll get better (hopefully) and be our future world champions… but hopefully be at least 27 years old.
Hidden Highlights for WWE RAW: Monday, January 30, 2006 by JP
JP: Back on RAW, the Road to Wrestlemania began to pick up. I think the Coach said it best when he said this was the most open time going in to Wrestlemania ever. Really, I'm not sure I can pick one match on the card except for Mickey James vs. Trish Stratus… and since that's the best storyline going on in the WWE right now, it should probably be the main event! But we'll get back to that in a second.
(3) That's how you hook a leg:
First off, welcome back RVD! I can't wait for you to shake off your ring rust. I also hope that you don't regret signing your WWE extension and you get that shot at the top like you think you might get. And you deserve it for having a Hidden Highlight in your first one-on-one match back. After hitting Snitsky (why in the first three matches did the opponents not get TV intros?) with the five-star frog splash, RVD went for the pin. And what did he do? He hooked the arm and the leg and the hooked his own hands together. Now THAT is how you make a pin! If you want to keep your man down, you have to hook them in tight.
(2) In remembrance of in remembrance of :
The next match also featured a frog splash, this time from Chavo Guerrero. As Chavo went up for his first attempt at the frog splash, Joey Styles told the audience the obvious, that he was using it in remembrance of his deceased uncle Eddie Guerrero. But then he added on to it: "And Eddie was using the frog splash in honor of his late tag-team partner Art Barr." Very nice. I happened to know this already, but it is awesome little piece of history that just goes one step further then your average Eddie comment. And as a bonus Hidden Highlight, when Triple H knocked Chavo off the top rope, did Coach say, "Shit happens when you waste time"? I listened to it about 15 times and it sounded that way to me each time!
JT: Check your DVR. It took me once to hear him say "That's what happens when you waste time". I will agree though that had he have said that, it would have ruled.
(1) Oh Mickie, you're so Hidden Highlight:
We've been giving Mickie James a lot of time here in Hidden Highlights, and I'm quite afraid we might have to induct her into the Hidden Highlights Hall of Fame. Maybe it's a little too soon? Well, you be the judge! After hitting Ashley with a stiff cross kick, Mickie IMMEDIATELY started beaming with a big smile on her face and turned to Trish looking for approval. I cracked up laughing! Of course she'd want Trish's approval. She loves Trish and lives for her. All she wants is Trish to say she loves her, too. And how could you not love a Hidden Highlights master like Mickie James?
JT: It really is amazing, but that woman is steadily gaining HH points week by week. Whether it's Benoit, HBK, Jericho, Angle, whoever… When you pop up in the column on a weekly basis, there is no denying that you're doing your job in terms of the little things that entertain and "sell" the story. She is doing a great job, especially when you consider that I just put her in the same sentence with those four men.
Hidden Highlights for WWE SmackDown!: Friday, February 3, 2006 by JT
JT: My Friday night ended entirely too early. Lucky for me, too early was LONG past SmackDown!, so I saw it all.
(3) Vince? Who's Vince?:
During the Undertaker / Angle segment, both men were on the mic. But the Undertaker took it a step further, and made sure that when he had the mic, he kept his hand over the little "box" on it that says "WWE". He was clearly putting himself over as being so big and bad he was "beyond the E", and whenever he spoke, you saw no WWE, you only saw Undertaker.
(2) Shit, maybe I shouldn't have done that:
At the end of the Mexicools / MNM match, Melina hit Super Crazy with a boot. Now, what I noticed about this was that she RAN over to that side of the ring (she was on the apron) with no problems. Tazz and Cole both mentioned that she may have been faking, but what did she do? As they were all walking up the ramp, she limped OVERLY hard, indicating that 1. her limp was legit and 2. her interference in the match hurt her ankle, and put it in a situation even worse than it was before. Nice job of selling the fact that while she may have gotten a quick power surge to interfere, it really added to the injury that she had. What some called ‘overselling', I call ‘selling an injury worsening as a result of participation'.
(1) Our readers get a test?:
During JBL's promo, he said, specifically aimed at management:
"I'm a wrestler that deserves to be in a wrestling ring. I'm sick of being stuck in matches with people who don't belong in this ring. I'm sick of people being put in a ring with me because they have the look, and getting the ‘rub' off me. You put anyone in the ring with me and I'll make them a star."
I honestly am not explaining this one. For once, I'm leaving it as a measure to our readers to find out whether or not they get what we're doing; because if you don't see the Hidden Highlight in that, then there is no need for me to explain it.
