Hidden Highlights 09.10.07: Issue #106
Posted by JP Prag on 09.10.2007
Jeff Hardy and the cameraman go for an extra spin, Elijah Burke color coordinates his wrist tape, a TNA ref takes an eye poke to the next level, MVP works hard to make Matt Hardy a better wrestler, Hulk Hogan is hungry for his show’s sponsor, and more! All with guest co-host Mathew Sforcina and a chance for you to join the Hidden Highlights team!
Hidden Highlights
By JP Prag
Issue #106
Hello everyone about to celebrate the New Year (I don't know why I explain this every year; it's almost Rosh Hashanah!), and welcome back to Hidden Highlights!!
Hidden Highlights, they are about the little things that make the product great. They are about showing the positive motions all those involved in wrestling do to make a better show. William Regal may bend his opponent's hand backwards just a little bit harder to dish out the pain. Christian Cage may reference a piece of obscure history. Tazz may bring realism to the product by describing an abdominal stretch in detail. The camera operator may take a low shot looking up at the Great Khali to make him look like a true monster. These are all examples of what Hidden Highlights is about.
Every week this article spotlights Hidden Highlights from the biggest shows on television (RAW, ECW of SciFi, iMPACT, SmackDown!, and a PPV or television special if there is one), delves into the past to find the ones never recorded before, and goes beyond to small shows, live events, tapes, and the indy scene to see what no one else sees. This article may have an author, but it is just as much written by the readers and true fans of professional wrestling—those who love what they watch and want to tell the world what they have found.
I am JP Prag, and I bring you Hidden Highlights with one goal in mind: to appreciate all those little things that make a huge difference.
JP: Wow, suspend and fire enough people there, WWE? This article was posted last week before a lot of information was known, but at this time I'd like to give some remembrances to a Hidden Highlights favorite:
Thanks again to reader Dan Hamilton for the banner. I wanted to make sure we used it. Be sure to read Issue #75 to see how much we loved Cryme Tyme in these pages.
Well, now it's time to introduce a man who inexplicable escaped the latest round of 411mania firings, despite being caught… well, being an Australian. Many know him as the Massive Q, or even that guy who writes Evolution Schematic, but you should know him as my idol (according to his profile): Mathew Sforcina. Mat?
Sforcina: Well, you are, or rather were always linking to me and praising me in that Defense column of yours. I should probably change that, but eh, I'm lazy. Speaking of lazy, when are you bringing that back, anyway? You know that your stenographer really needs the work, and—
JP: I thought you said you wouldn't bring up her! She doesn't even exist anyway! Heck, I don't think she even became a "she" until you said so!
Sforcina: Yeah, well... I needed something funny (to me and maybe 2 other people) to soften the blow of the next statement. You see, last week you may have noticed that there wasn't an ES. This has been part of my ongoing quest to Be More Like Ron. Unfortunately, this failure to submit has marked the exact moment when I went from being 'acceptably reliable' to 'unacceptably unreliable'. And thus, the ES has been canned.
JB: WHAT?
Sforcina: Oh wait, did I say canned? I meant changed, it's now a Saturday column. So look forward to it for the weekend now! I'll try and make up for a lack of one this week with a special Kayfabe Chronical as soon as I can work out who my 5th Hart Foundation member will be, and assuming Dunn still likes me. Yeah, changed, not canned, sorry, I keep getting those two mixed up. But alas, I can't work out how to continue that Simpsons reference so I'll just stop there.
JP: Right...
Sforcina: Hey, why do you think I do a column that's so rigid and focused? I'm like Russo, without a guide I just go off in tangents and... Hey, why not make CM Punk McMahon's kid?
JP: I gave you a guide, and yet here we are anyway! By the way, as mentioned last week and referenced by you, we are going to be starting a little contest around here.
Sforcina: You aren't going to make me compete in another Great Positivity Debate and J-O-B to a movie reviewer, thank you very much public opinion, you couldn't handle the truth huh, I told you the Diva Search was good, but you didn't listen, and now... I mean, you don't expect me to enter, are you?
JP: No, no, this contest is for the READERS, not for you; unless you or the other writers want to enter. I think it would be interesting if you did, especially if you lost of one of them though…
Sforcina: All right, all right, what's the deal?
