Hidden Highlights 07.16.06: Issue #46
Posted by Prag-Thomlison on 07.16.2006
Matt Striker gets itchy, the Big Show owns the highlight reel, Meehan breaks a camera lens, Matt Hardy loses an arm, security gets caught on firm stealing, Chris Jericho gets official, and tons more from RAW, ECW on SciFi, iMPACT, SmackDown!, MSG Classics, PPV, Saturday Night’s Main Event, and others. Plus, a Hidden Highlights exclusive news story with details on RVD, Sabu, and a carload of drugs that has not been posted anywhere else!
Hidden Highlights
By JP Prag and James "JT" Thomlison
Issue #46
Intro
Hello everyone who understands that 95 degs with humidity is much worse than 105 degs without humidity, and welcome back to Hidden Highlights!!
Hidden Highlight (n) – a small, hardly noticeable point that makes a big, positive difference. This could be anything from a wrestler putting extra emphasis into his moves to make it believable to a person in the background reacting while not the focus to the cameraman shaking the picture to create an effect. There are just so many unsung heroes of wrestling that it is impossible to cover them all.
Every week we take the top 3 Hidden Highlights from the biggest shows on television (RAW, ECW of SciFi, iMPACT, SmackDown!, and a PPV or television special if there is one). Plus we turn to you, the readers, to let us know all the Hidden Highlights you saw this, last, or any week in history. On top of all that, we explore the other issues that prove why this is the most positive article in the IWC.
And who is this mysterious we, you ask?
First, there is JP Prag who also posted In Defense Of… Jeff Jarrett (Part 2 of 3). He may not be defending his title on PPV tonight, but you can be sure I'll be defending him through and through.
And then there is James "JT" Thomlison who on this date one year ago posted his Byte This! report featuring Matt Hardy confronting Lita. I don't know about you, but I'm still waiting for chapter five of this saga.
We bring you Hidden Highlights with one goal in mind: to appreciate all those little things that make a huge difference. JT?
JT: Thanks to my unyielding desire to do a pod-cast with Larry at one in the morning drunk, Csonka now has physical evidence to put me away for years should I decide to ever betray 411. Tell me your computer erased it Larry! Seriously folks, I was sloshed…BAD. It was one of those drunk times when you should never, EVER be anywhere near a phone of any kind; sadly, too oft when you are at that level of drunk, you tend to think being on the phone is the best idea you've ever had. My phone was also fully charged, so it was just a recipe for disaster.
JP: I would have liked to see that, I think.
JT: Don't worry, my friend. WrestleMania is only 259 days away. The beer will indeed be flowing.
JT: That's right. We're going global! 411 and NZPWI is storming D-town for WrestleMania 23. It's just a shame we'll all be too drunk to actually cover anything.
JP: If they induct Jake Roberts next year, I will officially mark out.
JT: You and me both. And somehow Ted DiBiase needs to get involved somehow. I need a million dollar cackle to make my week complete!
JP: Well, aside from making plans 259 days from now, we should get on with the Hidden Highlights!
Hidden Highlights for WWE RAW: Monday, July 10, 2006 by JP
As anyone who has read Hidden Highlights long enough will tell you, I am a huge fan of tag teams that act and dress as tag teams. It's a big deal to me when teams dress alike. It really emphasized that they are working together (see: AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels). That's why our opening Hidden Highlight is going to Vince and Shane McMahon! What? Oh, I know they didn't dress alike in the ring. But did you see them in the back? They were wearing matching yellow ties with black dots, along with matching powder blue shirts. When it comes to business, these two are right on the same page.
(2) Lice, perhaps?:
As the Highlanders were getting ready to take on Matt Striker and Rob Conway (who kept the mustache but lost the see-through tights, thank goodness), Matt Striker was in the ring with Rory. Right at the beginning of the match, I noticed that Matt Striker started scratching his arm, like he had something on there. That's when I realized it! The Highlanders are dirty and scrubby and are probably carrying some type of insect. Striker was reacting how anyone would naturally react to that sight: they would get itchy thinking about all the creepy crawlies going around. Good one by Striker.
(1) That is an accolade:
During his pre-taped interview against Ric Flair, Mick Foley decided to start listing off his many, many triumphs in his career. And it was quite the impressive list. But did you catch what one of the ones in the middle was? That's right, the was a "personal friend of Melina"! I have to give Foley a lot of credit for continuing to subtly mentioning Melina since he turned heel, and really helping to put her over in the process. I hope this keeps up, and even more so that it leads to a story with him helping Nitro and Melina down the road.
