Hidden Highlights 09.03.06: Issue #53
Posted by Prag-Thomlison on 09.03.2006
Lita makes a quick getaway, Paul Heyman has his own locker, Petey Williams loses his voice, Gregory Helms rules “sports entertainment” and the usual excessive goodness. Plus Steve Cook takes on Julian Williams in the forth match of the Great Positivity Debate!
Hidden Highlights
By JP Prag and James "JT" Thomlison
Issue #53
Intro
Hello everyone whose entire life is in a storage shed somewhere, 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, defender of truth and currently on In Defense Of… hiatus.
And then there is James "JT" Thomlison, who may have some other articles to write with football and network television seasons starting.
We bring you Hidden Highlights with one goal in mind: to appreciate all those little things that make a huge difference. JT?
JT: Sadly, being in the new office and not having nearly the time (or freedom) I had in the old office, I doubt I'll be able to resurrect either of those. You did mention the magic word though, as we're ONE WEEK FROM FOOTBALL SEASON!!!!!!!!!!!!
JP: JT, football started yesterday...?
JT: I meant the pro game, thank you. Anything else Mr. Witty-witty-funny-guy?
JP: Nah, I just needed to take a pot shot at you since all these east coast storms have really put a damper (no pun intended) on my moving weekend.
JT: So what you are saying is you make fun of me to make yourself feel better?
JP: Yeah, pretty much.
JT: So long as you don't talk abo—
JP: Oh god, no, I don't even want to think about that! On with the Hidden Highlights… PLEASE!
Hidden Highlights for WWE RAW: Monday, August 28, 2006 by JP
JP: The funny thing about RAW from Atlantic City was that they never showed the arena from the outside. Instead, they showed all the other areas of the boardwalk. Sure, they'd like you to think that RAW was in the Taj Mahal. Nice try there!
(3) Let's get away… quick!:
When Edge, Shane, and the gang were exiting the ring, Lita was the last one in line while Cena was still standing there. But instead of waiting her turn to get out of the ring, Lita decided she had to move quick. Of course, history lets us know that Cena has taken Lita out on more than one occasion. Lita, to her credit, did not want to be stuck in the ring with Cena, so she went out the side ropes and left before the others, thus saving herself. Smart thinking there by Lita.
(2) Good girls?:
After the paddle on a pole match, Candice Michelle and Torrie were being quite kind to each other. To this, JR responded, "A couple of good natured Divas… that doesn't happen very often." This had me cracking up. As we usually see in the WWE, the slightest little things gets the ladies into a catfight, so two acting nice to each other is a rare treat. JR was right on with this little comment, and it definitely tickled the funny bone.
(1) Hear me roar:
During the main event melee, Triple H was making a large comeback and taking out the SmackDown! superstars. When Triple H hit Regal with a discus punch, Regal let out a loud guttural scream. It was just such a great, natural reaction from Regal that it had to be mentioned. Often times, wrestlers fail to give that natural reaction to being hit, but Regal was right on the money for something that would be picked up by only a select few.
JT: Chris Masters is skinny, and Jeff Hardy is your new #1 contender to the IC title, and Lita wrestled a match!... times they are a changin'!
Hidden Highlights for ECW on SciFi: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 by JT
JT: Hardcore Holly continued his return as RVD continued to climb the ranks, Rene Dupree continues to do nothing but work out and pose, Matt Striker is pissed, Kelly gets naked, Big Show challenges DX, and Sabu vs. Heyman! Who saw that ending coming???
(3) The good ole days:
During the CM Punk / Stevie Richards match, Richards ended up on the outside and Punk threw the ropes and hit him on the outside. He then threw Richards back into the ring and began to climb up to the top rope, but as he did Richards kicked him, essentially using the ropes to create a low blow. Joey then said as he was calling the match "You've been in the ring with Stevie Richards, Taz. You know he doesn't play by the rules", to which Taz said "There was nothing wrong with that"; and they continued on calling the match. At first I thought that Taz was taking the side of the heels (who cheat), but then realized he was right! When Taz faced Stevie Richards, it was in ECW, where essentially (yes, I'm aware that under certain circumstances, you could get DQ'd) there were no rules, so it WAS okay if Stevie Richards broke a few rules in his matches with Taz. Nice little reference to history there.
(2) Paul Heyman - Wrestler:
During Paul Heyman's opening promo, most of it the camera angle was fairly close to Heyman's face. But somewhere in the middle, it backed up just a little bit to show that Heyman's hands were taped. So for about maybe six seconds, you could see just a glimpse of the lockers behind him – more specifically (and least visible!) – the one behind his right shoulder. There was a pair of sneakers, and behind that you could see Paul Heyman's all too familiar ECW hat! This was great product placement by Heyman (as it's available at WWE shopzone) that also sold the fact that it was *his* locker, as tonight, he's a "wrestler".
(1) Does this man ever NOT dress the part?:
Short and sweet, folks! When Matt Striker came out to give his promo, in his pocket, I think we all noticed the pens/etc. But did anyone else catch… the pocket protector!
In best JBL impersonation when he sees Little Bastard:
Yes! A Pocket Protector! I love it! I felt like it was 1988 and I was watching Saved By The Bell! I want one! Where in the blue hell did they even get one of those nowadays! Brilliant!
End JBL impersonation:
Seriously, I don't even know what the Hidden Highlight is, but I laughed/marked so hard when I saw that thing, I knew it had to be included.
…and you're not feeling the Saved By The Bell reference, then you suck. Speaking of which, anyone remember the Jessi "stay awake" pills episode? Zack intervention!
Okay, sorry about that. Joking aside, I really did think it was a great touch. You know that someone in the back, be it Striker, wardrobe, production, SOMEONE was just like "you know what, the pens and shit just ain't enough".
JP: Now someone is going to request that we do a "That Other Section" on Saved by the Bell! Hmmmm… maybe we could take that to the extreme?