JP: Ok, here is the basics:
As you all know, this article has been JT-less for the past 6 weeks and we have been filling in with staff members. Now, I'd like to give the readers a chance to get involved and be guest co-host for a whole month! Here is how it going to go:
This week, when you send your write-ins, indicate if you would like to be part of the contest
All those who indicated that they would like to be part of the contest will be featured in
a special write-in section in Issue #107
A voting tool will be under each reader for the other readers to rank them on a five point scale (five being the highest).
In Issue #108, I will announce the four highest averages. Each one of those people will be assigned one show to completely do the following week.
In Issue #109, those four finalists will present their Hidden Highlights for their assigned shows. The voting tool will return for you to vote each Hidden Highlight and the overall score for each person.
I will tabulate the scores in the following method: 50% for the individual Hidden Highlights average, 25% for overall vote for a person, and 25% for JP's individual Hidden Highlights average vote.
In Issue #110 I will announce the winner.
From Issue #111-114, the winner will get two shows to do and be a part of the dialogue, banter, and all that good stuff.
Please only enter the contest if you will be able to dedicate the time and effort to get this done. Writing this article every week is a lot more time and energy intensive than just writing in and requires a good deal of commitment. If you are serious about this, I look forward to see what you've got.
Sforcina: Wow that was complicated! I mean, I understood it, but will Joe Six-Pack-Moron out there get it?
JP: Why are you so hostile all of a sudden? Did you accidentally delete your Victoria nudes folder or something?
Sforcina: Nah, I'm over that. I'm just trying out my heelness, I've started a slow burn towards turning heel in the AWF. But seriously, that's really complicated. You sure you know what you're doing?
JP: You know what, you wouldn't stand a chance anyway!
Sforcinca: Oh, so you don't want me to help out with this issue?
JP: Hey, I didn't say that!
Sforcina: By the way, aren't we hiring writers right now anyway?
Larry: Yeah, JP, don't you think you should plug that.
JP: Well, if they have their own vision, they can go for it. If they want to take a crack at the most positive article in the IWC, well here it is!
Larry: I don't know… I guess that cou—
JP: And before you can change you mind, let's get on with the Hidden Highlights!
Monday, September 3, 2007 by Sforcina
Sforcina: No no no no no.
JP: Oh now what?
Sforcina: That image.
JP: Oh don't tell me you're going to have a go at Dan as well! First Meehan and now you as well? Come on!
Sforcina: Well I'm sorry, but it's just not... Right. Something like this would be better.
Now isn't that a better image?
JP: But it's not a banner, it's just a picture of Victoria!
Sforcina: Hey, I'm creative, you want implementation, go somewhere else!
JP: Maybe Ogre can step in at short notice again...
Sforcina: Anyway, onto Raw proper. This was actually the first time I've watched a full Raw, credit to credit, for a long while, and it's about the same I remember, with some of the same annoyances as I had last time I watched (Ross, how the heck can you be sure the match will continue after the break? The Nitro videotape thing both had the same result, you would see the end when you returned, but it maintained the realism better. And given that's what WWE is aiming for, apparently...) as well as a few small, positive adds (The belt graphic when we came back from break in the opening was nice). And since small and positive is the name of the game round here...
(3) You spin me right round baby, right round:
So the opening match was Jeff Hardy V Umaga for the IC belt in a battle of the wellness policy. And it was decent for what it was. But there was one move that really stood out for me, as a Hidden Highlight, and it goes to... A Cameraman. See, at one point Hardy came up off the top rope, and got caught in a Spinning Bossman Slam. Jeff Hardy took the move with an extra half spin, nothing spectacular, and he may not even have meant it, it just happened that way since Umaga's so strong, apparently. Anyway, the HH was in a camera move. As Hardy took the move, the shot changed to a different camera that immediately zoomed in then zoomed out after impact. This had a very subtle effect in that for a brief second, the camera was filled with movement with no real sense of frame or reference. The upshot of which was that the move looked a lot more crazy than it actually was, and thus more impactful. You just got movement, and thus you weren't quite sure where Hardy was going. Subtle, but effective.
(2) Prop'r Engrish Rox!!!:
This has been mentioned before by other people, but I'm mentioning it again because if bugs the hell out of me. When we saw Santino meet Maria as she came out of the dressing room, we focused on the sign on said dressing room's door. It read "Diva's Dressing Room". I'm sorry, but unless Maria is in a strange position of being high up enough on the card to warrant her own individual dressing room but NOT a name for said dressing room door, then it's a room for all the Divas, and thus it should be "Divas' Dressing Room", since it's a plural ownership and thus the apostrophe comes after the S, not before it. A HH of annoyance, you might say.
