Hidden Highlights 09.24.07: Issue #108

Posted by JP Prag on 09.24.2007

John Cena comes out fighting at Unforgiven, Triple H makes crude jokes at Nashville’s expense, Armando Estrada finds a referee, Eric Young huddles up with the fans, Deuce and Domino drive out on the other side, and Nick Hogan and his baby drive without caution. All that, plus the results of the Reader Write-in Contest and guest co-host Stephen Randle!

Hidden Highlights
By JP Prag

Issue #108

Hello everyone who has just been devastated by the decline of the Red Sox over the past two weeks and wonder if the pennant is really still in sight, 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: Maybe JT was right; maybe I should switch back over to football mind completely. The Pats have been doing fantastic (I wrote this before the game on Sunday, so I may look like a fool now, but I doubt it), so that option seems like where I should focus. It's not like Christian Cage or King Booker is going to win the title anytime soon, so where else should my hopes for championships lie?

Speaking of losers, that brings us to our guest co-host this week. Sure, he may have won the Great Positivity Debate III: The Sequel Nobody Asked For against Team Hidden Highlights, but that was tainted by bringing in the entire country of Canada to vote for him. That's why he won by five votes. You see him every Monday that he bothers to show up in The Wrestling News Experience. He is also co-editor of the Wrestling Zone, though I've never seen him edit or approve anything. Everyone, this is Stephen Randle. Randle?

Randle: See, this is why I should have demanded to write my own introduction. A lesser man might spend the entire guest column taking shots at you over it, but not the fan-voted Most Positive Columnist on 411. So, let me just say what an honor it is to be here, and that you totally carried JT for the entire run.

JP: Once again, for the record, the vote was never on the line about who has the Most Positive Article in the IWC. That was settled a long time ago with Meehan. You just won a tainted debate. Anyway, before we get too deep in conversation, I'd like to announce our four finalists for the Reader Write-in contest.

Randle: Ha ha ha ha! I didn't even have to enter the contest. JP practically begged me to co-host this week!

JP: I think you've been doing those imaginary conversations with Larry too much; you are definitely starting to channel him.

Randle: Sorry, sometimes I get in that mode, and you know how it goes.

JP: Do I ever! Do you see how the Ghost of JT harasses me!

Ghost of JT: On don't try to pin this on me, you do it to yourself.

JP: That's just wrong, Ghost of JT.

Small: Could you just get to the winners already?!

JP: Small, what are you doing here?

Small: Well those guys took up so much space last issue that my witty repartee got completely lost in the shuffle.

Randle: So you are here to make sure that doesn't happen to me as well?

Small: Hell no, I couldn't care less about you. I'm just here to make scathing comments.

JP: No one is making any comments except for me. Now, the winners:

Brandon Metheny - Brandon took a big chance in doing a Stephanie McMahon Hidden Highlight, showing he has the guts to find the positivity. Can he keep up the work and the enthusiasm when he has a whole show to do?

Nikolia Nygard - Getting his entry in at literally the last second, Nikolia proved he has the eye with the vast number of his write ins. Now can he drop the quantity and bring nothing but top quality?

Neeraj Angal - Neeraj has been showing his dedication to the Hidden Highlights mantra for month providing unique insight and information in his write-ins. But will his logistics nightmare of not having any live access to wrestling be his undoing?

Trevor Alexander - Trevor has proven he has the eye for detail, and knows how to find positivity when it suits him. Now, I'm not one to accuse someone of cheating, but let's just say Trevor's results patterns were quite peculiar when compared to himself and others. Can Trevor stand strong enough on his own?

Randle: Of course you'd never accuse anyone of cheating. You're a Patriots fan.

JP: Ouch!

Randle: So how's this going to work?

JP: Glad you asked. Next week, each of these four will be assigned a show (I've already assigned them, so they should be all set). After each show, you will be able to vote on the overall quality of their Hidden Highlights. That is 50% of the vote. Then, readers can pick their overall favorite. That is 25% of the vote. After that, I will go through each of their Hidden Highlights and give a score to each. That average will be the remaining 25%.

So, to break it down:

50% of the score for overall Hidden Highlights average decided by readers

25% of the score for overall favorite vote

25% of the score for JP's individual Hidden Highlights scores

Should any of the contestants not get their write-ins by the assigned deadlines, they automatically forfeit. Part of writing Hidden Highlights for a month is dealing with deadlines.