Hidden Highlights for TNA iMPACT: Thursday, August 31, 2006 by JP JP: They finally used the Bat-phone sitting at the announce table! That made this whole episode worthwhile. I've been waiting MONTHS to see that thing used. And I'm satisfied with the results.
(3) My voice is going… going… gone…:
Petey Williams sometimes likes to sing to the crowd, but he sure doesn't like them singing back. We've seen him say "Nah" to the crowd a number of times, but this week he took it up a notch. When he was standing on Jay Lethal's… area… he started to sing, then started coughing, and made the sign that he had laryngitis. Good play by Petey to keep freshening up his act to stay a heel.
(2) What are you doing here?:
During your "Don't Fire Eric" match of the bi-week, Eric Young was taking on cult favorite Shark Boy. But did you notice who the ref was for the match? None other than Jim Cornette's personal hand-boy, Slick Johnson. Having Slick around would of course make Eric more nervous, and remind everyone of Eric's ongoing storyline.
(1) A little extra stomp:
As Abyss was setting up the double stacked thumb-tacked tables, Brother Runt was laying on the ground waiting to get beat up. James Mitchell then made a run by Brother Runt to go help Abyss with his little construction project. But did he just skittle on by? Of course not! He took that moment to get a cheap kick on Runt and help keep him down. Kudos to Mitchell for making the extra effort to lay in some more pain and keep his monster's opponent down.
JT: I have really enjoyed Impact as of late. I'm even going to give Jarrett some love on the promo. And next time you have 10,000 tacks, I demand you actually use 10,000 tacks!
Hidden Highlights for WWE SmackDown!: Friday, September 1, 2006 by JT
JT: An excellent three way dance for the US Title, the return of the Pitbulls, Booker T and Dave square off, the Miz debuted, Vito grosses Regal right out of a victory, and I got TWO spinebusters!!!
(3) Belt hog?:
When Gregory Helms came out for his match with Matt Hardy, the ring announcer did not say, "The longest reigning Cruiserweight Champion in history". Oh no, what he said was "The longest reigning champion in sports entertainment". Now, not counting anyone other than WWE, TNA, ROH, and a couple of Japan Feds (I believe), this is in fact a true statement! Now, I'd specifically say that this using of the term "sports entertainment" was directed solely on TNA – something that the E doesn't do often (more on that in the RWHH section!) – and even if not, it's just like the E to do whatever they can to get their guy as over as possible. Screw "cruiserweight", our guy has the whole industry on lock!
(2) What can I say, I have my favorites, part 1:
As we went to the backstage area, we saw Finlay and Kennedy start jawing with each other (golden, by the way), and were interrupted by Teddy Long. He assessed the situation, and said "So I take it you two want to wrestle?", and as Kennedy was responding, you could hear Finlay mutter "I want to fight". Now, of course he means wrestling, but his character loves to fight; great job by Finlay of adding that little touch to stay in character.
(1) What can I say, I have my favorites, part 2:
You know what, I'm actually going to cut HH really short this week unless I see something else in the next hour that's absolutely un-leave-it-out-able. I want to first say that the whole Finlay/Kennedy/Regal/Lashley/Booker intertwining thing has just been FABULOUS in my opinion, and actually has me enjoying SD a bit more than RAW. With that in mind, on with it. Now, if you recall in the last HH, you had a basic premise of "two guys jack jaw, GM intervenes and has some monologue". Well, when Kennedy was in the ring, Lashley came out and what did they do? They kept right on jacking jaw the whole time that Finlay was coming down to the ring. Then, to finish it off, GM comes out and has some monologue (adding Lashley to the match no less). Now, not sure it can be called "continuity" as it's the same show, but it was nice to see these guys pick up exactly where they left off. Nice job to take the parts of the promo that were working, and incorporate them into the beginning of the match.
JP: You know, sometimes I get the three Hidden Highlights I want to use early in the show and then think I don't want to watch the rest of it. And then I think I'm crazy, because this is the wrestling we love! Hidden Highlight finding is just a crazy obsession.
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 JT gets to pick our Reader Write-in Hidden Highlights of the week.
JT: I was going to say that we got another great batch, but we always have a great batch, so I mean, what's the point?! So, *GENERAL WARNING*:: some parts of the following Reader Write-in Hidden Highlights may be edited for grammar, spelling, and English translation…
Kicking us off with RAW is first timer Jesus, who wants to give Trish some props on her way out:
Hey long time reader first time writing in.....I wanted to comment on a hidden highlight I think you missed from the RAW addition from the night after Summerslam.....In the beginning of the night Trish has just finished her match with Victoria and all of a sudden Vince music hits and he and Shane come down to the ring. Now in the last month this has happened to Trish before, from Melina and Nitro and Edge and Lita. Both of those cases she stood in the middle of the ring and met those competitors head on, but this week she didn't. If you look closely as Vince and Shane are entering the ring, Trish has already left the ring, and in the hidden highlight for a split second you can see her not only leaving but ducking under the mat so that she's not in the eye sight of Vince and Shane. This puts over immensely 1) The power that Vince and Shane hold as she was willing to stand up to the WWE champ but not the Bosses' and 2) the fowl mood that Vince and Shane where in was enough to let her know that no one (except for DX at this time, and Mic Foley later) has the courage to met "Satan and Satan's Seed" when they are in one of those moods........
JT: Jesus also mentioned that it was okay if we didn't put it in. Jesus, unless it's the most obvious thing on the planet, if you are a first timer, JP and I always try to get in the new guys. And in your case, great catch! Trish's career has been like watching evolution live on TV every week. From where she started to where she is now, watching her has been amazing. She deserves everything she has because she damn sure worked for it. I'm sad to see her go, but wish her the best of luck. Next up we have Aaron, who noticed the E taking a page out of TNA's book.
During Jeff Hardy's debut on Raw, the announcers kept on mentioning what an "Impact" Jeff Hardy was going to make in the WWE. I almost wish they would call him Jeff "The Impact" Hardy, just to keep the TNA Impact reference!