(1) A HH involving Jillian Hall, Davari and Jim Ross. Bow before me!:
Oh yes, there was a HH in that Mixed Tag Match. And no, it doesn't involve singing, although it does involve deduction and a missed punchline. For those who missed it, Cody Rhodes and Mickie James took on Davari and Jillian Hall. Now, oddly enough, Davari had control for most of the period he was in, and at point locked Cody into a headlock. The fans then, as they are want to do, started chanting "USA!". Jillian Hall, as all heels do, told the fans to shut up. JR then in a bewildered, hurt and oh so slightly sarcastic voice pointed out that Hall was telling the fans to stop chanting USA, when she was American. Then Cody started fighting back, and JR moved on. But with that comment, there was a punchline left unsaid. While it's bad enough for Hall to tell the fans to stop chanting that, Davari reacted in the ring... Despite the fact that he too is American! The whole point when he came in was that he was an Arab-American sick of being discriminated against in his home country! For long time logic checkers like myself, we find this sort of thing very funny.
JP: I was thinking the exact same thing, Davari is American as well! Of course, you just pulled a Haley and turned it into a "Hidden Highlight I didn't see but wish I had", thus losing positivity points. I'm starting to think your early elimination from the "Great Positivity Debate III" was justified. If you wanted to stay in the positvity, you could have used that same match and talk about when Mickie kicked Jillian in the head. The ref ran over and screamed, "GEEZ! Are you all right?!" to Jillian. The general concern was so sincere that it just drew me right in.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007 by Sforcina
Sforcina: Hmmm.
JP: All right, which one have you got now?
Sforcina:Well, it's a bit more fitting...
JP: *groans*
Sforcina: Anyway, this was a special ECW, as CM Punk proved that if you work hard, train even harder, and avoid all drugs, you too can be a last ditch, worst case scenario guy to hold a belt before some big fat black guy wins it. Huzzah!
(3) Clever Booking or just a case of having no hands free?:
I'll admit, I went into this episode with 3 'people' I wanted to get HH's off. My #2 guy got one, and the #1 HH was from my third one's opponent. But the main one I wanted to get was from Extreme Expose, and I did get one! Sorta. See, after The Miz beat Balls up then left with his Slunts (TM Heyhurst) I was looking at the three girls, hoping to find some sort of HH from them. The clothing was too obvious, and their reactions in the match were mentioned too much. But as they left, I noticed something. Both Brooke and Layla, as they left with Miz, gave Balls the 'Loser' sign, since Miz called him one and he was one, etc. But oddly enough, they gave it with different hands. Layla gave it with her right hand, thus forming the L shape facing away from her in what I might call the 'standard' or 'classic' sign. Whereas Brooke used her left hand, and thus the L was pointing towards her, in the 'sarcastic' or 'stupid' sign. So, what did this mean? It could mean that they intend to show that out of the two heel Slunts, Layla is the smart one whereas Brooke is the stupid one. Or that Brooke is that much more self-obsessed, and thus made the sign so she could see it and Balls to remind herself of his loser status while Layla is less so and thus made the standard one to reinforce in his mind he's a loser. Or, they were merely using the only hands they had free since they were wrapped around Miz at the time. One of those.
(2) OK, OK, Burke's Awesome:
I went in looking for a Elijah Burke HH, and boy, did I get one. See, Elijah has '4-Up' on his wrist tape, which is either a Boxing reference (4 Upside the Head or somesuch) or an obscure Mario Bros reference (He's so good, he gets 4 times the life per mushroom...). That's been mentioned. And it's nice to see that Burke and Thorn were color coded, given their former status as a team showing they could trust each other enough to change together and thus wear the same colors (as did Dreamer, who obviously changed in a different locker room). Red and Black with white trimming was the colors that night. But Burke took that one step further. On his white wrist tape, '4-Up' was in black...except the P, which was Red. So he was color coordinated DOWN TO HIS WRIST-TAPE. Now that's commitment!
(1) Misdirection on the direction:
So, Morrison lost the ECW Title to Punk in a match far better than I was expecting, given the outside forces. And while I was watching Punk, it was Morrison to gave me the HH. At one stage, Punk whipped Morrison into the corner. Morrison then made a lifting motion with his left arm, Punk charged, and was back dropped over the rope to the apron, and then slammed off when he tried to springboard back in. Now, that was (very probably) a non-verbal call, Morrison made that motion to tell Punk what he intended to do. So it's already hidden. But then, after Morrison slammed Punk down, he held and shook that same arm, selling it from moves prior to the spot. Which retro-actively explained the motion, he wasn't motioning to Punk, he was merely trying to get the feeling back quickly while he had a moment! Huzzah Morrison. Let's hope you can come back less 'well-toned' (thank you Joey) but still as good.