JT: I'm still going with Mick Foley's assessment of Melina, as opposed to some guy in OVW who saw her once in passing. How about that Benjamin / Cena match, eh? And the interaction between DX, Vince, and the ramp was gold as well.
Hidden Highlights for ECW on SciFi: Tuesday, July 11, 2006 by JP
JP: So "F'N" on a t-shirt scares away sponsors, but lesbian strip teases and throwing senior citizens into thumb tacks do not? I consider myself a businessman, but some things I'll never understand.
(3) A new beginning:
With RVD gone and out of the picture for at least 30 days, ECW was set to go in a new direction. But so, too, did the opening highlight video! At the end of the video, it is now the Big Show holding the ECW Championship and not RVD. And as anyone who watched ECW Classic knows, whenever titles changed hands they always updated the opening video to Hardcore TV and/or ECW on TNN. So the tradition is still alive in the new ECW, at least for now.
(2) Old School:
Speaking of the old ECW, we all know that there is a big difference between what was Extreme Championship Wrestling and what is currently on our TV (By the way, have you noticed that no one calls it Extreme Championship Wrestling? They call it just "ECW". Maybe it's like the XFL, where the "X" stood for nothing.). As Justin Credible was taking on Sabu in a non-Extreme rules match (Also by the way, extreme rules did not mean there were no rules, just the rules were more lax. I saw at least three disqualifications in ECW.), Joey Styles started to talk about how the two had a history together. But when he did so, Joey said the history happened "in ECW". Was Joey subtly noting that the current product is not the ECW of old and that that history is completely separate? Is perhaps his unconscious mind giving away his real feelings? Hmmmm…
(1) I'll kill you, but I'll do it with kindness:
The main event saw a bloody and violent brawl between the Big Show and Ric Flair. Now, in complete contrast to everything that happened at the end of the match and after the bell had rung, these two were especially careful with each other. What I particularly noticed was that every time the Big Show went to slam Ric Flair, he was very thoughtful about making sure Ric Flair landed on his side and not his destroyed back. With someone the size of the Big Show, it is real easy to forget just how big and powerful he can be, but the Big Show remembered and took extra precautions with the not-so-spring-chicken Ric Flair.
JT: I cannot in good faith comment, because I completely forgot it was on Tuesday! …I wonder what that says about ECW…
…just kidding, kids. We're positive here. Simply slipped my mind.
Hidden Highlights for TNA iMPACT: Thursday, July 13, 2006 by JT
JT: Meehan was there, and visible. Do you need anything else??? Okay, FINE! Rhino flamed a belt, Shane Douglas is high on life, Gail Kim does the Canadian Destroyer, and… and… these…
(3) Ode to the past:
When Steiner was giving his little pre-taped promo on all the competitors in the four-way match this Sunday, he said something very interesting. He said "Christian …[his little speech]". What I found interesting about this is history. Several people cutting promos against Steiner have been calling him "Scotty" (including the coolest person on the planet, Christian Cage), which is something he developed in WWE/WCW; it was something people carried over from that time. I never mentioned it as a HH because I figured everyone knew, but tonight he called Christian by his WWE name, Christian. Just thought it was a neat little quirk that pointed out that despite these guys are all in TNA now, they've known each other for years, and still refer to people as the name they originally knew them by. Way to go, Scotty.
(2) 411's presents – John Meehan:
Gotta give some love to our boy Meehan here. The fact is I re-watched iMPACT! again, and you can see our boy John Meehan like 138 times. No Hidden Highlight, other than the fact that all of us here at 411 go to shows when we can, and yet we rarely seem to get on TV; but the fact is you couldn't watch this entire show and miss Meewho at all. Him and the hot dog shirt wearing family stuck out like a sore thumb. JP, I realize I may have ruined it a bit for you, but I'd like to think that you are just confirming later on what I already said. Nice work Meehan, you got on TV, something all of us have been trying to do forever now. It's always cool to spot yourself on TV. I remember when I was like 10, I got onto the local news for all of three seconds because I was the one reading in class. Getting on TV owns, and Meehan did so all night long.