JT: Now, I like this because typically the E makes a habit of not mentioning TNA. So, if you get a rare opportunity where if questioned you could say "what the fuck are you talking about, we say that about a lot of new wrestlers", I say go for it. I'd even go so far as to chalk this one up to JR and King as opposed to Vince. I could be wrong though. Next we have Jis, who spotted somethi—
JP: Wait, wait, wait… Jis? As in, Jislaine? Formerly with Jordan?
JT: You mean presently?
JP: WHY DO YOU THWART ME SO?!
JT: You see, talking to her and Jordan like normal human beings goes a long way in the real world.
JP: So what you are saying is that I shouldn't try to steal the girlfriends of readers, and especially fellow writers like Jordan?
JT: Ummm… yeah?
JP: Wow… I think I've had an epiphany today…
JT: That's… that's great… at any rate, from Jislaine:
When Shane was on the phone with Vince somewhere in the first half of the show, the former referred to the latter as "Daddy." At first, this comes off as strange (both of these grown men have GREY HAIR and one is calling the other DADDY?), but when you think about their background, it makes perfect sense. DX made the joke that Shane was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and it's mostly true--the 'E has been something of a cash cow for much of Shane's life. It makes perfect sense for Shane to call Vince "Daddy" because whether he's a dancing hero or boss for the day, Shane is still everyone's favorite prototype of the boss's son.
JT: I can actually completely relate here. I never call my father that directly, nor do I call him that when I talk to others, but out of habit, when I talk to my Mom, I call him Daddy. "Did Daddy see the game?", "Is Daddy home?". Complete force of habit. Only difference, mine doesn't have millions to leave me. Oh, and she ended with this:
And a note to JP:
No means no!
Take care, guys!
~Jis
JT: You're just having all the luck this week, eh buddy?
JP: Hahaha, oh, she's such a kidder! This is just a little game we play.
JT: And you are delusional. Now for someone less delusional, check out some Jordan Williams columns. He's good people. Go read him; for that matter, go check out the entire Games Section. Those guys are busting out some goodness. We also had George R., who caught a REALLY hidden gem:
The second is when Carlito and Trish are talking. The wall where they are standing and kiss has a sticker on it that says "I have a love affair with Atlantic City". It was hard to see the Atlantic City part but the Love Affair part was visible.
JT: Beautiful observation. All I saw was blue (I think) wall or whatever. Nice job George, and thanks for the email. Next we have Sam J., who hasn't emailed us in a while!:
On this weeks RAW, when Umaga came to the ring and beat down on Hacksaw and Eugene, he shouted "Samoa numera ua!" (forgive my inability to spell the Samoan language.) Now I don't speak Samoan, but, I would take this to mean "Samoa is number 1!" Now what other heel shouted his country's name to get heel heat? The Iron Shiek, always shouting "Iran number 1!" So an emulation? Seems logical to me. Peace.
JT: I haven't been giving a lot of love to Umaga, so allow me to do so here. For one, he's 33. He's been in the pro biz for 11 years. So that made him 25 at the time of his debut. We'll give him three to five years in the Indy's trying to break in, so that's around 21. He had to be trained before that, so that's 19. Typically most people that get into the business that young were fans themselves either lifelong or as a child. So there is definitely a chance that he is emulating Sheik. Another thing to keep in mind is he was trained at The Wild Samoan Pro Wrestling Camp; so it could be that or a combination of both. Finishing us up for RAW is Tatiana, who read between the lines (yes, that was worded like that on purpose! Man, I miss remember that section:
Now this isn't really a highlight more like a hidden clue. On Raw when Edge said "a match I've never lost," it was automatic to me that Cena has no chance. But not just because he's never been in a TLC match. But because the E' wouldn't change the title belt to a Rated R spinner belt just to change it back to the way Cena had it, and they also wouldn't ruin Edge's perfect TLC record just for Cena. Not to mention it would finally give Smackdown! a spice to their show. So my prediction at Unforgiven is Cena says buh-bye to Raw!
JT: Well, whether I agree or not, that is a very interesting prediction and – unlike most predictions we make around here – has some actual intelligent logic behind it. I guess we'll just have to wait and see! Moving to ECW, from PokermasterKatie:
Let's see...a tag team doing woman abuse on a Diva, one of the guys being Test. I know I've seen this angle before, but where...yes, I'm being sarcastic (I don't want to relive the Test/Steiner feud over Stacy! ;_;). Kelly's even copying Stacy's entrance!
JT: I've been saying that to myself for a week, and how dare she! Kelly, you are no Stacy, but to be positive, you are hot.
JP: Now who's the hound.
JT: We'll see, won't we? Oh yes, we'll see. Giving TNA some love this week is Nestor, who has something for my BOY Christian Cage:
On TNA Impact when The Truth confronted Cage, Christian verbally hit back with his mentioning of The Truth as "another fake rapper wannabe" he whooped up on (paraphrased). With that said I know that he was mentioning about his storyline he had with John Cena back in the WWE. After all, who could forget Christian's rap on that PPV verbally dissin' Cena?
JT: And…………. I missed it; which is odd, considering how I hang on his every word. JP would probably like to give this some continuity points, and I'll concede one or two, but I'd more attribute this to Christian being a great promo cutter. It was an excellent opportunity to interject some history and get a rib in on his opponent. Nice. First up for SmackDown we had WWEAngel, who chimed in from last week's show:
My HH is from last nights Smackdown and it's about Vicki Guerrero. Last night it seemed that most people were mad and confused about Vicki hitting Rey with a chair, but I wasn't. Vicki is a Guerrero and she played beautifully into the Guerrero Gimmick. Guerrero's Lie, Cheat, and Steal. That is exactly what she did.