JP: Now this was MUCH better! I can throw away my notes on the show because I liked your more than enough. Although Morrison calling Punk a "groupie" instead of a "roadie" was just too good of dig to bypass.
Thursday, September 6, 2007 by JP
JP: It-
Sforcina: Hang on, hang on.
JP: Oh come on, not even Meehan complained about that one! And you can't use Victoria, she's never even been in TNA!
Sforcina: True, but I have these Gail Kim pictures which-
Larry: Post them Sforcina and I'll switch you to Friday at 2AM!
Sforcina: You don't scare me!
Larry: In the Forums!
Sforcina: Nope, still not scared!
Larry: All right, how about front and center, Monday Mornings?
Sforcina: That's the best spot!
Larry: On InsideP-
Sforcina: I'll be good! Really!
Larry: You better.
JP: Anyway, it was the final week of build to No Surrender and another good showing by TNA. Again, it was like they figured out how to do a one hour show right (although it looks like that two hours is coming sooner than later). And then we finally got an appearance by the number one contender for the TNA X-Division Championship: Jay Lethal. I'm a huge mark for Lethal, so I was glad to see him get some air time. What else did I see?
(3) We are 411:
After cutting to the back part way through the show, Jeremy Borash gave his usual shtick for TNA Mobile. This time, though, among the buzz words he used to describe the wrestling news he said that he had "the 411". Ok, I know 411 is a common term for information, but when it comes to wrestling news, nothing means more to me than my very own 411mania.com. As far as I'm concerned, that was a ping or dig at us. Only one place has the 411, and that's 411mania.com [/ Shameless plugging].
(2) No, seriously, it hurt:
I barely caught how this happened, but after Raven poked Samoa Joe in the eye, Samoa Joe went tumbling backwards and swatted the ref in his eye. The ref then went on a great string of sells that I had to recount them:
He was selling the eye injury when he could not turn around to see AJ Styles holding Joe
He continued to sell when he went down to the mat to see if Raven was tapping out
When the Coalition stormed the ring, he checked his eye and decided it was too dangerous to stay in there
Outside the ring, he was waving and yelling at the wrestlers to leave the ring, all the while holding his eye
Finally, when he gave up, he held his eye and walked to the back
Now that, my friends, is dedication to a sell.
(1) Could you just, kind of, get out of the way please:
Our main event match saw the dream team of Kurt Angle and Sting versus Jay Lethal and Abyss (but not for any titles). Late into the match, Abyss had both Angle and Sting goozled, but chose to let Sting go to deliver a choke slam to Kurt Angle. After hitting the move, Abyss went for the pin cover which Sting, in turn, broke up. But did you catch how Sting broke the pin? Normally, wrestler lay an elbow, punch, kick, or other painful move to an opponent to break a pin attempt. But Sting—since he cared for Abyss so much and Abyss had been kind to him just a moment beforehand—just came over and gently pushed Abyss off of Angle. I thought that was a great touch to Sting's character. Of course he would not want to hurt Abyss, but he didn't want to lose the match either. It was the perfect compromise.
Sforcina: I think Abyss is spent in TNA, overall. Really, what would be best for him would be to go to WWE, whom I'm sure would welcome him with open arms, and do the "Paul Bearer's Ultimate Revenge On The Undertaker For That Whole Attempted Murder Thing" storyline. I love the big guy, but every time I hear him taking a thumbtack bump on a house show... Ugh. He's gotta wisen up. Oh wait, this is meant to be postive. TNA's second hour will solve everything! Happy happy joy joy!
Friday, September 7, 2007 by JP
JP: You can't complain about this one Sforcina! She's right there!
Sforcina: Ehhh. Not big enough. And it should be moving. Like these-
JP: You're really taking unfair advantage of my generous offer here, Sforcina. All this gratuitous shots, the class of this article has been put back 104 issue (see Issue #2 to learn what I'm talking about). So Krystal's "mom" calls all the time, huh? I'm wondering if Krystal's affair will turn out to be new wrestler, old wrestler, or no wrestler. I really hope its not the latter so that this storylines that's been going on for nearly a year actually leads to wrestling on SmackDown!.