And by the way Meeperson, the crowd plant hottie made TV, so you were indeed correct on that assessment that she was there for no reason other than to look hot! As for interacting with you, I would also contribute the fact she even acknowledged you in any way, shape or form to the knowledge that she got paid.
(1) What's in the bag!?:
My, my this was heavily debated in the forums, which really meant nothing to me because I already knew the answer. Did Rhino, or did he not have a belt in that bag? Well, my friends, the answer is very simple. YES! He most definitely had a bag. First, let me give thanks to Ultima for being there and verifying (Meehan was absolutely no help whatsoever, but we love you anyway Meeyou). Now, the reason I knew there was a belt in the bag was simple. As the camera moved around towards Rhino's side/back area, it showed the back of the bag. Said part of the bag had several holes/see through areas, and you could clearly see the snaps of a belt. I can't verify it was an ECW belt, but it was most definitely a replica wrestling belt of some sort. They don't put snaps on fake leather for anything else. So, to all those wondering, you lose. There was 100% without a doubt a belt in that bag. Also, I'd like to give special thanks to my DVD recorder, who allowed me to verify what I had seen about twenty times.
See, start paying attention people, and you'll catch the little things like this!
JP: I'm just wondering how a belt made out of metal burns. Anyway, although you did totally steal my pre-written thunder, I have a BONUS HIDDEN HIGHLIGHT for iMPACT!
JT: Is it really a bonus or more an add-on?
JP: Fine, it's an add-on.
(Add-on) Who is that man?:
As JT mentioned in his number 2 Hidden Highlight (that's how you rank Meehan, always in second), 411mania's own John Meehan was sitting ringside. And here's the proof (watch for the last guy in yellow on the left side):
Thanks to Meehan for submitting his own picture (kidding, I stole it from the forum… where Meehan posted it himself…). Meehan, I did notice that you were not holding up a "My sign is a Hidden Highlight" banner with your hot dog loving family, so I am gravely disappointed. Sadly, reader Adam Nelson also did not get his "My sign is a Hidden Highlight" sign on iMPACT. You think with those odds we would have got one, but no dice. Keep trying people! I want that sign on TV!!!!
JT: I'm pretty familiar with Ford Field, so if nothing else, when we're all at WM 23, I will walk down to the first row on the TV side, randomly pick someone, and offer them $100 to get our sign on TV. I'm sure that will work, because nobody would ever take a man's hard earned hundred bucks and then blow off the sign… ever.
Hidden Highlights for WWE SmackDown!: Friday, July 14, 2006 by JT
JT: I need some more JT-time, so SmackDown! is happening super fast to get to Saturday Night's Main Event! All right, maybe not that fast.
(3) Going once, going twice, SOLD!:
During the Hardy / Kennedy match, Kennedy went big time on the offensive to Matt Hardy's left shoulder. When Kennedy went up to second rope, Hardy managed to get in a kick which sent Kennedy to a sitting position on the top rope. Hardy then managed to make it up to the second rope, and get his right arm around Kennedy's head to set him up for the Suplex. What I loved about this was that he did it all completely one armed! Mr. Hardy became Mr. Sell, and didn't use his left arm for any of it. Not to balance on ropes, not to position Kennedy, nothing. He just left his left arm limp and finagled his way up there to perform the move. Did he use it at the end to secure the tights? For a brief second, yes, but they have to be safe. Aside from that, it was as if his left arm didn't even exist.
(2) Can you hear me now?:
I will do my best to explain this one so please bear with me (my DVD recorder decided it didn't feel like recording last night so the HH is accurate, the circumstances surrounding it may not be 100% accurate). Jamie Noble had Paul London in some sort of mat based submission maneuver (I believe something similar to the STF), and the ref was doing his usual task of asking if London wanted to submit. Kendrick – who was maybe two feet behind the ref – began banging on the mat. The ref turned around and told him to stop. That was odd I thought but then I realized he was out of position! He couldn't see London's mouth, and therefore could not see if he mouthed "yes" to the question. So he was looking for audio confirmation of London submitting, but couldn't hear because Kendrick was banging on the mat. Also, he was listening (or looking for) a tap out, which would also be affected by Kendrick banging on the mat. Nice job by the ref selling that the matches are in fact not scripted, and that he needs to be able to hear a wrestler submit if he's out of visual range of said wrestler's mouth.
