Hidden Highlights 01.21.08: Issue #125

Posted by JP Prag on 01.21.2008

Cameramen run from JBL’s pyro, John Morrison takes a time out with his true fans, Kurt Angle gets right to the point, Abyss chases Japanese photographers, Michelle McCool and Layla El hit a perfect move, and more! All with guest co-host Ryan Byers!

Hidden Highlights
By JP Prag

Issue #125

Hello everyone who absolutely forgot you were having a guest over the weekend until you got a call a couple of days before, 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: Like the new banner via Dan Hamilton? I think he's still making more edits to it, but I like it. Of course, Dan said he's like a clearer picture of one of these:



And now that all of the WWE shows are in HD (and TNA eventually will be), we can get a much clearer shot. So that means it is time for mission "My Sign is a Hidden Highlight" in HD! Get on it!

I know our guest co-host this week will be doing his best to make it happen. Coming back for a second time, you see him every week in the Custom Made News Report, Impact Crater and now the UWF on ESPN Classic Report: Ryan Byers! Ryan?

Ryan: Until just now, I've never really looked at a list of everything that I write for the site and thought about what it means for my social life. I need to get out more. Thanks for the eye opener, JP.

JP: That's what I'm here for: making people realize they have no lives. Just like you, the readers, are well aware.

Readers: F-U JP!

JP: Maybe so, maybe so, but for now we'll get on with the Hidden Highlights!



Monday, January 15, 2008 by JP

JP: That was one hell of an ending to RAW this week. I cannot believe someone in back said, "OK Jeff, we don't want you to just crawl up one level, but we'd like you to go up two. Oh, by the way, we still don't have health insurance and we won't let Paul London do a shooting star press because we are watching out for people's health. Also, please don't get addicted to pain killers because then we'll have to fire you for violating our Wellness policy. And yes, we will give your name to the public even though nothing you signed in your ‘independent contractor' agreement would allow us to do such a thing." Yeah, stuff like that sends a very mixed message.

(3) I am shocked, shocked I say:

Earlier in the evening, though, Triple H took on HD-ready Snitsky and eventually got DQed after hitting him with a chair. Now, that was not enough for Triple H as he then went for his trademark sledgehammer. For a brief moment, you could see Jerry Lawler in the background as Triple H took out the hammer. Lawler's eyes were bugged out of his head so wide they looked like they were about to explode! I have to give kudos to Lawler for still looking shocked for something he's seen a hundred times and still looked showed even though he may not have been on camera at all. That is living in the moment.

(2) Run, Forest, run:

After that, JBL came out to run down Y2J and then set off more balloons and pyro. Eventually he decided to leave and paused at the top of the ramp. As JBL raised his hands in the air to set off more pyro, the camera panned wide and high in the arena to catch it all. But I caught something even more interesting. There was a cameraman on the ramp as the pyro started, and he was running like heck to get away from them! We have to remember that these production guys are all around during everything that happens, and they are in just as much danger as anyone more pyro and pescadas.

(1) And the award goes to…:

Last week, I gave the William Regal Award for excellence in wrestling to Chuck Palumbo. This week, I give it to someone much more deserving. Ric Flair put his career on the line against RAW GM William Regal. Regal had Flair in half-Boston Crab-like maneuver. As he did so, Regal was also pulling back on the tape surrounding Flair's knee, trying to dish out even more pain. Therefore, the William Regal Award of the week goes to… WILLIAM REGAL! Congratulations!

Ryan: Unlike JP, I don't think that having Jeff Hardy jump down on to what is essentially a giant air mattress sends a mixed message about how seriously WWE is taking the health of its performers. I'd sign up to perform that spot long before doing half of the things that appear in ladder matches these days. However, like JP, I think William Regal is the bee's knees. Nobody pulls off old school dick heel moves as well as the British, and Regal's actions in his match against Flair were the perfect illustration of that fact.



Tuesday, January 15, 2008 by JP

JP: Where is Balls Mahoney? Seriously! I understand Tommy Dreamer disappearing form existence since he wasn't really doing anything, but Balls was in a long standing story with the Miz. Wasn't Dusty Rhodes running that whole story? I thought he had the thing laid out in great detail. Ever since Extreme Expose lost one member that whole storyline has been off. And what about Elijah Burke? And how come Bobby Lashley and Umaga are the only non-white or non-Latino-white people on RAW? It looks like ECW and to an extent SmackDown! are the place to go for greater ethnic diversity.