JT: While I may or may not agree with WWE here, I felt it important to put it in because it's good to know that there are people trying to see the good in it, as opposed to automatically shitting all over it like most of the population. Good for you. Finishing us off we had Bobby D., which I love saying because Robert DeNiro is one of my all time favorites and I call him Bobby D.. So go ahead, Bobby D.:
Hey, I just wanted to actually comment on the Sting montage hidden highlight where it showed surfer Sting.
While that one may be an NWA photo & be owned by the NWA, there was one picture in that collection you must have missed. It was a crow Sting but with red facepaint. The only time Sting wore red facepaint was during his tenure with nWo Wolfpac. So, even if the surfer Sting was NWA, the Wolfpac Sting was WCW. WWE should own all footage of this version of Sting.
I'm not sure exactly what the rules are with WWE's ownership of WCW stuff, but I have a theory. When WWE usually shows old pictures of WCW & ECW, just about all photos have the label "Courtesy of Pro Wrestling Illustrated." I'm assuming that PWI Magazine appears to have its own personal wrestling photo collection that it owns independently that all wrestling organizations (even WWE *gasp*) allow. TNA may have gotten these photos from PWI, but I guess they would have credited them on the show. Another idea may be that since the photo was shown for a quick second, TNA just considered that WWE would not care, which seems to be true. You probably know what exactly happens there more than me.
JT: And I stand corrected! Truth be told Bobby D., I do not know more than you which case it is. It could be either of the two you mentioned, but thanks for keeping us on our toes! And also thanks for the love at the end of your email. Let's get to Aaron D., who is (and I'm assuming from his email address and the content in his email) from my hometown (SHOT OUT TO MY BOY COOK) of Louisville, Kentucky:
This is an old hidden highlight, from Raw in the mid 90s. They were going to be in Louisville the next week, so JR was pimping being in Louisville the following Monday and Lawler says "I'm usually there on Tuesdays." Now, most people would think nothing of this, but USWA always ran the Louisville Garden on Tuesday night and Lawler usually headlined those shows. So, Lawler was giving a shout out to all his USWA fans by simply throwing that out there.
JT: All I can say here is great call, and go Cards! Seriously, good stuff by King to hint at history. I'd have known this little fact, except apparently I slack in my duties at OWW. Shame on me yet again! Thanks Aaron! We also have Doug B. who …well… you'll see:
MVP: I know him as Antonio Banks, and have watched him for the last year in the Florida Indies before he was called to DSW, he is a talent and from what my brother told me a great guy, MVP was one of my brother's early trainers, keep an eye out for him he will be gold on Smackdown where a character like his can really get over especially with great announcing from the announcing GOD, JBL!
JT: From OWW, I can confirm this and he was apparently a tag team champ before. As for getting over, he's only had this gimmick for nine months and it seems to be working, so as you said, with the help from the ANNOUNCING GAWD, JBL, we could be looking at a bright talent. Doug goes on to say:
Sting: I'm not sure if I got this right but would TNA be able to use any old old old NWA footage of Sting? Is that what you were trying to say? I got confused.
JT: Um… yes, if I'm understanding your question right. Now I'm confused. What I meant was that I thought the E controlled the entire footage/pics/rights to WCW, but not NWA. Since TNA is actually "NWA:TNA", that means they have the rights to any footage/pics/rights to anything involving Sting in his early days. As Bobby D. pointed out though, there are pictures that show Sting in his various stages that the E does not own. Speaking of which, Manu B. (MANU! About time brother!) also got into the conversation:
"JT: Now, if you already know all of this, please forgive me. I figured some of our younger readers may not remember that far back, and I caught a little something tonight which made me take notice. During the promo clip for the upcoming Sting vs. Jarrett match, all images of Sting were as the current â crow' Stinger... all but one. For a brief second, it showed a picture of ‘surfer' Sting. Now, I initially thought "how could get that? Doesn't WWE own all of the WCW archiv-", and then I remembered. Sting actually started in NWA all the way back in 1987; so while the E might have most of Sting's career under lock and key, NWA/TNA still owns all the rights to any photos and video footage from the start of his career."
Are you sure about that? I always assumed that WWE inherited all that via the buyout (WCW bought out JCP, which in turn bought out other companies, like the UWF, and GCW, etc). Was sting part of an NWA franchise that a) didn't get sucked into the eventual WCW, and b) hasn't been bought by Vince?
Didn't Jarrett dress up like surfer sting at least once in their TNA feud? Was that _just_ in WCW? If it was, in fact, a picture of sting from waaaaay back when, good catch!
JT: Well, first Manu, it was a legit picture from way back, as again, Bobby D. explained (as I did) it was possible. As for all your questions, I have no idea. None at all. I'd assume that the original NWA still has the right to at least some of their stuff, but I honestly don't know.
JP: Man, what the hell did you start?
JT: I don't know, but at least we answered the best we could, and can finally mo—
JP: All right, I've let you fluster around enough. Here's the deal. NWA was not ever a wrestling promotion, but a lose conglomerate of other promotions, of which JCP was the biggest. Sting wrestled in many other NWA territories. Some of those got bought out by WCW/Turner, some by the WWF, some merged into each other or went out of business. The point is, there is still footage out there that was not ever bought by WCW or WWE, so that is available. It isn't owned by the "NWA", per se, because the NWA doesn't own anything. TNA is another organization that is in the NWA, but they do not have the rights to everything in the other NWA members. That said, all the other NWA members benefit off of TNA, so they would be willing to share their property. Also, there are independent sources available out there, like PWI and the older media, so that is available as well. Plus Sting does own a lot of his own press material, and that is out there, too.
JT: Are you done, Mr. Know it all?
JP: Didn't you call me that at the beginning of the article?
JT: All right, we need to move on… or so I thought! We just got hit out of left field from who I assume is John B.:
What would you 2 "experts" consider the best Eddie Guerrero match of all time?
JT: Hmmmm… personally, I liked a lot of the early Eddie / Benoit matches from WCW. I mean, I think it's a really tough call. He had so many singles and tag matches over the years, I honestly don't think I can give an opinion on it. He's feuded with Angle, there's probably one in there. But yeah, can't say to be honest. JP?