Not ONLY am I going to tell you that, but it was for the chick named JT! Now, I've already dealt with all the cute little jokes, so when I saw this, I thought "goodness! I can actually talk about her seriously!". At any rate, on with it. When she was running the "Diva Boot Camp" course, she approached the ring to complete the "go under the net thingamabob" portion. She entered in the middle, and sort of angled herself towards the left as she went through. I initially thought "no sense of direction on this one", but then realized it was intentional! You see, when she got out of the ring, she was right there at the ring post located right next to the potato sack! All of the other ladies came out right in the middle of the ring, four feet from the sack. She was attempting to shave at least a second by popping out right next to it. Can't believe I'm saying this, but smart thinking on her part!
JP: I can't believe you are saying that either. On a show filled with Booker T, Rey Mysterio, Batista, Fit Finlay, William Regal, and many more, your top Hidden Highlight goes to JT!?! Man oh man. Ah well, who am I to judge? And it does bring some positivity to the Diva Search, so more power to ya!
Hidden Highlights for WWE Saturday Night Main Event: Saturday, July 15, 2006 by JT
JT: What a fun show. I hated the ending, but aside from that, it was a really good time. You essentially had the good parts of both RAW and SD. Hell, even the Diva portion only took :11 and :07 respectively, so all was good. Not only that, I got the greatness of JBL, JR, and Tazz all on commentary the same night; what more could I ask for? Oh, I could ask for DX doing hilarious commentary over a muted Vince and Spirit Squad Co… and I got it!
(3) I'm Randy Orton, and tonight, I'm NOT a cocky jerk:
I think we were all a little "what the hell was that?" when Orton came down and was completely civil with Hogan (we all knew it was for the setup but still). But what struck me was when he first came out to his music. No pyro, and more specifically, no "Randy Orton Pose". He was truly trying to sell the fact that he was trying to be respectful, and had he have done the pose, Hogan would have immediately thought "little brat". I thought it was a very nice sell by Orton that he was playing a different role. If only those hundreds of 14 year old girls who wanted to take the picture agreed with me.
(2) Give me that sign!:
When Todd Grisham was interviewing the Big Show, there was a guy that happened to walk past in the complete oblivion of the background. If you watch it 37 times like I did, you will see that the man in question that walked by for all of half a second was just a random security guy, ……………………………………. who happened to be carrying a sign that was taken from a fan! I always wondered what those guys did when they took a sign (I assume they didn't just stand there the whole night holding a bunch of signs), and now we know that they do go backstage and – I'll presume – there is in fact a place where they go for official "taken sign" drop-off.
(1) Hope it burns!:
During the multi-gender-multiple-person-tag-match (take your time to catch your breath), the two ladies were in the ring. Now, as Melina went to give Trish the eye poke, she first licked her thumb! Saavy and sexy? Yes, but no. Strategic move? Definitely. You see, Saliva in a wound (or in this case, an eye) is no different than pouring salt in an open wound. It burns like shit. Nice little added touch by Melina to make sure than when she did poke the eye, Trish would get some (burning) saliva in there.
JP: Saliva burns? So that's what happened to my last girlfriend! Who knew?
Reader Write-in Hidden Highlights
Hidden Highlights aren't just for us to find and tell you about, but for you to spot and share with us. Don't just sit there and stare, but be a more active, attentive, and engaged viewer. Appreciate all the hard work that goes into making the wrestling we have the privilege to watch and then let us know what you caught this and every week.
This week JP gets to pick our Reader Write-in Hidden Highlights of the week.
JP: Over 500 unanswered e-mails and counting! Oh dear. So, *GENERAL WARNING*:: some parts of the following Reader Write-in Hidden Highlights may be edited for grammar, spelling, and English translation…
Starting us off this week is Jazza with a good one from RAW two weeks ago that we missed:
During the opening exchanges of the bout in the faces-take-turns-beating-up-heel-saying-'can-you-top-this'-to-each-other period, John Cena hit a standard vertical suplex on Edge, and the camera caught that Rob was onto it enough to make a little leap into the air, thus making the impact seem that much more devastating (if you could call a Cena suplex devastating).
I've always liked the little efforts for guys to sell moves which their not even involved in, and it shows on what was probably the toughest (emotionally) RAW broadcast of his career, RVD was pro enough to add that little HH into the act.