JP: Yeah… ummm… I barely got finished with RAW by Saturday. SmackDown! will have to wait! But has anyone heard the Tazz and Cole show on Sirius? I caught five minutes of the replay. Damn it, will someone send me the S-50 home dock? It's sold out all over existence. Oh, and Marsico, XM is quickly becoming second rate, growing at a rate about 1/10th the speed of Sirius, has much weaker talent, and lies about their equipment's capabilities like no tomorrow. But I will agree that Sirius' customer service department needs some help. And I get very pissy with customer service.
JT: ..Getting a little frustrated with Sirius while at the same time bashing XM eh? ...nice.
JP: Just shut up, we're already late.
JT: Whatever you say, champ.
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 JP gets to pick our Reader Write-in Hidden Highlights 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.
JP: Another huge batch of write-ins, so let's get to it. So, *GENERAL WARNING*:: some parts of the following Reader Write-in Hidden Highlights may be edited for grammar, spelling, and English translation…
My first pick goes to Darren Phillops who kicks us off with:
On velocity Josh Matthews speaking of the royal rumble says "there will be fifteen men from Raw and fifteen SUPERSTARS from Smackdown"
A nice subtle way to put down Raw and keep the inter-brand rivalry going
JP: That is a great little way to put over the RAW/SmackDown! feud. Plus, it's been a real long time since we've gotten a Hidden Highlight from Velocity!
Next up is Zack Macomber who added to one we pointed out last week:
Just in case you guys didn't know, back in ECW, Lita got a lot of "gonhorrea" chants thrown at her when she was with Dastardly Danny Doring. Which makes that little reference even the more hidden and more hilarious.
JP: Although I'm sure most of the audience wouldn't know that, Cena would. He is a student of the game and knows his history. Lita used to have a lot more muscle mass in those days, too!
After that, JY chimed in with a lot of notes, but I'm just sharing this one for now:
A couple weeks ago I went to a house show in Louisville, and caught a HH from someone who's not very hidden, Big Show. As he made his entrance, instead of his usual "raise hand in the air and scream" taunt, he instead did the Scott Hall "point thumbs at chest while stomping" routine. Now, this struck me as odd for some reason. While I have seen him use the taunt on occasion, I couldn't put my finger on why it was sticking out. It wasn't until a couple days later that it actually hit me: in kayfabe, his hand is broken. It wouldn't make any sense to use his chokeslam taunt, since he can't use it. Then I realized why that taunt stood out so much: the first time I saw him in this angle, it was in his feud with Scott Hall. That's why his use of Hall's taunt stuck out in my mind so much. Whether it was intentional or not, it made the whole thing that much more enjoyable.
JP: Knowing the Big Show, I'd say it was intentional. And that feud with Scott Hall back in WCW was mostly over hilarious hand gestures… ok, my memory may be a bit hazy…
But someone's whose memory is sharp is Steven Masters who said:
Gonna make this one short and sweet. Abyss-Rhyno. Gore through the wall. Shane [Douglas] looks around like, "The Hell?". In my opinion, it gives the show a more "unpredictable" feel, where anything can happen, even if you're just standing in the back.
JP: When they went through the wall, my first instinct was to look around and see who was back there and what their reactions were, and Shane Douglas definitely took the cake. By the way, to those people wonder "why" a wall and camera were there, pay attention to other Hidden Highlight: that is where they do their backstage interviews! Why else would Shane Douglas be there if he wasn't about to conduct an interview?
Speaking of TNA, Matt Simon chimes in with another one from Impact:
So I was half-watching Impact on Saturday, when I came across a Hidden Highlight from Samoa Joe. Joe had just locked his opponent in his submission hold, after said opponent managed to wriggle out of the Muscle Buster. After putting the hold on for a few seconds, Joe really cranked it in, causing the tap. At the same time, the camera zoomed in on Joe's face, to show his eyes rolled back into his head. I thought this was a really great way of adding to the intensity of the move and making it seem that much more dangerous, especially since his eyes normally seem to be relatively devoid of emotion during a match.
It reminds me of the old WWE character, Waylon Mercy, where he would act all normal until he got his opponent in a sleeper, and his eyes would get all big and creepy like.
JP: Waylon Mercy?!?! I think we know who won the Random Reference of the Week Award!
Our next write-in is less random, but gave a couple and I've decided to share both. James Fulton may be writing in for the first time, but he proves he knows his stuff:
I found my first hidden highlight! During the Mickie James v Ashley Massaro match, Mickie delivered a fisherman's suplex. What's the highlight? Joey Styles called it as a 'fisherWOMAN'S' suplex. I love that nice bit of improvisation from my favourite RAW announcer.