JP: I really liked his stuff with Dean Malenko in WCW, so that's usually a good bit to focus on. I'm not really an expert on matches, though.
JT: John then hit us with:
Would you like to see a Great Khali vs Spirit Squad in a Make or Break Gauntlet match where if Khali lost he left WWE and if Spirit Squad lost they had to disband?
JT: What is this? TGPD? Honestly, right now Spirit Squad is still making it work, so I don't think that the disband is necessary just yet. As for Khali, I'd rather see him healthy above all, so let's let him get that straight before I start calling for his head. Nice try though ehehe. Next is Jason R., who – like me – loves the signs:
During the Chris Masters/ John Cena match, I noticed a funny lil hidden highlight in the crowd. Right around the time Cena puts Masters up for the FU, a fan in the crowd behind them holds up two signs, one saying R2 and the other saying L2. Anyone that has played Smackdown vs. Raw knows this is the combination of buttons that you push to activate the wrestlers finishing move. Great timing by the fan. I always love to look through the crowd for those kind of signs. There are some very witty fans around the country. And everyone thinks wrestling fans are dumb.
JT: And in addition to dumb, they now find us to be total game geeks. That's okay though. I love signs that actually mean something. Not to say that the usual signs aren't cool, because there's nothing wrong with a "CENA RULES" sign; but as you know, we here at HH are doing our best to get our sign on TV, so we're definitely willing to show sign love!
…BUT WAIT! WE HAVE A CHALLENGE! From Chris M.:
I'm not sure how many other people caught this on Monday, but I thought it was brilliant. During the opening match between John Cena and Chris Masters, Cena was getting ready to hit Masters with the F.U. only to have Masters block and escape from it. As this happened, some in the crowd held up two, small, orange signs that read "L2" and "R2". This is a reference to the SmackDown series of video games on the PS2; pressing L2 and R2 at the same time is the only way to block and/or reverse a finisher. That was the most clever crowd sign I've seen in a while, and the timing was absolutely perfect. Kudos to that guy
JT: Hmmmm… I'm willing to give both of you a draw. I have not played it, but I think maybe that if you hit L2 and R2 at the same time, it will make you do the finisher. I'm also inclined to believe that if the opponent presses it at the same time, it will block/counter. So you both win. And we're ending things with Aaron L. (what's with the Aaron's today?) who had a little something from a few shows:
On the 8/14 episode of Raw, I gotta give a Hidden Highlight to everyone's favorite mentally challenged wrestler, Eugene. Eugene and Hacksaw Jim Duggan were wrestling the Spirit Squad (I believe Mikey and Kenny) in a non-title match, and Eugene, even being dead on his feet, earned the pin by covering Mikey, after the Highlanders hit their finisher on Mikey. Duggan comes in to celebrate with Eugene. You can see Eugene ask Duggan, "We won?" and Duggan respond in the affirmative. The HH comes right here, as Eugene makes the universal symbol for a championship, the hands pantomiming a belt around his waist, as if to ask Duggan "Are we the champs?". Duggan then shook his head no, and Eugene made a sad face. Great job by Nick Dinsmore to 1) sell the fact that he's still groggy from the match and 2) sell his character's mental handicap.
JT: You know, Eugene catches a lot of slack over the fact his gimmick has gone from fun to somewhat ridiculous, but he continues to go out there (when he actually gets on TV) and do the little things that shows he has what it takes to be in this business. This was a prime example.
The end of SummerSlam brings another Hidden Highlight, this one from the great color commentator known as JBL. After Edge defeated Cena with the brass knuckles, in one of the post-match shots, you can see JBL with a look of disbelief on his face, as if he's in between thoughts of "How the hell did Edge pull that off?" and "Oh my god, Edge is a genius!" Great job by JBL to sell the end of the Raw title match even though he's a Smackdown announcer. (I'll try to get a screenshot of this before the end of the week and send it to you)
JT: JBL owns. Carry on.
This Hidden Highlight comes from the live Ring of Honor show I attended in Chicago Ridge, IL last Saturday night. The match in question was the six man tag that pitted Delirious and Irish Airborne against Jimmy Rave, Sal Rinuaro, and a mystery partner, who ended up being Nigel McGuinness. Near the beginning of the match, Rave was in the ring, and the crowd was serenading him with chants of "Jimmy likes balls!" McGuinness and Rinuaro were in the tag corner right in front of me, and as the crowd was chanting, McGuinness tapped Rinuaro on the shoulder, and pointed down to his package, covering it up, as if to ask "Am I safe? Does Jimmy like balls?" Rinauro reassured him, shaking his head no, that in fact Jimmy does not like balls. Fantastic job by Nigel to sell the fact that he was not familiar with his tag partners, even though they were teaming up for this match, and that he wanted to make sure his balls were safe. And I just wanted to include a HH that involved balls.
JT: Gotta love the live show Highlights! Thanks for all three of those Aaron. That was quite a full plate! And speaking of full plates, J2K is back and finishes us off with a BEAST of an email:
I attended the show live at the Verizon Center. You saw some of my signs on air, too, like the "MISTER / KENNEDY / ...(wait for it)... / ...Kennedy" four-part sign (that's me holding up "MISTER") and a "Great Khali: Nature's Little Oopsie" sign (held up by one of my friends). Sadly, my "No One Cares!" sign (held up during Vito's match) did not make airtime.
JT: You held up a "No One Cares!" sign during Vito's match??? That's not very positive J2. I think he's doing great with the gimmick. Aside from that though, I'm going to have to go back and see if I spotted them, but for now, great job. Now if we could just get OUR damn sign (or bed sheet!) on TV. Speaking of which, everybody be sure to look for that bed sheet at Unforgiven. It will be hanging from the third level and will belong to a reader named Colin (we really do appreciate it man!). Now, back to J2:
JBL had a classic reaction to the Boogeyman return hype video. The whole "the Boogeyman's coming here? Why's he coming here?" thing reminded me of Cole's reaction to Heidenreich after his "abduction."