Ghost of JT: Like all the ones you forgot when you sent me late drafts?

JP: Shush you! Now the winner will be announced in Issue #110 and go on to be guest co-host for Issues #111-114.

Good luck to you all, and I look forward to what you've got!

Randle: I like how JP's opinion only counts for 1/4 of the final decision in his own column. See, this is why you lost the Positivity Debate.

JP: No, that's because it's a reader contest, not a JP contest. That was already decided when I chose the people to be guest co-host around here.

Randle: Awwww… thank JP, that was actually rather ni—

JP: I was talking about Ogre.

Randle: That was for the Patriots comment?

JP: You bet! All right, the administrative stuff is out of the way. Now it's time to get on with the Hidden Highlights!



Sunday, September 16, 2007 by the Readers via JP

JP: Unforgiven has come and past, and once again the Undertaker got the main event in the mid-card match. How does that keep happening? The way they were pushing it during the show, you'd think the SmackDown! three-way would have been the main event, not the mid-card match. Well, since the Undertaker got the main event, it's only appropriate that he gets our first write-in for the show…

(3) Death of a Tattoo:

This is from Michael Miller:

The Undertaker re-appears at Unforgiven and has seemingly returned a single man, as the ‘SARA' tattoo is now absent from his neck.

Wow! The Undertaker got laser removal? I wonder if he and Sara really split? I mean, I guess it is possible. The man is rather private, so it would be hard to find out.

Actually, Mike wrote back later:

My apologies.... after seeing the match from Unforgiven, I see that the tattoo is indeed intact. I was lead astray by multiple photos at wwe.com, which for whatever reason, they have removed the 'SARA' tattoo from Mr. Taker's neck. Now I am more confused than ever...



Ok, now I'm just confused. I guess they don't want to acknowledge the Undertaker is human on the inter-web!

(2) It's all business:

Our next one is from Eric Quattro:

When Cena came out, he didn't pose or anything, and he brawled from the start. Obviously, with how it's gotten personal, it makes sense for him to do this. Also, I remember reading in some other column long ago how wrestlers always get in these pull-apart brawls, yet when the match comes, they wrestle. Well, Cena didn't do that. He continued the way he's been, disregarding that this was now a sanctioned match. He made it look like his emotions took over, which is exactly what you would expect someone in that situation to be like.

And then it all made much more sense when it lead to the DQ conclusion.

(1) It's all business:

Our top dog also comes from Eric, and we'll see more of him in the Reader Write-in Section:

The Matt Hardy/MVP vs Deuce and Domino match pretty much was all about Matt and MVP one-upping the other. Well, to further emphasize that point, either Deuce or Domino hit a big move I think on Matt, and Cherry yelled, "I like it!" Just by yelling that, it made the dissention between Matt and MVP even more noticeable because the other team cared about its other members.

I've always enjoyed the little things Cherry does for her team and her time out there, and this was a great example to how other can play off of her.

Randle: About the Undertaker, I remember him saying that he got the tattoo on the most painful spot you can get one, just for her. Wonder how much it hurt to get it removed? The good news is, now DDP has a chance!



Monday, September 17, 2007 by Randle

Randle: Readers of my column (so, everyone) know that after Raw moved from TSN to The Score over a year ago (I think it was a year, it's been a long while, anyway), I haven't been able to watch the WWE's flagship broadcast. Until I moved to my new apartment, that is. Now, thanks to the glory of my digital cable box, Raw has returned to my screen, and what better way to celebrate than by doing the Raw Hidden Highlights? Well, besides drinking.

(3) His head isn't the only thing that's yellow:

I don't know how much this has been noticed, because I stay out of the forums and such, but this is Hidden Highlights, where they seem to have an abnormal fascination with men's fashion and color co-ordination, so here we go. A lot has been made about Shelton's suddenly blond locks, but how many people noticed the other color-clashing bit of yellow in his ensemble? I had to look a couple times to make sure, but painted on Shelton's left boot is a yellow ribbon, presumably of the "Support Your Troops" variety. See, he may be a heel, but he still cares.