JP: RVD really was giving it his all, even to people who don't appreciate Hidden Highlights as much as we do. He certainly went out with class. Speaking of class, here Jeremy Castillo who also wants me to the do the Hidden Highlights of Ready to Rumble. I think I will do that. But for now:
A few weeks ago, the Spirit Squad was defending the tag titles against Snitsky and Goldust. One of the members locked a submission on the Accidental Abortionist but he got to the ropes. The SS member didn't release it immediately, for which he received a scolding from the ref, and screamed "I got till 5!" It was a great way for him to show knowledge of the rules but breaking them anyway, just like a heel would do.
My other HH was all the way back from the Royal Rumble. I didn't catch this the first time I saw the event, but did on the DVD. The first person Trevor Murdoch attacked upon entering was Tatanka. What a great, and slightly subtle, way for Murdoch to play up his cowboy gimmick than to attack an Indian.
JP: The Spirit Squad continue to impress on the subtle scale, though I am still having a lot of trouble remembering which one is which. Cowboys and Indians? Man, that is old school. Trade Cade and Murdock to SmackDown! now! Well, since we are already going backwards in time, RC returns with one from the only member of the Hidden Highlights Hall of Fame:
It's from a RAW promo I think from the Invasion era, by Y2J. In it he talks about how ppl have said that he can never win the "big one". He says these ppl are right and then says: "while I've done a lot of ting, I've never been officially the World Wrestling Champion".
The HH? The word "officially" that he mentions. Why is that a HH? Coz it's a continuity thing that he just sneaks in there. About a year before he won the big one, but the decision was reversed by Earl Hebner after some "pressure" HHH. After that the entire ordeal was scrapped from the history books although Jericho had actually been the WWF Champ for about 10-15 minutes.
I love continuity, especially when it's done more than a year later by a wrestler who just sneaks it into his promo and especially when that wrestler is none other than Y2J!
JT: Jericho + Continuity = reeks of awesomeness.
JP: RC, that was really great.
JT: Why don't you just marry him?
JP: Stop interrupting! Jericho is already in the Hall of Fame, what else can I say about him? The man was a walking Hidden Highlight machine and I miss seeing him on TV every week. But Anonymous would like to talk about someone who Jericho loves:
Trish Stratus is REALLY good at doing things to go along with the match whether or not she's not on camera. In watching a 6 man tag from Fully Loaded 00 with Trish and T&A vs. the Hardys and Lita, they pan to Trish a lot. Why? Because she keeps making facial expressions and such to show pleasure/distain with how the match is going. I don't think Trish gets enough love for her acting around this time, but this match showed her ability to play on the match whether or not she knows the camera is on her.
JP: Trish is usually real good with the facials (no pun intended) and that was right at the beginning of her career, too. Good catch. First timer Pete would like to bring us into modern times with a perpetual Hidden Highlight of his own:
Listen to JBL's voice whenever he talks about King Booker. He softens his voice and even when chides Michael Cole he does so in a softer tone and without some of his more colorful euphamisisms.
JP: I've very much noticed how JBL acts when Booker T is around. I've been enjoying JBL immensely on the mic, especially because he does not get generic heel all the time. There are heels he badmouths as well and nice things he says about faces. It's all good in my book. Duncan Newton-Gaines is back with a good one of his own:
A SHOCKING! hidden highlight here. during Cena's match, he hit Shelton with an electric Chair drop. Longtime fans will remember that for a long time, at was one of Edge's trademark moves. An interesting dig at the Rated R superstar.
JP: Not so shocking from my angle. As long time Cena fans will tell you that Cena is a student of the game and knows his history probably as well as I do. And as long-time readers will note, he's gotten his fair share of Hidden Highlights in these hollowed pages. Speaking of history, long time readers will also remember Jislaine Medina as the girl who would give up her Hidden Highlight loving boyfriend to spend a night with me. Well, I thought our torrid affair was over, but look what she has to say:
I'm sure you'll get a lot of e-mails on this, but how about that promo recovery made by the Miz? He stumbled 2-3 times in a matter of seconds, a feat equatable only to the likes of Sycho "Leg = Ow" Sid, Lex "I don't KNOW!" Luger, and Randy "Make Your Own Poop Joke" Orton. However, the opportunity to bounce back from those little snares presented itself and he took it like a bull by the horns ("Now you know why I was so nervous!"). It was an excellent display of the ability to think on one's feet, something I would imagine any performer would need sometime. His recovery is what separates him from the animals, so to speak.