Not sure how hidden this one was... But I don't remember the announcers picking up on it. When RVD's music hit during the Rumble match, Carlito started hiding behind different wrestlers in the ring. Then, when RVD gets to the ring, Carlito is on the outside trying to hide behind the ring post! I thought this was brilliant because we all know how Carlito gloated about re-injuring RVD on RAW a few weeks back.
JP: Good stuff, James. Joey Styles does a lot of those little word choices. Heck, I think he named the STFU on an off-the-cuff comment. And Carltio? Well, he's cool.
Coming in close to deadline was regular Todd Vote who wants to predict the future:
Tell me you saw it? I've read all the raw reviews on the site, and nobody mentioned it. At the end of Raw after Lita hits Edge with the belt, am I the only person that noticed she didn't seem to give a crap about hitting "her man" with the title. It looked almost as if she wants to follow the gold and make Cena her new man. Gold digging hussie. Is this foreshadowing that she is going to go with Cena, and then turn on him to get the belt back around Edge's waist? I think it might be.
JP: You weren't the only one to send in this theory and mention Lita's "not giving a crap" attitude. I'm not sure where this is going, but I just hope neither Lita nor Edge end up a face. Both are excellent heels, born to play the role. But not knowing is half the fun! And if the writing staff has us guess, that's not a bad thing, that's a good thing!
And last, my personal favorite write-in of the week. Burt Price let us know:
At the Royal Rumble, when Vince sits down with the girls to enjoy the Rumble, we already realize that it is about to begin. How? The tumbler is empty. An interesting hidden highlight on the setting to show that the drawing was genuine.
JP: Finally someone in the WWE is paying attention to the little details like that one! Good catch Burt, I think we are making a real difference in the WWE and TNA.
And thanks to all of you out there who didn't get featured this week! Keep sending them in, and making us proud of everything we've done here in Hidden Highlights!
JT: I was completely going to use that last one about the Rumble until I heard Kurt Angle's promo. The readers are really catching on. Let's hope none of them send in a submission to be replacements on this column.
JP: Why you would you even give them that sugge—
JT: Shhhhh… I have no idea what you're talking about.
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 JT presents the Classic Hidden Highlight of the week:
We've arrived!
So, I was reading an old thread in the forums the other day and it was basically just completely thrashing the entire Invasion angle. And I thought to myself "surely there was good to that angle other than just the fact that Jeff Hardy and X-Pac were actually entertaining". Being that I own the Pay-Per-View – aptly named InVasion – I decided to pop it in and see if I could find some good. It was a fairly slow day at work, so I got to watch it in it's entirety; and in fact, the Hidden Highlight I found was in the ENTIRE result of the show! I was already keeping score myself, but I had to do a little checking on the result of the pre-show Heat, and found that including those results, when the main-event started WCW and WWF were tied at 5 matches won apiece. After the match – which Booker won by pinning Angle – the final tally for the evening was WWF: 5, WCW/ECW: 6. To me, this was SUCH a good booking move by Vince, creative, whoever. You see, back then, not everyone watched all three promotions, and some fans had no idea who half these people from WCW and ECW were. The fact is that Vince had taken a chance by buying up WCW and ECW, and now he needed to legitimize the wrestlers he was bringing in. How did it do it? By having them win not only as many but MORE matches than the wrestlers WWE fans already knew (team WWF). In one fail swoop, Vince was able to – through wrestling – say to the world "look, these guys are all really good too, and now, I have the best product in the entire world". I'm really glad I was bored enough to take score, because I think this is a huge Hidden Highlight that you just don't think about from the Invasion days.
JP: If only he hadn't had thrown all that good will away after the fact. If only he didn't feel the need to crush his competition instead of use them to make more money. Man, I miss WCW. But it never would have been the same anyway. Unless Vince gave Bischoff, Flair, Dusty, or someone complete booking power with a budget, then it would have just been W.C.E. anyway.
But Vince did give us Wrestlemania (sort of), so let's not forget our Wrestlemania Classic Hidden Highlights Special Edition on Monday March 6th. We need you to write in to us with all of your Classic Hidden Highlights for Wrestlemania before our special issue!
That Other Section
That Other Section is an idea, a free forum for a few things that just don't have a place. It could be Read Between the Lines where we'll look at a news bite in more detail. It may just be a Pointless Question trying to connect the unconnected dots. You might read a Hidden Highlights Profile where we explore one of the masters of Hidden Highlights (like Chris Jericho) and explain what they do right. It could even be some additional Hidden Highlights, or something else entirely. And sometimes, it might not exist at all. Hey, if we don't have anything to talk about, why force it?
This week, JP has something for That Other Section.