(2) Wrestling and Fantasy? Geek Heaven!:

Okay, it was just a horse with a horn, and I'm not really certain that a unicorn is actually Irish, but it did allow Triple H to get a subtle dig in on Nashville. During his ragging on Vince, Trip asked him "do you know how hard it is to find a unicorn in Nashville?" Well, I know exactly how hard it is to find a unicorn. According to myth, the only way to catch a unicorn is to be a virgin. Good thing they aren't real, because life would be a lot harder with living, breathing virgin alarms walking around. Anyway, taking these facts into consideration, was Trip saying that Nashville is full of sluts? Actually, another way to look that just popped into my head is that is was somewhat a compliment, after years of suggesting that all wrestling fans (especially those of us on the Internet) are pathetic virgins. Oh, that clever Triple H, he's always three steps ahead.

(1) Because he's The Coach, that's why:

Okay, we all hate Jonathon Coachman, especially when he's attempting to sit at the announce table. But from a Hidden Highlights perspective, Coach was on fire this past Monday, starting right away with his Titantron video, which actually includes the words "Acting General Manager". Considering some wrestlers still have the entrance videos that they debuted with, and considering that Coach's tenure is only going to be another couple of weeks, that's some impressive detail from the production guys.

But wait, there's more. You know, back when Vince blew up, suspicion was placed on Coach, since he directed Vince to the limo in the first place. I'm here to say that Coach may be far more intelligent than we all thought. Let's look at the evidence:

In the Irish-themed office, Coach points out that there was no way that Hornswoggle could have had time to do all that decoration. Eventually, he was proven correct when Triple H admitted to the deed. Clever observation, Coach.

After chasing Hornswoggle out of Vince's office, the next segment involving Coach is him calmly talking to Cody Rhodes, then confronting John Cena, not still chasing Hornswoggle. In fact, Coach never does catch Hornswoggle, he comes out to the ring on his own. One can only theorize that Coach immediately gave up chasing Hornswoggle almost immediately after leaving Vince's office, and went to deal with more important business. Ignoring Vince's orders, Coach? Who are you really working for?

As Vince is getting into his limo, Coach casually mentions "see you at the wedding". Wedding? What wedding? Oh, wait a second, Smackdown's "season premiere", featuring the wedding of Teddy Long and Krystal is this week, and presumably both Vince and Coach would be invited guests. Nice little subtle bit of promotion for Smackdown, there, Coach, especially since you're supposed to be a competing general manager.

Okay, I'm trying to make it sound more conspiratorial than it probably really is, but I have to give Coach the top spot this week just for his attention to detail in his lines.

JP: Ok, the ribbon on Shelton's boot has been covered like 15 times in this article, including a three week debate in the reader section. Thanks for reading! And I happen to like Jonathan Coachman, especially at the announce booth. Jerk. But yes, the "see you at the wedding" line was my #1 for RAW as well!

Randle: Why do you have a #1 for RAW? Were you taking notes? Did you not trust me?

JP: Errr… that is to say… hey, I've got ECW to get to!



Tuesday, September 18, 2007 by JP

JP: ECW continued its streak of "effective one hour shows with a twelve man roster while still not looking or acting anything like the old ECW". I read that interview with RVD where he said how happy he was with One Night Stand I and II where people listened to him, but just gave up when everyone stopped listening to him come the launch of the new ECW. Now, I'm not saying RVD is always right, but it would be nice if the brands had more distinct identities. Seriously, how could it hurt Vince to give someone else control over ECW and not do final approval? I mean, really just let them go to see what happens? That is the experiment to do see what the WWE will be like after Vince dies (for real). Maybe say, "Hey Hunter, why don't you book this show from top to bottom, except you can't be on it. Let's see how you do?" That's where this is going anyway, right?

(Please note that I am in hour 22 of Yom Kippur fast when I am writing this, so I may come off a bit [more] insane than usual.)

(3) Bound for ECW:

When the show kicked off and the promos began, I noticed a sign front and center of the camera's eye. The sign was none other than a "TNA Bound for Glory" sign, which of course is taking place in Atlanta, GA (in an arena not quite as big. But I did enjoy that Nitro from the Georgia Dome. A Nitro has an attendance of 50,000 people. Oh, the glory days!). I was amused thoroughly by this, but was more amused that the sign disappeared after the commercial break and was not seen in the rest of the show nor on SmackDown!. Did the fan give up? Did the WWE switch camera angles? Or did they send security over to take the sign? I'm betting the latter.