JP: Looking at the positive of the Miz's mess up? I knew there was a reason I lo—
JT: Please don't start this again!
JP: All right… all right… [call me later]. Regular Mike LaFave gets us back on track:
Val entered the ring and was set to do his traditional take off the towel routine and Orton hopped outside out of respect to let him do it. While the camera and all the ladies eyes were on Val, Orton quickly came back into the ring and attacked Val from behind setting up the early RKO and an easy victory. Classic throwback heel behavior from a classic throwback heel!!!
JP: I noticed this one as well. I thought it was really odd that Randy Orton would leave the ring and give Val his time on the apron, but there he was on the outside motioning for Val to go on. Classic throwback heel, as you said. Next up is Jon N who also seems to be turning into a regular:
On Sunday as I was traveling back home, I was at the airport and picked up a copy of the "new" WWE Magazine, which wasn't supposed to go on sale until Tuesday (today). I don't know if you guys had a chance to read it and will know what I'm talking about by the time you publish this edition. Anyways, I gave it a good read on my flight...but something really caught my attention, being the internet fan I am.
The WWE apparently has three "Sex Experts" who will answer fans questions in regards to sexual and relationship matters each month.....Ashley, Maria and Melina. The FIRST QUESTION....the VERY FIRST QUESTION was from some guy asking if he should break up with his girlfriend because he THINKS he's gonna cheat. CHEATING is the first topic. Well, Ashley and Maria ramble on and give their opinions on the subject. Guess who's conspicuously silent on the subject? That's right, Melina. She gives her opinions on the rest of the questions, but not on this one. I just thought it was a fantastic little HH for those of us who have read about her apparent, much-rumored ways.
JP: Interesting analysis, though I do try to avoid the gossip. But I do hope she's been faithful to Mr. Nitro, as I'm a big mark for him. And I did give her a lot of love above in the RAW section. Well, I've always said it, what people do in their personal lives should not affect what happens in the ring. Sam J moves us away from personal lives and RAW and takes us to ECW on SciFi:
1.When Sabu did his suicide senton onto Credible in their match, when they hit the ground, Credible was still holding Sabu's waist. Credible didn't want Sabu hurting himself, so he caught him, and didn't drop him.
2. During Flair V Big Show, you could hear some guy shout out "This is very ECW!!" Right before it went to commercial break. All the fans know this isn't ECW.
JP: Credible usually gets a lot of flack from the IWC, so I'm glad someone is pointing out his ability. And as I noted in the ECW section, we all know this is not ECW, but sometimes we can get forget. Pokemasterkatie also returned this week after reading Journey into Darkness, the fictional story of Kane that answers all those lagging continuity questions. Katie sent in a bunch of Hidden Highlights, but I liked this one the best:
You know how Kane's hometown is always unknown, right? Well, I have confirmation that Kane's true hometown is Marfa, TX (might check to see if that's an actual city on the map). But the epilogue says he now lives life wherever the day takes him (hence the 'unknown'). IMO, that's pretty damn cool.
JP: That is a pretty good reasoning. At least one of those ghost authors was creative! Speaking of creative, Bob has a Hidden Highlight that only makes sense in hindsight:
I was just watching the new WWE at MSG show and have a hidden highlight from it. I don't know if this is technically a hidden highlight but I enjoyed it. In a tag team match between The Rockers and The Brain Busters at one point in the match The Rockers bust out a double super kick. It wasn't used as a finisher than but it was cool to see the future HBK whipping out what is now the move he's most famous for. By the way it was great to see some tag team wrestling done right over 15 minutes I would say of good wrestling. It's nice to get to watch all this old style wrestling considering I never had a chance to see it during its first run (as the event happened a week before my first birthday).
JP: Ok, I have to admit, I automatically decided to include this one because it was from the MSG show. I don't have the MSG network (but I think I can order it), so I want to hear more about it. Do we have a recapper for that yet? Larry? Randle? Ashish? Beuhler? Anybody?!
Well, that about wraps up the write-ins this week. And special thanks to reader J2K and 411mania's own Geoff of Wresting's 3R's (who apparently has no love for me whatsoever and just wants to talk to JT!) for both pointing out that JT could have just gone over to Obsessed with Wresting, the website he is co-editor of, and seen that Edge's old tag team partner in Sex and Violence was none other than Joe E. Legend. Good job guys, and I'm sure JT appreciates you belittling him. I know I do.