(3) Sir, I have to check:
In my continual love of anything that involved MVP, this week the VIP Lounge added a red velvet rope and a huge bouncer. But that is not the Hidden Highlight, oh no. As Matt Hardy came down to the Lounge, he was stopped at the ropes by said bouncer. The bouncer than proceeded to actually check the list on his clipboard AND listen in on his headset to take orders from someone! Those little touches completely sold the segment for me in more ways than any prop ever could.
(2) I'm going to make you huge:
This is one of those obvious Hidden Highlights, but MVP's support of Hardy outside the ring during Hardy's match with Deuce were top notch. He was jumping around, screaming, getting upset when Deuce kicked out, giving advice and encouragement… all was fantastic. He stayed so engaged in the match and reacted exactly as a "partner" should, showing he truly is the only man with three halves.
On a side note, this is a story I've wanted to see for a long time. I though JBL would be better for this, but MVP will work. Basically, a heel continued to help out Hardy to win matches and go on to success, and Hardy is resentful because he want to do things the right way. Eventually Hardy would be going against some face champion and would fully turn heel by accepting everything JBL/MVP said and realize he can win if he didn't care about the fans. He would then go on to a long heel title run, proving his point that the fans were holding him back. I really hope this is where it is going. The only problem is MVP has the title, so MVP will have to lose it and be "injured" for a while, and I'd rather not have that.
(1) Hey baby baby:
During the aforementioned backstage segment with Teddy Long and Krystal, Teddy came in and said something so hilarious that I just had to write it down. The GM of SmackDown! actually called himself "Teddy-licious"! How could you not laugh out loud at that one?! Teddy Long is always saying little phrases and terms that make me crack up, and this was another great one.
As a bonus Classic Hidden Highlight, back when Teddy Long was the manager for Rodney Mac, he was talking to some while boy and told him to "stop drinking the hater-ade" and then followed it up with "Hater-ade only comes in one flavor: Vanilla!" Oh, that's still one of my favorite things to say ‘til this day.
Sforcina: I'm sure those are all good, if you had bothered to put them in there before sending the draft to me.
Sunday, September 2, 2007 by JP
JP: Well?
Sforcina: Well what?
JP: No demands for Victoria pictures or anything?
Sforcina: Nah, Hogan ain't worth it.
JP: Well, good then. I guess.
The Hogan's (or rather Linda) decided to rough it during their vacation (vacation from what?) by going to ranch in Montana. Apparently, Linda spent time on her Grandparents' farm as a kid and wanted to relive those memories. Nick could not find a horse with more than one-horse power, and therefore was quite whinny. Still, the family came together for a good old fashion hug, and that's what matters most.
(3) In the woods, eh?:
As much as the Hogan's complained about being in the middle of nowhere and the hard life they were in, the first thing I saw when they got to their "cabin" was a very, very, very large flat screen TV. Now I've roughed it a few times in my life, and I can tell you I've never had a TV that size before… or a TV at for that matter! Oh, what a hard life it is!
(2) It's a sponsor, brother:
As we like to point out many times in these pages, Hogan Knows Best is one of the best product placement shows on Earth. I have never seen a show do it as well as Hogan Knows Best does. This week was no exception. While driving to the ranch, Hogan asked (specifically) if there was a McDonald's around there (the answer being no). As soon as they went to break, who was the sponsor with two spots? Why McDonald's, of course! See, Hogan made you crave it, McDonald's reinforced it. This was even better than the time they decided to go the Chile's. ::snicker::
(1) Mmmmm… milk:
This week also featured a very shocking moment of clarity! At the dinner table, the cowboy offered Brooke the milk she got out of the cow herself earlier in the day. What was Brooke's response? "I prefer my milk pasteurized." I cannot believe that Brooke knew what pasteurization was or why it is important! Frankly I was shocked, shocked I say!
Sforcina: Seriously, I don't care. Hogan in a wrestling company, I might care. This, nope.
Hidden Highlights are not just about what was written above, but about what you have seen as well. This article strives to not only spotlight the best Hidden Highlights, but to engage you, the viewers, and make you the best audience in the world.
JP: Kind of quiet again, I hope that's not a theme! So, *GENERAL WARNING*:: some parts of the following Reader Write-in Hidden Highlights may be edited for grammar, spelling, and English translation…
Before we get too far, in case you didn't read the intro, there's something you should know…
Sforcina: And in case you weren't confused enough already...