(2) Oh there you are:

After Armando Alejandro Estrada set the Chase to No Mercy in motion, he started calling for a referee to come out several times. About halfway through his fourth call, he noticed that a referee was on his way out, running down the aisle next to him. That is where he stopped in mid-sentence and said, "Get in there!" to the ref. Nice move by Estrada to immediately react to the change in his environment and talk in the demeanor most familiar to him.

(1) Come on, guy:

Unfortunately, that ref was apparently not at his best, at least according the wrestlers in the ring. As the match progressed, the ref was busy watching Dreamer and Burke fight in the corner, Stevie Richards had managed to beat down Thorn enough to attempt a pinfall. After about five seconds, the ref finally came over, but Thorn was had already got his shoulder up at that point. Stevie then started to berate the ref for being out of position and not making the count for him! Great little touch by Stevie to show how upset he was at not having the ref handy, especially when it cost him the match later.

Randle: A tournament for the title involving Stevie Richards? What world did I wake up in? Man, with Cor Von's release there's only 12 active ECW wrestlers. I suspect it's going to get real hard to find new Hidden Highlights in the weeks ahead. Unless you want to do an in-depth expose on Big Daddy V's mysterious lopsided fat or something.

Don't you dare.



Thursday, September 20, 2007 by Randle

Randle: I never noticed it before, but there really is a lot of Kurt Angle on this show, isn't there?

Okay, I'm kidding, I already knew that. But to my own credit, I'm going to try to do Hidden Highlights without mentioning the Angles.

(3) I hate air quotes:

Damn-it, I fail. In the opening segment, Dr. Nash (and could we see a diploma or something?) started using the infamous "air quotes" while berating Kurt and Karen for going after Sting. Well, Karen must have the same reaction to them that I do, because she started using them in a mocking fashion when talking about Kurt being an 11-time World Champion. It's subtle, but it's there. I like it, too, because it both mocks Nash's speech while also mocking her own husband's accomplishments, suggesting that they mean nothing if he can't even deal with Sting.

(2) Real fan support:

I have never seen a wrestler who connects with the fans like Eric Young has somehow managed to do. It's an interesting style, and the announcers even mention it a lot during his matches. I don't know if he's done it before, or if this was a new way for him to make the fans his friends, but before entering the ring against Judas Mesias, probably the biggest challenge of his career, Eric paused at ringside, gathered a bunch of nearby fans together, and did an old fashioned "hands in, okay, 1-2-3 BREAK!" in an effort to psyche himself up and get some additional support. The best part is, all the fans jumped in enthusiastically. I always like willing fan interaction, and Eric Young always brings the goods.

(1) Bootylicious?!?:

Seriously, he's no Beyonce. But there's something more interesting about the former Rikishi's outfit, specifically the waistband with the infamous word. If you watch his match with Christian Cage, you might notice something: the word Bootylicious makes a near-complete circuit around his waistline, somehow moving from his front to his (more appropriate, really) backside just in time for him to deliver some ass-related maneuvers. Yes, it's timed so good it must have been accidental. Hey, at least I resisted suggesting that when Rikishi used a Rock Bottom during the match, he did it… for the Rock.

JP: I was begging for Mike Tenay to call it a "uranagi". No dice, I guess? And yes, that moving "Bootylicious" was throwing me off. If you watch closely, several times during the match Jr. Fatu went to fix it (presumably from moving up or down), but when he did so he only kept moving the middle waste-band around.



Friday, September 21, 2007 by JP

JP: I do have to say, the wedding was Hidden Highlights gold. I could do not only this entire section on just the happenings and details of the ceremony, I could do a whole article on it! Instead, I'm going to mention only one things from the wedding that only has relevance to me and then more on to other stuff.

(3) Where's the most leg room:

As the guests were coming in to the wedding, Mr. McMahon and Coach led the charge to the front row and sat in the two seats there. If you noticed, Mr. McMahon gestured for Coach to take the inside seat so that he could sit on the aisle. Why did Mr. McMahon want to sit on the aisle? Well, as a business traveler, I've noticed that most other business travels prefer to sit in the aisle because (a) you can have more room to stretch out, (b) you can get to the bathroom without climbing over people, and (c) you can get off the plane faster. Mr. McMahon, as a regular traveler like me, would want to sit in the aisle for these reasons! Of course, I actually prefer to sit on the window because I like to have something to lean up against and hate getting hit by the carts.