(3) What are their shows?:

I don't know if this has been going on for a bit, but this is the first time I noticed it. During the intros of Kane and Chavo Guerrero, I saw that their name graphics were using the ECW ones instead of the SmackDown! ones. And on SmackDown! it was the same issue with Layla El (although not CM Punk). It looks like the worlds of each of these shows in the talent exchange are blending even more… at least for some people.

(2) That's for me, baby:

In the opening contest of the night, WWE Tag Team Champions The Miz and John Morrison took on (apparently) ECW newest acquisitions in the Highlanders. A short while into the match, Morrison tagged out to the Miz and paused a long time on the ring apron and appeared to be pointing at something in the crowd and talking to someone. Did you catch what it was earlier in the match? A guy in the forth row had a "Shaman of Sexy" sign and Morrison caught it and decided to give it a little attention, just as his narcissistic self would opt to do.

(1) Not going to lock it in:

In the main event, Chavo Guerrero got his third shot at CM Punk and a chance to become number one contender. All throughout the match, Guerrero worked on Punk's injured shoulder. At one point, he was going for a cross arm breaker (thanks Tazz) to dish out even more pain. As he attempted the move, Punk locked his hands together so that Guerrero could not hyper extend his arm and shoulder. It was a really nice counter and you could see Punk struggling hard to keep his hands locked. It totally sold how important it was for him to keep his hands locked and not allow Chavo to dish out any more damage.

Ryan: Locking the hands to block a cross armbreaker is a spot that is performed all the time in Japanese matches, which is likely where Punk picked it up. After all, this is the same guy who lifted the "Go 2 Sleep" from KENTA and the "Anaconda Vice" from Hiroyoshi Tenzan. Personally, I'm glad to see that counter brought to the states. Guys laying around in a cross arm breaker like it's a rest hold has always been a pet peeve of mine, as it's legitimately a move that could do some severe damage to your limbs if applied for a lengthy period of time.



Thursday, January 17, 2008 by Ryan Byers

Ryan: Given that I'm normally not a big fan of Impact, I was dreading having to come up with "Hidden Highlights" for the show the last time I participated in this column. However, it wound up being worlds easier than I thought. I think this is because, no matter how bad TNA's booking gets on a particular night, its roster remains among the most talented on the face of the earth. That means we still have several world class performers putting excellent small touches on their performances ever week, as we'll see in just a few moments.

(3) Selling through no selling:

There's been a lot of ridiculous stuff in the Dudley Boys' feud with the X Division, but one of the highlights has been Alex Shelley finally being allowed some promo time in TNA. Though the leaked script for the January 3 show made it clear that none of the words coming out of Shelley's mouth are his own, he still gets kudos for his delivery. That excellent delivery was on full display this past Thursday night, when he cut a promo explaining the stipulations for the upcoming match featuring the Murder City Machine Guns and Jay Lethal against the Dudley Boys and Johnny Devine. For those of you who may have missed it, the X Division must disband if Shelley, Sabin, and Lethal lose. Shelley was given the task of explaining that, if this happened, he and his partners could go on to find success in other divisions. If he wasn't careful, this could come off as an admission that he doesn't give a rat's ass about the stipulations, which is a big no-no in cutting promos. After all, how are the fans supposed to care about the stips if the wrestlers don't? However, Shelley managed to walk a fine line between burying the match and building up his partners, making it sound more like they were capable performers than a troupe of men who didn't care that their division is potentially on the brink of being axed.

(2) An old school promo:

I've harped on this point a couple of times in recent columns, but there's nothing wrong with me hitting it once more. There are a lot of fans out there who try to analyze the quality of wrestlers' promos without even realizing what an effective promo is supposed to do. A lot of people will call a promo good if they laughed a couple of times or were prevented from changing the channel. Well, that's not the main purpose of a promo, kids. "Promo" is derived from the word "promote," and thus the goal of a good promo is to make fans more likely to tune in to a particular broadcast, buy a live event ticket, or order a pay per view. Sadly, some people within the wrestling industry have even forgotten this. That's why Kurt Angle's interview on Impact this week was so awesome. It wasn't primarily about getting a chuckle out John TNAfan or killing TV time. Angle cut to the chase and said, "Hey, jerks, watch Global Impact when this show ends!" I'm not saying that all promos have to be such blatant plugs, but it was nice to see that at least one person on the planet understands that television wrestling shows are supposed to be more infomercial than they are stand-alone entertainment.