JT: In my defense, I did go to OWW; my mistake was that I looked up Edge instead of Joe E., and the first thing that it says is that Edge appeared as Sexton in a tag team with Christian Cage. So shame on me for not double checking. By the way, you're only the 83rd person to point out that I am the co-editor of the very site that could have cleared this up. I'm catching all kinds of initial slack this week. First OWW, and now the JT thing… I think I'm going to start going by James.
JP: You kind of walked into it.
JT: I walked into a diva search contestant being named JT?
JP: Exactly.
JT: How in the hell did I d-
JP: Oops! Looks like we're out of time!
Do you have a Hidden Highlight from this or any week in history 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!
That Other Section
That Other Section is an idea, a free forum where we get to explore the other bits of positivity in the universe. Sometimes, though, 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: Although I am tempted to continue Bayani's nice little rib on JT, I have something else to talk about.
Read Between the Lines: RVD and Sabu
JP: That's right! It's the return of JT's least favorite feature: READ BETWEEN THE LINES!
JT: Hey, I like the feature, I just hated writing it every week.
JP: And so did I, that's why it doesn't exist anymore! But I have something for the section this week.
JT: I thought all this RVD/Sabu pot stuff was old news.
JP: It was old news, unless you get new information.
JT: New information that was not posted anywhere else?
JP: That's right. It's a Hidden Highlights NEWZ EXCLUSIVE!!!
JT: I knew there was a reason why you said that in the teaser!
JP: And Randle can C&P this for the morning. Anyway…
According to my second-hand source (who will remain nameless to protect this person's first hand source), no arrests and no complaints have actually been pressed against RVD and Sabu, and it doesn't look like there will be. This is for several reasons.
First, RVD only had a small amount of marijuana on him, well below the legal limit considered to be for distribution. Because of that, it lowers any charge to minor misdemeanor that can only result in a fine. Second, this "unknown" pills that Sabu had with him were PRESCRIBED painkillers, ones that were prescribed to him. He just did not have the prescription with him, and because they seemed in a random collection to the police officers they were written up as such. Since then, Sabu has been able to prove his legal ownership of those pills. Third, the mystery pipe Sabu had? Not such a mystery, it was a tobacco pipe. Oh sure, it wasn't your traditional corkscrew pipe, but I once saw these guys smoking apple tobacco from a hookah on the porch to my building, so it happens. Not everyone uses pipes for elicit purposes, some people actually use them for legal smoke-able products (not that I condone smoking anything!).
So you must be saying to yourself (or at least I hope you have been wondering) why was RVD suspended while Sabu was not? And now that we know Sabu had the right to everything in his car, why was he still fine $1000? Pretty simple: Sabu was an accomplice. Sure, it wasn't much of a crime, but if anything worse had happened to RVD, Sabu would have been equally responsible as accomplice. It was a message to the other wrestlers: you may not be the one taking illegal substances, but you can still be punished if we find out you've been covering up for someone else.
So there is your exclusive news story, Hidden Highlights and In Defense Of… style. And again, I cannot confirm any of this so it is all "allegedly". But I trust the source and see no reason for this person to make anything up to me.
JT: Ahhhh yes; I deal with this at work quite a bit. Ladies and Gentleman, it's called "Guilty By Association", and it does indeed exist. My suggestion is to call your local police and report any of your friends stealing cable for free. Okay not really, but glad to hear that Sabu was actually legit in this, because it was no surprise that RVD had some trees on him.
JP: Trees? Isn't that like slang? How would you know wh-
JT: Like you said, oops! Out of time!
Exit, stage left!
JT: I'm a happy man, because I finally got my Motorola RAZR, which I've wanted for literally years, and it only cost me sixty bucks (yes, brand new you skeptics). So, now, I can call you in style!
JP: Ummmm… we don't speak on the phone… ever?
JT: Oh… that's true… I meant hypothetically! Anyway, we're three issues from 50, and still somehow have our sanity! So join us next week my little ravioli's.
JP: Did you just call our readers pasta?
JT: Kornheiser was on vacation this week so I had nothing!
JP: Good ‘ol JT, always passing the blame onto another one of his imaginary friends.
Thank you for joining us for the forty-sixth 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 for all the moments you see this and every week.
We'll catch you again next time in the reader approved most positive article in all of the IWC: Hidden Highlights! Until then!