(2) Where's the drive by?:

SmackDown! is well known for having many different cars come out and sit on the entranceway. Whether this was a lowrider from Los Guerreros or JBL's limo, these cars have come to be expected on the show. That's why SmackDown! has the flat entrance area instead of the ramp like RAW. The most recent people to be driving cars are the former WWE Tag Team Champions Deuce and Domino. The consistent pattern for all of these cars is that the drive out of stage left (audience right). But not this week! Deuce and Domino drove out of stage right. Quite unusual, so there must have been an odd backstage setup. That's all I can think of with that one.

(1) Am I bleeding… down there?:

Midway through the show, JBL and Rey Mysterio teased a rematch from a year and half ago, but JBL instead invited Finlay out to do some beatings. When Finlay got the mic, instead of talking he just bopped Mysterio in the head and eventually walked away. While laying on the ground, Mysterio began to feel his head to see when Finlay had hit him. He then loosened his mask, stuck his hand underneath, and then checked to see if he was bleeding. What an absolutely great and natural reaction from Mysterio! I know when I've suffered a head injury, I always check to see if I'm bleeding in the same way. Mysterio not only did that, but managed to keep his mask on at the same time. Nice work there.

Randle: How many times has Smackdown's season premiere involved a wedding, anyway? I think either Billy and Chuck or Dawn Marie and Al Wilson also got married on a season premiere. Possibly both. Also, I can't be the only one who remembers that Vicki Guerrero and Krystal had concocted some sort of "master plan" many months ago, just before Krystal started dating Teddy? Can I?



Sunday, September 16, 2007 by JP

JP: Now this was the episode I was waiting for: sitcom comedy storyline when Nick learns a lesson in less than 24 hours. Good times!

(3) I'm an artist:

Early in the episode, Nick and his friend who has a dollar sign at the end of the name went to an art class to see a nude model (guess they forgot that they had internet access. On a side not, guys who watch porn together: totally gay). I noticed, though, at one point you could see the back of the drawing pad of one of the girls in the front of the room. She could actually draw! I guess they got some really good wringers for this Wednesday 2pm class.

(2) Safety first:

After having his baby, Nick decided that he and the child should go for a ride on his scooter. But did you notice something distinctly missing from Nick and his baby? That's right, helmets! Guess taking safety precautions and driving in a reasonable manner isn't his thing. Zing! Oh, and a police offered pulled up next to him and did not pull him over for riding without a helmet? Nice job there guys!

(1) Stinky wrestlers:

Earlier in the episode, Hulk Hogan and Paul "Big Show/Giant" Wright went from the gym to the bookstore to find some sex-ED books. Did you notice something peculiar about the two? Yeah, they were still wearing the outfits they were wearing at the gym in the prior scene. That means that Hulk and Show did not shower or change clothes after working out. Totally gross!

Randle: Sometime I wish I got MTV. Actually, I probably do, I'm just too lazy to check. Besides, I'm one of those people who is old enough to remember when MTV played music videos, so it'd just depress me.




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: After such a huge section last week, including the contest, it seems like we scared a few people away! So, *GENERAL WARNING*:: some parts of the following Reader Write-in Hidden Highlights may be edited for grammar, spelling, and English translation…

We'll start in with some contest leftovers that didn't quite make the deadline and/or page count. Runner up EQuain Rhodes can kick it off:

JP, I'm sorry, but after reviewing the tape, I have an addition to my list:

Hacksaw Jim Duggan is a former U.S. Champion, meaning he should have stayed until the end. CONTINUTIY IS NEXT TO GODLINESS.

JP: I was all over that last week, as you do so know! Semi-finalist Trevor Alexander (who is getting the benefit of the doubt) had a bunch more he wanted to enter. Since they didn't get to me in time, I get to edit them to hell here:

Michelle McCool came out with Chuck Palumbo (His theme song and video were playing) and when they showed the graphic for her name it had Chuck's video playing beside it not hers (if you don't watch Smackdown the wrestlers have their titan tron playing beside their name when it pops up on the screen.