JT: Not that Hidden, but since JP will point out Carlito for sneezing in a weird direction, I'll take this opportunity to give JBL some love.
You notice Regal's little mannerisms during the Lashley/Finlay match? He started to advance on Lashley at one point, but when the ref looked at him, Regal smiles and backs away, shaking his head, and he briefly crosses himself, as if to say, "What, me, interfere? No, I'm a saintly Christian man." The camera cuts away in mid-cross, but it's still there. I doubt if Regal even knew he was on-camera. Good showmanship.
JT: Actually both Regal and Finlay have done similar things like this lately in matches, like Finlay backing away all innocently then rushing the opponent. Don't think Finlay and Regal need much explaining; they are veterans who know that the little things are important.
During the match, when Finlay finds the Little Bastard, Cole insistently calls him that name, while JBL insists he's a leprechaun. In last month's WWE Magazine (I like the revision to it, by the way), there's an interview with Finlay. In the interview, Finlay also insists "don't call him a little bastard. That implies he's not a leprechaun, which is insulting." Also, same issue, they have Mr. Kennedy answer fan mail. During the introductory paragraph, they refer to him as "Mister Kennedy! ...(wait for it)...Kennedy!" It's like they read my mind when I made my sign! (Which, by the way, I originally made for the Supershow back in February, but never got a chance to use it, since Kennedy was out injured at the time.)
JT: Believe me, they have stolen mine, JP's, and several other 411 writers ideas all the time, so we know they read and feel your pain. And you all hear that people! He's not a Little Bastard! He's a leprechaun!
Finally, during the main event segment, when King Booker is doing his grand entrance, with the sparkling throne and all, JBL makes a "modest" comparison between himself and Booker, saying something on the lines of, "I'm just the senior VP of a major investment bank on FoxNews, promoting..." something or other, "...but this man is a KING." JBL could have just said "I'm a self-made millionaire, but this man is a KING," but that wouldn't have been JBL, so he worked in a plug for his side projects.
JT: JBL love! And his "side projects" are actually becoming the main interests in his life, while wrestling takes a backseat because of his schedule. As long as he keeps his spot at the announce booth, more power to him! He really is great.
JP: You know, your JBL love is starting overshadow my Carlito love, and even your own Christian Cage love. How times have changed…
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
This week, JP and JT have something for That Other Section.
JP: If you didn't read what this is about, then click that link because it will explain all. THE GREAT POSITIVITY DEBATE 3 TOURNAMENT
JP: It's hard to live in a world of positivity, and the Great Positivity Debate is a demonstration of that. In a typical debate, the writers are trying to make the most valid point for their side. In TGPD, the writers are trying to make the most valid positive point as a test of their writing skills and imagination. You the readers are the ultimate judges and decide who moves on and who hits the bricks. As a reminder, here are the rules for the opening round:
We will list four topics.
Each side may have only one response to each topic.
The response to the topic can be no more than 500 words.
The response to the topic must be the most positive thing that side can think up.
The positive response must be something that side believes in (honor code in effect).
The first two topics will be answered first by one side, and then the two shall switch answering order.
At the end, you the readers will vote who is the winner.
Neither of these two competitors are fighting for who is more positive. Instead, they are fighting over who has more writing skill in the confines of positivity.
Last week, Mathew Sforcina took on Will Helm in a furious battle of SmackDown!'s lack of PPV matches, the dwindling Women's Division on RAW, TNA giving away big matches for free, and the lack of title matches at SummerSlam. And with 39.7% of the vote, the winner was:
Will Helm
Helm BARELY snuck by Sforcina in what some would deem an upset. The two were literally separated by just a couple of votes, so remember that EVERY VOTE COUNTS! It's funny because I was watching the numbers all week and at one point Helm was way ahead, then Sforcina caught up and surpassed him, than Helm came back around. Quite an interesting turn of events at the last second there!
Well, because of that win, here are the updated brackets:
As a reminder, opening round matches consist of four questions, semi-finals six questions, and the finals eight. The winner of the tournament goes on to face JT and I in THE GREAT POSITIVITY DEBATE 3: THE SEQUEL NOBODY ASKED FOR!
Without further ado, this week's competitors are:
Julian Williams – Julian Williams is among the newer crop of 411mania wrestling writers looking to make a name for himself. He was able to steal a simple gimmick that Steve Cook used for backup and make it into a successful weekly column—the Top 10—enraging people to write in their own Top 10 lists in contradiction to his every week. Julian is here to prove he's more than just a gimmick, and certainly no Steve Cook rip-off.
Steve Cook – Not-so-famous news reporter Steve Cook has been writing his News from Cook's Corner for a while, so long that he got promoted from Sunday to Thursday nearly eight months ago. When he lefts Sunday's, his cold war with Hidden Highlights came to an abrupt end, and he is ready to reignite it for one last blaze of glory. Steve also seeks to reclaim what was stolen from him by the other writers in the tournament, and show his superiority as a news writer.
JT: The race is really heating up, and will get even hotter as this is the last of the first round contestants!. By the flip of the coin, Julian Williams will go first.
JP:Question 1: Despite a convincing victory as SummerSlam, the DX/McMahon feud is still not over. Can this feud ever end logically?
Julian Williams: Sure it can, if Vince decides to finally realize that this feud has run its course and put this puppy to rest. I actually think they are going in the right direction by having the Hell In A Cell match at Unforgiven because the HIAC match has always been one to end feuds. So hopefully the match will lead to Vince and/or Shane taking some type of big bump that will take them both off TV for a while and DX can then move on to feud with some actual wrestlers, preferbly some sort of super-heel team (Edge/Orton maybe?). If this feud doesn't end by Unforgiven (and God help us if it doesn't) the next logical time to end it would be at Survivor Series in some sort of match where the loser has to get off RAW for good. That way DX can win and keep Vince and Shane off TV for good. Or at least for 3 months until they find some way to weasal them back on show.