JP and JT had to have found loads of Hidden Highlights in the Rumble, and if they didn't, I'll have to point them out for them.
Oh Randle, the gauntlet is thrown! I now expect a plethora of Hidden Highlights from the Rumble from you. Let the challenge… begin!
Randle: Ask and ye shall receive...bitches.
It happens all the time, but it deserves mention, because obviously nobody was really expecting a surprise entry in a thrown-together Cruiserweight match, but when there was a significant pause after London was introduced, it suddenly makes you realize "wait a second...who IS it going to be?" Of course, I called it, but that's because I have a comprehensive knowledge of the lineage of the WWE Cruiserweight title. It fills spare moments.
JP: I like the tension pulls, and it was a good thinking moment. One point!
Randle: Before the gang beating of Gregory Helms, London assumes what appears to be the Hurri-pose. His back was to the camera, so I can't be totally sure.
JP: Keeping continuity and making fun of your opponent. Very nice. One point!
Randle: Cole mentioning Gregory Helms, as Gregory Helms, was the last person to hold the WCW Cruiserweight title. Though I guess to be completely correct, he should have said "before WWE bought WCW". Hell, just give them points for acknowledging history, and WCW history, no less.
JP: Yeah, that does garner points, but only one for you!
Randle: Paul London was trained by Shawn Michaels, and what do I see? London does HBK's infamous "what the hell, why not" shrug before going up for the SSP to the floor.
JP: It's a stretch, but given the translation job I did for JT earlier, I'll give it to you . One point!
Randle: Big Show no-sells Vince's "blue balls" joke and doesn't get punished. I guess when you're 7 feet tall, you can do that. After all, who would they put him in a punishment match with, himself?
JP: Hahaha, they do always put people in punishment matches with the Big Show of Kane. I only want to give you a half a point for this one, though, not enough explanation.
Randle: And for an anti-HH, how about completely ignoring that Big Show was beating the living hell out of Rey and spitting on Eddie's limo two months ago? I realize that in two months, there could have been a turn, but the kicker is...in this case, there hasn't been.
JP: Ahem… this is the most POSITIVE article in the IWC. Total party foul! Minus two points!
Randle: JBL trying to do his usual opening, but continually checking around for The Boogeyman, who, much like the Undertaker, can appear from anywhere. Because I need a Boogeyman one to annoy JT.
JP: Okay, annoying JT does give you two points!
JT: No way! Mentioning the Boogeyman makes you lose two points!
JP: How about we just give him zero points as a compromise?
JT: I'll give him zero points… with a big "fuck you" attached. It was a good rib though… asshole.
JP: Sorry Randle, zero points!
Randle: Just to show off the complete duality of the shows, both top cowardly heels (JBL and Edge) used their women as a shield during the match, to varying results.
JP: Nah, I don't like duality, I like them to be separate. Zero points!
Randle: They don't mention it, but Psicosis was wearing an "EG" armband as well.
JP: He did know Eddie and the entire Guerrero family very well. One point!
Randle: I should recheck, but as far as I know, everyone who went to the top rope during the Rumble match paid for it almost immediately (Chavo and RVD were the only ones. Coincidentally, both were going for a frog splash, and both were essentially eliminated by Triple H).
JP: And they both tried to use frog splashes on Monday night, in back-to-back matches. What ever happened to match planning and pacing? Anyway, one point!
Randle: Nitro and Mercury, though they weren't always working together, never fought each other, becoming possibly the first tag team in the history of the Rumble to not do that "mutual respect, then beat the crap out of each other" thing that started back with Ax and Slash.
JP: I'm doing an In Defense of… Demolition in the future, so you get one point!
Randle: Completely missed by the announce team, Carlito's precarious hiding spot from RVD, wrapped around the outside of the ringpost, where he remained until someone finally knocked RVD down. Then, the first person who attacked RVD? Carlito.
JP: Keeping a feud going and mentioning Carlito? Two points!
Randle: Consecutively, HBK eliminated Nitro, Mercury, and Shelton, the three men who had sworn to Vince to eliminate him, at which point Vince came out. So, I guess nobody else said they'd eliminate Shawn?
JP: Looks like that was the build up. One point!
Randle: Shane [dyed] the gray out of his hair, so his dance looks age-appropriate again.
JP: And on Raw he wore jeans and sneakers to be younger. One point!
Randle: I doubt if this counts, but it needs to be mentioned that "Big Time", the theme for WrestleMania, reminds me of Spaceballs. Which is among the coolest movies ever, so must be mentioned.
JP: Spaceballs is one of the best movies ever, but sadly that is no Hidden Highlight. Minus one point!