JP: An interesting little production snafu to catch.

The Victoria/Kenny team up is looking good with little things like Victoria calling out to Kenny when she thought she had Michelle cinched in a waist lock, Kenny (from the outside) rubbing Victoria's cheek when she was slapped during the match, and Kenny pulling the bottom rope down for Victoria (from the floor) as she got back in the ring during the match. Nice to see Kenny putting Victoria over as her boy toy and not standing there like Chuck.

JP: Chuck has been underwhelming me in this run, I liked him better as a Natural Born Thrilla. But Victoria and Kenny are Hidden Highlights gold apart, and have just moved up to platinum together!

They finally took that moronic pit-bull barking out of Jamie noble's entrance.

JP: Well, it wasn't so moronic when he was in a tag team called the Pitballs. Bet you forgot about him and Kid Kash being a team, huh?

Jamie Noble is probably the best seller on Smackdown when it comes to selling a move. At the start of the match Shannon Moore attacked Jamie's arm and Jamie sold it properly for the rest of the match even when he was applying a butterfly submission that used his arms he positioned the move where the good arm was applying most of the pressure, NICE to see someone actually sell a move for once.

JP: Now that is a nice catch. Noble is highly underrated and has been since his Jung Dragons days. Man, this guy has been in a lot of random tag teams.

Glad to see they kept up the MVP had no idea he had a match that night story but not having his bouncy castle or pyro ready when he came out, he didn't even have his Gold.

JP: The lack of bouncy castle made me so sad! When JT and I were at WrestleMania, one of the things I was most looking forward to was seeing his bouncy castle be put up, but there was no place for it at the stage there. So disappointing!

Nice to see the crowd knew to say sucks when Matt was chanting his name, a good crowd can make or break a match.

JP: Crowd definitely had the energy. Matt? MVP does wonders for him.

The much talked about Malcom X tattoo finally made it's full debut on Smackdown.

JP: That's what I thought. Then, Chris Jacobs said:

About MVP's tats, didn't everyone get a chance to see them way back when Kane burnt him anyway? So they would have already known what they were. He walked around with his ribs and back covered because his back was burnt, and they wrapped the bandages around his ribs, so the tats on his chest would still be showing. I don't remember, so I'm really just asking.

JP: I don't think we ever got a clear shot, like the towel was covering them up. I really do think this was the first time. Back to Trevor:

More good announcing by JBL. One highlight that caught my ear was during the Kane/Finalay match and Cole asked JBL when was the last time heard Kane scream like that and JBL said "I can't recall" he didn't say never like announcers tend to do when they want to put over how tough an opponent is.

JP: Or like when they go, "This is the biggest main event we've ever had!" Oh come on, you can hype something without going overboard. Much like Julian Williams here:

I think you missed out on one of Vince's better HH moments during the "who is my illigitemate son" segment. When announced that the son was of "fair skin, Vince says "He's CAUCASIAN! I mean...he's caucasian?!?" At that point all the black wrestlers begin to leave and Vince says, "That's right, Mark Henry, head to the back." I just about LMAO at this segment. Including the look on Mark Henry's face, this is priceless.

JP: Oh, I caught it all, just thought it was rather blatant. Still good stuff, though.

Next... Shelton Benjamin with blonde hair. Keep you eyes peeled. First, Shelton gets the blonde hair. Next, Ron Simmons is attacked by Santino Morella. On Smackdown, Ron Simmons is joined at Teddy Long's bachelor party by long lost former tag team partner.... 'The Natural' Butch Reed. Next...will a babyface turn have Shelton helping Ron Simmons get revenge on Santino Morella?

JP: THAT was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much of jump in logic for me. But speaking of that attack, here's Chris Jacobs again:

Ron Simmons HH I just thought of. Someone may have said it, but the week Ron was jumped by Santino, just last Monday, Ron was walking with Maria and talking to her, but you could not hear him. She would say something, and he would reply with whisper like quiteness, and then Santino jumped him. If he wasn't shouting DAMN!!! he isnt good at talking, therefore you could not hear him. To his credit he was saying and ryming damn, but we couldnt hear him, so who are we to argue that fact. Also if Ron Simmons was face to face with you and you argued anything with him, you're a dumb man.