Steve Cook: All feuds can logically come to an end…well, at least logically as far as wrestling goes. Let's face it, there have been enough ridiculous endings to feuds over the years that WWE doesn't have to work hard to come up with something that isn't the stupidest ending to a feud ever. DX vs. the McMahons can end at any given time if they decide that they want to move on to something else. Hell in a Cell could easily end the feud, but if they still insist on going on with it they can go till Survivor Series and have a McMahon led team of 5 (Vince, Shane, Umaga, Big Show & maybe Edge or somebody else?) go against DX and three other popular guys…Flair, Cena & Carlito maybe? It was good enough for WWF vs. the Alliance, right? OK, bad example.
And if Triple H in fact gets revealed as the father of Stephanie's kid on television, they can either have him turn against Michaels, beat him into oblivion and join up with his family. Or they could have both HHH & HBK bury the hatchet with the McMahons against a common enemy since blood is thicker than water. This feud isn't going to last forever, and I do believe that WWE has a finish in mind for it that they're building up to. If there's one thing you can count on with WWE, it's that they pay close attention to storylines involving McMahons and will put all of their booking skill into getting their storylines plenty of TV time and attention and getting somebody over at the end.
JP: Julian: 170 words. Cook: 270 words. JT?
JT:Question 2: Has Vicky Guerrero sold out by becoming a part of the never-ending dredging up of her late husband's name?
Julian Williams: Sold out? Hardly. I don't get how people keep talking about how Vicki, Chavo and Rey are "selling out" and dishonoring the name of Eddie as if they have any right to tell any three of them about how to properly honor Eddie. Newsflash people: All three of these people actually knew Eddie and were very close to Eddie so they would have a better understanding of what would be "disrespectful" towards Eddie than any of us would. I also don't get how two guys fighting over the honor of Eddie (because Chavo is trying to defend the Guerrero name while all Rey was trying to do was fight in his late friend's honor) are disrespecting his name. It would be one thing if they had one of these guys talking about how much Eddie sucked, how they hated him and how they are happy he's gone. THAT would be disrespectful. People are more in an uproar over this current storyline than the one with Rey and Orton. You know the one where Orton said that Eddie was burning is HELL! Yea, that was a hell of a lot more disrespectful than this current storyline with Rey and Chavo. I'm happy for Vicki because with Eddie gone she is now the sole provider for her girls so if Vince is going to give her a role where she can make some extra cash for the family, that's great. I'm sorry but this storyline with Rey and Chavo isn't that bad, but everyone wants to act as though they knew Eddie personally and that he would be disgusted by this. Eddie was the same man who did a storyline shortly before his death claiming to be the real father of his best friend's son. Eddie wasn't exactly doing high brow storylines. I think Eddie is looking down from Heaven and is happy to see Rey main eventing, Chavo finally getting a push, and Vicki having a job to provide for the children. So Vicki hasn't "sold out" and she's certainly not disrespecting her late husband. Sure, most people can live without this storyline, but it's definitely not as disrespectful as some people try to make it out to be.
Steve Cook: I won't condemn Vicki Guerrero for trying to provide for her kids. She's gotta do what she's gotta do to make some money at this time in their lives, and if WWE is willing to pay her handsomely, I don't fault her for going along with their wishes. The whole concept of "selling out" is kinda weird to me…music fans say all the time that a group sold out when they signed with a record label and started selling albums. I fail to see the downside of actually making money, so I'm not going to sit here and say YOU SOLD OUT YOU SOLD OUT YOU SOULD OUT. But you know what else I'm not going to do? I'm not going to sit here and talk about what Eddie Guerrero would want, or what he would think about how WWE still books programs around him. With all due respect to my opponent, I don't think he has a clue what Eddie Guerrero's thinking about up there. But I would be remiss in not pointing out that several people close to Eddie Guerrero have expressed serious misgivings with how WWE has used him in various storylines. Chris Jericho has been outspoken about it, as has Mick Foley, and JBL has also spoken against it behind the scenes. There are two sides to that debate. But, since the question isn't explicitly designed to discuss the actual angles and is merely asking the question "Did Vicki Guerrero sell out?"...you can say she did if you must, but that wouldn't be something to personally condemn her for in my book.
JP:Question 3: Did TNA totally drop the ball with Monty Brown?
Steve Cook: I've said it before and I will say it again, one of the biggest mistakes TNA has made in its four year history was when they cut Monty Brownoff at the knees in early 2005. To properly explain my stance, I need to go back to the beginning of Monty's second stint with TNA, March 2004. From the moment Monty reentered TNA, he was pushed to the moon. He made his way through TNA's undercard, squashing everything in his path, getting key wins over talent like Sabu, B.G. James & D-Lo Brown and most importantly, getting a chance to talk on the microphone. It really doesn't take that much to get over in wrestling sometimes…if you can talk people into wanting to see you and then impress them when they do…you're over. Monty was over like rover thanks to his often "so ridiculous it's good" promos and his ability to POOOOOOOUUUUUUUNNNNNNCCCCCEEEEEEE his opponents and look like a monster. He even won me over, as jaded as I can be sometimes I thought for sure that Monty Brown was going to be the guy to take TNA to the promised land. He had the look, he had the charisma, and he had the credibility of being a former NFL linebacker, which is a job where you can't be a complete pussy. Jobbing to Jeff Hardy hurt Monty a little bit, but eventually he regained the fans' trust by doing the same things he had done before even better and became their #1 hope for getting the NWA title off of Jeff Jarrett. Once he got into the main event picture, Jarrett killed him. And just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, he became Jarrett's flunky, and ever since then he's been nothing but a guy who can cut a funny promo. TNA says he isn't dedicated enough to wrestling…well gee, maybe if they didn't dick him over so many times he might care a little more about getting better.