All right, your total score is 8 ½! JT, tell him what he's won!
JT: He's won me thinking that this was actually bullshit (in terms of when I first got the email, I thought JP and Randle were both joking), and he also won me calling him a prick for mentioning the Boogeyman! ...Okay, kidding aside (except for the Boogeyman thing, go to hell), our boy Randle stepped it up and caught a lot of REALLY good highlights. Fortunately, he's Canadian and has a column to do on Monday, so we won't have to worry about him applying for our job either.
JP: That's right. Although being our other editor, he could just take our jobs anyway. Thanks for playing!
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…
I've got the scoop!
By JP Prag
Like most of you, I am dependent on the newsboard for the majority of my wrestling news. Every once in a while, I hear in from a reader who knows something (some of which has come true, some which has not), and sometimes I stumble across something myself. This, though, is one of the former. From our good reader Mike LaFave, I present:
Off Air Notes from the WWE Supershow – Hidden Highlights Style
Says Mike:
Hey guys, don't really have any HH's for you this week, just wanted to let you know what you missed when the shows went off the air.
First a local radio station was doing a contest called Beauty and the Beast. They had 2 couples in the ring. Each had a hot girl and each had a guy who had a hairy chest and back. The crowd got to pick who the winner was (the winner got free laser hair removal). The crowd went crazy for the first guy who was pale and flabby and hairy and he started jumping in the ring and jiggling his flab and even made a point to slap his man breast around, it was funny.
Not too much on SmackDown, although the wrestlers did a great job of selling any injuries from the match all the way to the back and also arguing w/ the ref about what went down. I gotta give it to Pycosis for doing the best job of it.
A bunch of stuff from Raw.
First and foremost of course is the Cool One Carlito. I guess this could be a hidden highlight too. When the TV audience was watching Carlito eliminate Masters from the Royal Rumble, the people in Orlando saw Carlito begging production not to show the clip even doing a "cut it" type motion. Classic Carlito!!! And that, dat's cool!!!
After the Gold Dust match, the bizarre one got a huge ovation while standing in the ring (that reminds me, Benoit got a standing O after his match w/ Finley). Then he walked around the ring and the crowd was going nuts for him. Right before he went through the curtain he blew big kisses to the crowd and took a bow. Could it be a goodbye?
Really not much extra after the show ended (which is to be expected since we had been watching from 6:45 till after 11). But on his way to the back Cena saw this incredibly hot girl in the front row and he gave her a hug and took a pic w/ her like he was doing w/ a lot of the fans in the front row...but she got more. They started making out!!! For a solid minute!!! Then after Cena backed away and got a look on his face and started doing a hand motion as to say, "wow that was hot". That was kind of a cool moment to see.
So we had a ton of fun. Tons of Carlito shirts in the audience too!!! I'd have to say Carlito and Orton were the most cheered for heels. I was booing the hell out of Rey and RVD which got me a lot of heat. I have to say though, RVD got a huge chant when he came out, but there were boring chants going on during his match which I thought was great. There was also a guy behind me who had this to say when RVD came back out to get Carlito, "oh not this guy again, he's putting us to sleep"!!! Love that!!! So good times, really nothing like seeing the WWE Live!!!
Keep up the great work as always guys!!!
The opinions expressed above were solely those of Mike LaFave… well, except for the Carlito comments, because everything Carlito does… dats cool.
And the Response
JT: …are you kidding me? MUST it be Carlito every week. I haven't even mentioned Christian in like a month.
JP: You just said his name in the Intro!
JT: Well, how about next time, you have a "the above opinions were solely those of Mike LaFave and JP"…. By saying "well, except the Carlito thing", that totally includes me.
JP: Again… So? You have a problem with Carlito?
JT: No, I'm just saying tha—
JP: Exactly. Nice try.
Exit, stage left!
JT: Get us out of here JP. I'm pissed about your no selling, Boogeyman being mentioned, and ….. well that's enough; good week brother.
JP: Me not selling? Maybe I've been defending too many big men recently… Anyway, to make up for being so late in getting this to you, I'll plug your role in the Superbowl Roundtable, even though I DESPISE Pittsburgh.
JT: I thought you said we couldn't talk about the Superbowl?
JP: Yeah, so I'm a hypocrite on that one.
JT: THAT ONE?!
JP: Ok, enough!
JT: No way. It's not often I get to be the one kicking you when you're down.
JP: Yeah, yeah. Sorry for being a late punk this week and totally abusing you to get this done. Thanks for being a good sport about it!
And thank you for joining us for the twenty-third 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 in the most positive article in all of the IWC: Hidden Highlights! Until then!