JP: Shhhh!
As you all know, this article has been JT-less for the past 6 weeks and we have been filling in with staff members. Now, I'd like to give the readers a chance to get involved and be guest co-host for a whole month! Here is how it going to go:
This week, when you send your write-ins, indicate if you would like to be part of the contest
All those who indicated that they would like to be part of the contest will be featured in
a special write-in section in Issue #107
A voting tool will be under each reader for the other readers to rank them on a five point scale (five being the highest).
In Issue #108, I will announce the four highest averages. Each one of those people will be assigned one show to completely do the following week.
In Issue #109, those four finalists will present their Hidden Highlights for their assigned shows. The voting tool will return for you to vote each Hidden Highlight and the overall score for each person.
I will tabulate the scores in the following method: 50% for the individual Hidden Highlights average, 25% for overall vote for a person, and 25% for JP's individual Hidden Highlights average vote.
In Issue #110 I will announce the winner.
From Issue #111-114, the winner will get two shows to do and be a part of the dialogue, banter, and all that good stuff.
Please only enter the contest if you will be able to dedicate the time and effort to get this done. Writing this article every week is a lot more time and energy intensive than just writing in and requires a good deal of commitment. If you are serious about this, I look forward to see what you've got.
In the meantime, let's move on to Dan and:
During the Santino/Maria date after the plates had been brought to the table, I noticed that Ron Simmons actually did have lamb and yams on his and Santino, ever the Italian stereotype, had spaghetti and meatballs. Nice touch.
JP: Wow, that is a nice touch and I can't believe I didn't catch that one. That is too good to be passed up! Much like Jarkota here:
Umaga dropping the Intercontinental Title to Jeff Hardy. The ironic Highlight? Jeff was the person whom Umaga won his first Intercontinental Championship from a few months back. Could this be Vince's way of sending messages to his current champions and top-tier contenders? I guess we'll see in the coming weeks.
JP: You said you missed the witty banter between me and JT. Did you not catch the one where I spent an entire issue reaming him on the definition of irony? Good times, good times. Anyway, I think this had more to do with logic, and Hardy could still lose the title in short notice. That will be the real test. Speaking of Umaga, here's Luke Southworth:
You know how Regal pronounces Umaga? Well I'd heard a rumour, so went and looked it up.
This explains his punctuation.
Vowel - Long - Short
A - bath - but
E - eh - bet
I - feet - bit
O - raw - gone
U - pool - pew
Samoan consonants are pronounced the same as in English, with the exception of G which sounds like the NG as in song.
Now come on. Isn't that just magnificent from the man?
JP: What's more magnificent is someone already sent that in two weeks ago. Still, I appreciate it. Mike Labbe also wants to check in with a little old info:
"(1) Let me check this one out:
Earlier the broadcast, MVP and Matt Hardy teamed up to take on the WWE Tag Team Champions Deuce ‘n' Domino for the titles. Late into the match, Deuce managed to knock Hardy down and went for the pin cover. It was an awkward angle as Hardy's head and shoulders were close to the ropes, but Deuce was lying across his arms. Charles Robinson then did something so smart I'm upset that I've never seen it done before: he slid out of the ring so that he could see Hardy's shoulders and began to count! Super kudos to Charles Robinson for going that extra step to keep it real."
I believe I wrote this one in a few weeks back, but Scott Armstrong did that on ECW. Also Tommy Young used to do that all of the time.
JP: Looks like I forgot a reader write-in! It may have been an episode of ECW I missed, so that could explain it.
Sforcina: Don't you have the Ultimate Ric Flair Collection?
JP: Now what?
Sforcina: You see Tommy Young do that in the Flair/Steamboat 2/3 Falls match in that collection!
JP: Oh. Manu Bumb continues on the same path:
Nice! Charlie R going old school! The ref from NWA in the times of Dusty and Flair used to do this. Can't remember his name right now, but if you watched any NWA in the 80s, you'll remember him as the ref that used to shove Flair to the mat when Flair would get in his face and shove him. I want to say Tommy something, but can't remember for sure. He also used to slide his hand under the wrestler's shoulder in between counts to make sure it was actually down. Good to see refs nowadays remember the classics that helped make things look real.
JP: Like I said, I've really appreciated the change in refs back to "shoot" style. Manu continues:
"When Rey Mysterio came to the ring, three fans held up numbers that made up "619", however, the fan holding the "6" held it upside down and it read "919"."