JP: I actually thought Ron was not responding. Like he would go to say something and his mouth would start to move, but Maria would keep interrupting. Just like this man here, Eric Quattro who you already read above:

CM Punk took on Elijah Burke for the ECW Title. Now, I've read that CM Punk is just holding the title until John Morrison comes back from suspension. Well, the highlight is because CM Punk, the "Placeholder" champ is actually getting longer matches than the "actual" champ, John Morrison. Maybe the WWE really does like CM Punk after all.

JP: Oh, they like him plenty because he now has TWO high selling t-shirts. Though his second one doesn't scream "straight edge" to me.

During the triple threat match for the World Title, Khali took out both Mysterio and Batista and chose who he wanted to attack. Now, many would say Mysterio, because he's smaller, but Khali went after Batista, which is the smart thing. Batista is bigger, so while Khali is fresh, he'd rather take out the bigger guy. The little guy can wait, because he won't need as much energy. It was smart strategy on Khali's part.

JP: That's what I thought they should have done during the four-way match on ECW. Instead of going after Richards, everyone should have tried to eliminate Thorn because he was the biggest! Anyway, on to new people with Ryan Albrecht and RAW:

This highlight occurred In the opening segment when Coach came out to confront Cena. In a very quick off camera shot you could make out that Coach's titan-tron video had been changed. It now included the title "Acting Raw General Manager".

It is such a minor change because it will only be seen again for another 2 weeks when Regal makes his return.

Randle: Yeah, I already said that! Thanks for paying attention!

JP: Uhhh… Randle, the article isn't written live. The readers can't see what you say in advance.

Randle: And why not? Am I not Canadian?

JP: I don't even understand what that is supposed to mean! Luckily, I generally understand Fixxer315:

I was flipping back & forth b/w ECW and S1 of 24 on DVD, so I didn't catch the entire Fatal Four Way, but if it held up throughout the entire match, it's a pretty good HH. Usually with multiple man matches, there is always an effort to break up the pin--even when the match is elimination style. However, given the fact that the loser of the match would be eliminated, there was no incentive to interrupt the pin, and so none of the wrestlers did so--leaving it up to the pinned wrestler to have to kick out. I love how that worked and gave the 4 way match a different feel than usual.

JP: See, now that is what made sense in the match! Unlike that tri-branded battle royal on draft night when guys on the same brand were taking each other out. Speaking of other brands, we've got SmackDown! and Matt Parkinson:

I'd just like to send in a hidden highlight from the wedding on Smackdown. While it wasn't so hidden, the look on Victoria's face when Kenny went to leave on the "Ho Train" was hysterical. I think it was really good characterization seeing how her and Mr. Dykstra are in a relationship.

JP: Like I said above, everyone in the wedding scene deserved tons of kudos, I just could not begin to even list them all! Finishing us off this week is Jeremy Tapp and one that is rather interesting and pits ECW vs. TNA:

I don't know if you want to make anything of it but within the last month both Raven and Tommy Dreamer have started using bandannas to cover various bald-spots. This has got to count as some sort of Hidden highlight as even after 13 plus years of feuding Dreamer and Raven still can't stay out of each others business.

JP: As a man whose hairline could use some work, I sympathize with these two. Us hardcore 90's icons have to stick together!!

Well, that wraps up another bunch this week. With so many regulars in the contest next week, I'm expecting the rest of you to pick up the slack!

Randle: Must be nice to be able to rely on your readers for content, eh?

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 [e-mail] 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, after two months 411mania guest co-host, Phase 1 of our little post-JT experiment comes to a close. I'd like to thank all of the guest co-hosts, including this week's main man Stephen Randle. Great work this week, hope you had a blast filling in!

Randle: Let me tell you all, this stuff is harder than it looks, and JP should be commended for being able to do it for over 100 columns. That said, I've been looking forward to being a co-host on Hidden Highlights for a while, I just couldn't fire JT while Larry was watching. Thanks again, JP, and good night, Canada!

JP: And everyone, be sure to tune in this Saturday for something totally different. It is the premier of 411mania Wrestling Zone's newest daily news report: The Hamilton Ave Journal!! For the third time in a row, I'm going to change the way you watch and read about wrestling with the first, and only, news report dedicated to the business of professional wrestling. Come back this Saturday morning to catch what it all about.

Thank you for reading the 108th 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!