(1) Only the good die (Eric) Young:

Though it was short, no match on Impact had me captivated any more than Travis Tomko vs. Eric Young. Between his promo two weeks ago and his being booked in two successive squash matches, it's apparent that the former "Problem Solver" is being groomed for big things. However, what struck me about this week's match was not how good it made Tomko look but rather how good it made his opponent Eric Young look. Young was able to hoist his much larger opponent up in to a Death Valley Driver AND hit him with an impressive Lionsault during the course of the bout. Normally my philosophy is that if somebody is going to be booked to win a squash, the dude doing the job shouldn't be hitting any major offense. However, even though he was getting squashed, TNA views Young as a guy who is capable of having competitive matches on the upper end of the card, so his hitting a couple of moves didn't devalue Tomko as much as it avoided devaluing Showtime. It was a good choice by whoever was putting the match together and well executed by the two guys in the ring.

JP: Well, we are talking about a guy who came back from the dead and then went to work the next day, so I'd hope they'd let him show a little chutzpah.



Thursday, January 17, 2008 by JP

JP: This show was quite different than I thought it was going to be. I thought it would be a couple matches with the story of the trip interlaced. Instead, it was more of documentary with some parts of a wrestling match in it. It felt more like a history DVD than an event, which was kind of interesting. Not bad, just different. And frankly, I enjoyed this show. It was something that really made TNA look unique and different and actually its own brand. Instead of doing sports entertainment every week, maybe TNA would be served to make documentary style television with full matches involved. A two hour iMPACT like that would be fantastic!

(3) Sir?:

During the international press conference, the microphone was getting passed around to the TNA stars. After Christian talked, you could hear someone in the audience go, "Can we get a comment from Mr. Abyss?" Mister?! That is just too funny not to notice.

(2) Get away from me:

After losing his match, Abyss came running to the back and started to chase reports and camera people around. I have no idea if they were playing along or legit scared or not, but those people running sold the moment so perfectly that I had to highlight it. Not only that, but Abyss staying in character even as he was backstage is simply amazing. Abyss must have had such a hard time never breaking kayfabe during the entire trip. I guess with Scott Steiner around he had someone to look up to who lives by the kayfabe moto.

(1) That's my intro:

As Kurt Angle was making his entrance, I noticed something quite interesting. They added a special TNA entrance area that was exactly like the TNA ramp back home in the iMPACT Zone. It was the round turning tunnel, the small staircase in back, and even the same lighting fixtures in front. I have to give serious props to the TNA and New Japan production crews for putting together that bit of a set that really defined it as the TNA world.

Ryan: Like JP, I was a big fan of this program. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that it's one of the best free television shows that TNA has ever produced, both due to the background on the American wrestlers visiting Japan and the Angle/Nagata matchup itself. I also want to give props to Mike Tenay, whose commentary did a good job of explaining the importance of Nagata and the Tokyo Dome show to fans who didn't know the first thing about Japanese wrestling.



Friday, January 18, 2008 by Ryan Byers

Ryan: I have to admit that I don't watch Smackdown nearly as often as I watch Raw and Impact, mainly due to the fact that it's on Friday nights and I have better things to do. However, every time that I've made an effort to watch the show over the last few months, it's been rather good, especially for a show that regularly features guys like Dave Batista, Mark Henry, Viscera, and Kane. This week was no exception.

(3) Dance, pardner:

One of the great things about WWE when compared to TNA is that, when somebody wins a match on Smackdown, Raw, or ECW, the cameras are allowed to stay on the ring for a little while during the victor's post-match celebration. That allowed us to see a rather funny moment this past Friday night, when Shannon Moore and Jimmy Yang (former BITTER RIVALS in WCW as part of 3 Count and the Jung Dragons, respectively) defeated the Greasers in tag team action. Yang has long been dancing around like a fool as part of his redneck gimmick, but his footwork was made all the more fabulous on Smackdown when Moore started making guns with his hands and shooting at the Georgia native's feet. Better yet was the fact that Yang actually sold it and moved his little piggies in such a way that it was obvious he was trying to avoid his partner's "bullets." Nothing beats a good, old fashioned country and western pantomime.