Nice! 919 is the area code for Raleigh/Durham :-)
JP: You would appreciate that! Me, I've spent ENOUGH time in North Cackalacki.
"Because it has long been rumored that Kurt met his wife while she was a stripper at a club!"
Well, not according to his book. I don't remember the exact details, but she wasn't a stripper (might've been a writer for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, but not 100% on that). This is, of course, if you believe his book, which I did before I realized how insane he was, so now, who knows?
JP: Yeah, I really have a lot of trouble believing wrestlers in general, not just Angle. And Angle would have lots of reasons to lie. Speaking of liars (ok, not really), let's switch to RAW with Chris Wingert:
I'm sure a lot of people saw this one, but I'll say it anyways. When The McMahon Clan was in the ring, Shane was talking about how he always wanted a brother. Take a look at Steph's face when Shane says that. She has a look of "What's wrong with having a sister?". Nice bit of improve by Steph.
JP: There's a lot more coming from that segment, but let's get to your other one first.
Another thing I noticed is when John Cena was walking to the ring (I love that fact that he came out to no music, to hammer home the point that he is pissed.), he was walking down the ramp and he wiped a little tear from his eye, with his thumb. Nice little touch to show how much Randy Orton's attack on his father, is emotionally taking a toll on the champ.
JP: It's a shame the beating had to come at the expense of William Regal. By the way, people, Vince did not fire Regal. He said Coachman needed to take over for "the night". And then JR later in the evening called the Coach "interim GM". Coach will just hold Regal's spot until Regal gets back from his suspension. Geez, get the story right. Try watching the show! Like Jeremy Thomas here:
A hidden highlight leapt right out at me on RAW this week. At the end, after the "lawyer" gave the clue that things were looking up, the camera came back to the ring. As it did, it just managed to catch Ken Kennedy making the effort to step directly in front of Shane McMahon, while everyone was in the ring looking toward the TitanTron! How perfect of a last-ditch effort for the "Almost Was a McMahon" to steal the spotlight from Shane, the way he was trying to steal his status as a McMahon son away? Not to mention it totally shows his ego as to how with Kennedy, it's always, ALWAYS about him. Even after he was discredited due to the marvels of modern science--you know, those computerized receipts for Signature Pharmacy (you thought I meant DNA? Hah!)--he had the arrogance to try and put himself ahead of Shane... literally!
Sforcina: Nice to know all the stuff I half considered for my HH's got picked up here.
JP: I don't know if you caught this as well, but when the Lawyer came out, Shane and Steph stepped in front of Mr. Kennedy and then formed a wall. It was very intentional and interesting. Zach Rizza noticed the same thing you did, as well as this one:
Anyone notice a fan on RAW wearing an ROH shirt throughout the WHOLE show, this week?
JP: Why, was he supposed to change his shirt during the show? Chris Page never changes his shirts, but does find Hidden Highlights:
On Raw this week, we were treated to another Santino Marella skit - for the record, Santino is so brilliant in his role right now that he's fast become my favourite guy just for the sheer hilarity of stuff like Larry Craig jokes (and the facial expressions he throws in afterwards which may be a Hidden Highlight in themselves). What I did catch was when he and Maria were making their entrance, Maria goes to lightly take Santino by the injured arm so they can walk down the ramp together - and Santino sells it. You can just catch him mouthing "ow ow ow" as she holds him. Now that's attention to detail.
JP: Santino's heel turn has been the best thing going since sliced bread #2.
Just to go one step further, when they reach the ring, Santino goes to open the ropes for Maria (he may be a bitch, but he's still a gentleman), only he doesn't open it nearly as far as you'd normally see someone pull them open, again a sign that he still doesn't have full strength in his arm.
JP: This arm thing is all because of Umaga, right? I forget if there is a real injury or he's just been selling forever!
Sforcina: It's a little of both. Umaga did injure him at a house show, but he got beat for the belt on the previous Raw to said House Show, so it was easy to explain. And Santino's "Shutuppa Your Face" made me smile, but only because I love Australian One Hit Wonders, even if Mr. Dolce's song is the biggest selling Australian single in the world of all time.
On ECW next, don't think anyone has mentioned this to date. So Miz has been accompanied by all three members of Extreme Expose for the last several weeks and they too all go arm in arm. Of course, there's only room for Miz to be arm in arm with two of them, leaving one (lucky?) girl on the end. And have you noticed it's ALWAYS Kelly Kelly, which sort of figures since she's shown she's not nearly as enamored with him as the other two are.