I'm not saying Monty Brown is a great wrestler, but a lot of the biggest stars in the history of professional wrestling weren't actually great wrestlers. Monty had that "it factor" that made people want to watch him, but since TNA puts more value into what people have done in the past than what they could do in the future, they squashed him. I don't know if Monty Brown could have been the man to take TNA past the 1.0 ratings mark or to take them out of the Impact Zone and to actual arenas, but you never know until you try. They know how much Jeff Jarrett can draw, they knew how much guys like DDP, Jeff Hardy & Kevin
Nash could draw, but they don't know how much Monty Brown can draw as the top guy of a promotion. And we will never know because quite simply, TNA dropped the ball with Monty Brown and didn't give him a chance.
Julian Williams: Of course they dropped the ball with Monty. Approximately two years ago, the man was primed to become the biggest star in TNA. The fans were responding to him big time and everybody loved the POOOOOOUUUUNNNNNCCCCCEEEEE!! He was picking up meaningful wins and it seemed as if though it was only a matter of time until he won the NWA Heavyweight Championship. He was then completely cut off at the knees by losing a title match against Jeff Jarrett and then completely dropped out of the title scene despite being insanely over with the crowd. He was then turned heel and aligned himself with Jarrett, which made absolutely no sense, and it took all the steam out of his character. He then spent the next year and a half meandering around the main event scene, but was never taken seriously again as a contender to the Heavyweight belt. TNA was so focused on bringing in big names (Hardy, Rhino, Nash, Christian, Sting, Steiner) that they completely forgot about one of their best home grown talents. I remember when I first saw Monty and heard him deliver a promo, I thought that he was the guy to take TNA to the next level. He had the look, the charisma, and decent enough in-ring skills to become a huge star and grab the attention of people who only casually watched TNA. It seems that
TNA is banking their future on older stars instead of seeing the potential that their current crop of wrestlers have. Their shows are usually dominated by Jarrett or Sting nowadays and while those guys are good, they shouldn't be the primary focus of the company. The primary focus should be on guys like Christian, Rhino, Abyss, Eric Young, AJ, Petey Williams, Chris Daniels, LAX, Jay Lethal, AMW, The Naturals, and of course Samoa Joe. TNA already dropped the ball with Monty, let's just hope they don't do the same with Joe because if one man can bring TNA to the next level, it's Samoa Joe.
JP: Cook: 492 words. Julian: 337 words. JT?
JT:Question 4: Despite the fact that ECW tapes in large stadiums, it continues to tour in tiny (comparatively) halls around the country. Is this sending a conflicting message about the new ECW?
Steve Cook: I don't see the problem with ECW having its house shows in smaller venues than they use for television purposes. Think of it like it's music… I'm sure most people out there have gotten the chance to see a show in a smaller venue, and they would probably tell you that shows in smaller venues can be just as good as the shows in the large arenas or football stadiums. Frankly, smaller venues are much better for music shows than the large arenas, you feel closer to the musicians and closer to the other fans. Wrestling is the same way too…anybody who's been to an indy show with no more than several hundred people in a small arena would tell you that you can pick up on much more that goes on in the ring then when you're sitting in a large arena or in a dome. And that's how you sell ECW in the smaller arenas… it's the wrestling you see on television up close and personal. Hell, that makes the experience better for fans and could create more ticket sales than they would get in a bigger arena. There's nothing wrong with ECW shows going to smaller venues.
As for conflicting messages, I don't really see any. That's going to make this answer come up a little bit short word wise, but once again, I fail to see a problem with ECW running shows in smaller arenas than Raw or Smackdown. Maybe if you're a fan that likes to go with whatever is the most popular you'd rather go to a big arena, but other than that I don't see why it should be a problem for anybody.
Julian Williams: No sir, I don't see it sending a conflicting message because house shows are suppose to draw a much smaller audience than a TV taping or Pay-Per-View does. When this new ECW started, Paul Heyman said right off the bat that this new ECW was going to be different and they were going to try to expand it to bigger plateaus than it was before. They are keeping in line with that by presenting ECW in front of a much larger audience than they would normally draw, but also running house shows to give those shows a more old school ECW-type feel. I think this is also great for business as some people who might not have typically gone to a Smackdown taping will now go to see ECW in action and some people who don't like ECW in large arenas can go to the house shows to see ECW the way they like it. Many fans are still wishing and hoping for ECW to go back to its roots of being in front of small crowds, but it's obvious that Vince does not have that vision for it. I believe they will run a few TV shows a year in small venues and present their PPV's in small venues for that nostalgic feel, but taping it in front of a Raw or Smackdown crowd is cost-effective and you know that Vince is all about saving the money. So I don't see ECW touring in small venues as a conflicting message because they are trying to build ECW up to the level of Raw and Smackdown (even though it's already surpassed Smackdown ratings wise) in hopes that maybe one day they can sell out a large venue with an ECW-only show. You know Vince would absolutely LOVE if he could sell out three arenas a week that seat over 10,000 people. That would be GNARLY!!
JT: Cook: 280 words. Julian: 315 words. JP?
JP: All right, now it's time to vote. Who won TGPD match between Steve Cook and Julian Williams?
JP: Voting will remain open until Saturday September 9th at 2:00am GMT. Thanks for playing!
Next week we blow the roof off the place with the first match of the semi-finals as Stephen Randle takes on the winner of last week's debate, Will Helm. It's two of 411mania's longest tenured employees as the pride of Wrestling takes on the heart and soul of Movies/TV. Can Helm perform another miracle upset, or is Randle just too much to handle? Only you can decide next issue!
JT: Who knew Canadians could be so positive? Especially dry-humored Monday news column writing Canadians?
Exit, stage left!
JT: Wow, only twenty pages... off week for us! I blame TGPD contestants! Don't forget kids, next week is FOOOOOOOOTTTTTTBBBBBAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Until then my little positive atoms (play on words! play on words!).
JP: They did cut the words a little short. But next week we move to SIX QUESTIONS!! Bring it on!
Thank you for joining us for THE 53rd 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!