(2) They finally do SOMETHING right:

I'm sure that Michelle McCool is a very nice woman, but she can't wrestle to save her life. I'm sure that Layla El is a very nice woman, but she can't wrestle to save her life. Their match this past Friday was mostly atrocious, but there was one spot in which they had to have been possessed by the spirits of two competent yet deceased pro wrestlers. The finish, in which McCool blasted El with a double underhook sitout facebuster, was the most crip and safest looking maneuver which I have ever seen either of the two women execute, much less with one another. It gave me hope that, one day, the rest of their games will be elevated to the level of that one move.

(1) He knows as much as we do:

Fit Finlay and Vince McMahon's skits together have been among the best segments on both Raw and Smackdown recently, and there was no exception made to that rule this Friday night. My favorite moment came when Vince told Fit that he was going to book him in a "Belfast Brawl" against the Great Khali on next week's show. Finlay's reaction? He stared at Vince blankly as though he has no clue on earth what a Belfast Brawl is. Why was this awesome? It's because nobody watching the show has any clue what a Belfast Brawl is. We don't know, because this gimmick match has never actually been hosted by WWE before. It was a perfectly natural reaction given that fact, and upped Fit's credibility immediately.

JP: We've been giving Layla El especially a lot of credit in these columns for doing the little things, so there is much hope for her. I miss the old Michelle McCool before they tried to kill her accent and make her into a generic diva. Remember when she had a unique fatigue look? Well, back then Ashley was just a punk rock tease and not a full blown out naked girl, so times do change. Just like Shelly Martinez. She looks IN-CRED-I-BLE now in TNA. My word.




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: It's an all-star lineup of write-ins this week. So, *GENERAL WARNING*:: some parts of the following Reader Write-in Hidden Highlights may be edited for grammar, spelling, and English translation…

We'll kick it off with a whole lot of last week with Nicholas Noel:

Just to clarify, no matter what brand they are, sticking plasters are uniformly referred to as "Bandaids" in Australia.

JP: Don't worry, it's the same thing in America. Nobody really remembers name brand recognition. It's why words like "Xerox", "Q-tip", "FedEx", "Google", and others have come to mean their generic terms. But this is more of a discussion for the Hamilton Ave Journal.

ECW

TEAMWORK~! – Not only have they gelled as a tag team, but now Miz and Morrison are dressing as a team! Yellow was the colour of the day, as Miz's bandanna matched Morrison's coat and furry boot covers. A precursor to a long tag run?

JP: Every week Joey Styles and Tazz talk about how nobody can believe that the Miz and Morrison are still together considering their egos. Yet, they make it work without losing any of their character. THAT is a Hidden Highlight gold mine unto itself.

Miz Plays It Straight – After almost being caught beating on the Tree Of Woe-tied Yang from the outside, Miz grabbed the tag rope to show the ref he was playing by rules. Then he turned to the front row behind to him to show he had grabbed the rope off to them as well. Classic heel tag-foolery.

JP: Classic indeed. The Miz has certainly been impressive since teaming up with Morrison.

Hang On … - Have we pointed out yet how amusing it is to have a Jung Dragon and a member of 3-Count teaming together?

JP: We have not, but I've been thinking about it and laughing in my head a lot. And who would think that Jamie Noble would be doing the best out of the six? Well, I guess Shane Gregory Helms would be doing the best, should he ever get off the shelf.

Ryan: Actually, I think I brought it up earlier in this very column. And, if anything, I'd say that Evan Karagis is doing the best of the six men who were in those two factions. Can Shane Helms or Jambie Noble say that they're former AWA World Heavyweight Champions? I think not! (Before I get any angry e-mails, I would like to point out that the preceding comment was SARCASTIC in nature and that I am aware that the AWA Title is completely insignificant in today's wrestling landscape.)

Forget The Regal Award – We've got the Tazz Award! During the Chavo/Punk match Joey commented on how Chavo transitioned from his knee to his head when he had Punk in a surfboard submission, and Tazz started explaining in detail why it was better to use your head because of the solid muscle base from your neck.

JP: Go read Issue #19. That is actually called a "Larry Zbyszko Award", the hardest award to spell.

TNA

Senshi Wows Everyone – When Senshi went for the massive cartwheel kick to one of the MCMG on the top rope, the crowd went "Whoa!" and at the same time you could see the ref in the corner of the shot making the exact same face. It's awesome when a wrestler can wow a referee.