JP: But yet Kelly always goes for Brook's arm. Interesting…
And Smackdown, this I had to throw in. At the end of the show when Teddy Long confronts Khali backstage and mentions the triple threat match, Ranjin Singh translates to Khali... and apparently 'triple threat' in Punjabi is in fact 'triple threat'.
JP: Some words just don't translate, brother-in-law.
Also, a classic hidden highlight for the books too. I was watching on Youtube the other day the Randy Savage/king cobra incident. They had several good camera shots throughout, particularly as they were getting Randy Savage on the stretcher. First we saw
Jake leaning in the corner looking out at Savage, with the cobra a couple of feet in front of him, doing exactly the same thing, which was a terrific visual. Then as we take another shot of Savage falling off the stretcher (that'll be his Ricky Steamboat tribute I guess), we can see Jake in the background strategically tapping the canvas, and seconds later we go back to another great shot of Jake and the cobra looking face to face with Jake laughing evilly, Jake having just set up that image all by himself. Kudos for the quality snake handling skills.
JP: There are a lot of real things in wrestling that are dangerous, and even a defanged cobra is one of them! Speaking of dangers, we'll finish off the week with Neeraj Angal:
On SD!, Chavo Guerrero took on Funaki in a match and got disqualified for being over-aggressive. After the match, Chavito continued to beat the holy hell out of Funaki on the outside. Some refs came to fend him off and apparently warned him about some disciplinary action. To this, Chavo retorted "Yeah? You already DQ'd me, what are you gonna do?" WHILE backing off. Now there's two HHs right there, but I'm leaving it in the able hands of JP to explain them, since he once said that such type of HHs were of "his kind", and I'm in a massive hurry.
JP: Why would I need to explain them? Well, Chavo knew there were no consequences anymore, so he decided he could do whatever the heck he wanted at that point. It was a great heel moment and a fantastic moment of paying attention to what was going on around him. It played up reality so well that it is worth the kudos. Does that work for you?
Well, that wraps up this week. Let's see what you folks have for the contest. Hopefully enough people will enter that it will be worthwhile and I won't have to cancel…
Sforcina:... I swear to Teller that was not planned!
Do you have a Hidden Highlight from this or any week in history that you would like to share? Please e-mail this article at lookforme@mikefine.com with your thoughts! Send them by Saturday afternoon to be considered! And remember, they can be from any show, live or taped, or any house show, or anything you saw… readers just like to know!
JP: Well, it was a rocky start, but I think you really picked up the slack and came through, Mat. Thanks again for your help this week, and I hope I never have to call on you again.
Sforcina: Screw this, I'm leaving by Stage Right! *walks off, crashing through scenery and into Ladies' Dressing Room*.
JP: And you wonder where all the female readers go? And before we disappear, one last time:
As you all know, this article has been JT-less for the past 6 weeks and we have been filling in with staff members. Now, I'd like to give the readers a chance to get involved and be guest co-host for a whole month! Here is how it going to go:
This week, when you send your write-ins, indicate if you would like to be part of the contest
All those who indicated that they would like to be part of the contest will be featured in
a special write-in section in Issue #107
A voting tool will be under each reader for the other readers to rank them on a five point scale (five being the highest).
In Issue #108, I will announce the four highest averages. Each one of those people will be assigned one show to completely do the following week.
In Issue #109, those four finalists will present their Hidden Highlights for their assigned shows. The voting tool will return for you to vote each Hidden Highlight and the overall score for each person.
I will tabulate the scores in the following method: 50% for the individual Hidden Highlights average, 25% for overall vote for a person, and 25% for JP's individual Hidden Highlights average vote.
In Issue #110 I will announce the winner.
From Issue #111-114, the winner will get two shows to do and be a part of the dialogue, banter, and all that good stuff.
Please only enter the contest if you will be able to dedicate the time and effort to get this done. Writing this article every week is a lot more time and energy intensive than just writing in and requires a good deal of commitment. If you are serious about this, I look forward to see what you've got.
That's it… get those entries in!
Sforcina: If only to stop him posting that!
JP:Thank you for reading the 106th ISSUE of Hidden Highlights! Be sure to drop a line with all the other Hidden Highlights not covered this time around and everything you catch in the week to come.
Until then, you have just experienced the most positive article in all of the IWC: Hidden Highlights!