JP: I do like when refs have quite natural reactions as well.

Jeremy Borash Drives With A Microphone! – Probably for practice, which cracks me up to no end. I remember an interview I did with him, Road Dogg, and Stevie Ray in Sydney in 2001 when he was with the WWA. He could barely string a coherent sentence together, although he is a LOT better now.

JP: Although he didn't even recognize me the second time we met, which is sad since we met the day before.

Kaz Names A Rat – So Kaz steals Black Reign's (a.k.a Dustin Rhodes') rat Misty, and renames it Marlena … who was Goldust's (a.k.a Dustin Rhodes') manager back in the day in WWF! I'd like to think that Black Reign will now publically split up with his rat on national television.

JP: Oh this joke was sooooooo last week.!

Ryan:: I'd say that it's soooooo 1997, as is the case with most of TNA's humor.

AWESOME Kong – As Jeremy Borash introduced Awesome Kong in the Main Event, he reads out Kong's weight of 270 odd pounds and you hear this incredulous voice from the crowd going "Oh my God!". Absolutely hilarious.

JP: Hahaha! I totally missed that, but yeah, that is kind of incredible. She is bigger than three-quarters of the X-division! Heck, she's even bigger than Isaac Yarrell:

This may be common knowledge, but after HHH opened up Regal, he had his hand closed the entire time, doing the punches that (supposed) opened him, to the pedigree, and the after match celebration. His right hand stayed closed. Do they always hold the blade for that long?

JP: Not always; sometimes they hide it in their tights or boots, or hand it off the ref. Guess there just wasn't enough time this run out. Jamal certainly did not have the time:

At the end of Chuck Palumbo/Jamie Noble's match, Chuck prepared to attack Michelle McCool, prompting Jamie Noble to slowly walk out to the ramp and put a stop to it. The amazing thing about the double turn is that there was no words spoken. Not by any of the wrestlers involved or the commentators. The entire story was told based strictly on their facial expressions alone (except for the "CHUCK'S A LOSER" part of course). I thought it was genius! What do you guys think?

Ryan: I think that it's right in line with the way some of the greatest turns in time have been handled. Nobody overtly said anything to change Bret Hart and Steve Austin's alignments in their classic double turn, and many other guys have switched sides in a similar manner. I'm not saying that the Palumbo/Noble turn will be anywhere near as significant as Hart/Austin, but there is a precedent for this sort of thing.

JP: I'd have to agree. Sometimes, not doing anything is the best hidden Highlight. What do you think, Rick Landis?:

I was readin' Hidden Highlights, and watchin' Raw, Randy Orton did somethin' not many people do.

As Jeff Hardy backdropped Orton off the stage, you could hear Orton hollerin' like some of the older movies.

Not Hidden, but it's "one of those little things" that make wrestling better.

JP: More Randy Orton love in these pages? You'd think we had some sort of weird connection to him and were trying to butter him up! Sticking with the same moment on RAW we have Bill Bumgarner:

At he very end of the show, after Jeff's Swanton from the lighting rig onto Orton, they were hauling Jeff away on a stretcher. As they wheeled him out, ha raised his arm up....in what looked very much like Matt Hardy's "V1" hand sign. A signal of things to come, or just accidental finger placement?

JP: Oh, it was the V1 sign, but I don't think it is foreshadow this time. Whenever Matt goes out with injury Jeff uses the V1 sign (usually doing the gun pointing to it). Before we move on to our next write in, Ryan, I need you to something for me.

Ryan: What's that?

JP: Could you get that proton pack and trap in the corner there?

Ryan: Proton pack? What the heck are you talking about?

JP: It's a nuclear powered charged particle accelerator that is known to snare ectoplasm entities.

Ryan: Ectoplasm? Are you talking about g—

JP: Don't' say that word!

Ryan: Ghosts?

Ghost of JT: Somebody called?!

JP: Now you've done it!

Ghost of JT: Now, do tell JP, why would you want to ensnare me and put me inside Ecto-Containment Unit?

JP: Well, that is…

Ghost of JT: I think my PKE Meter is going off the chart.

JP: … Of course it is! You're the ghost!

Ghost of JT: Am I? Am **I** the ghost around here?

JP: Uh…

Ghost of JT: Ryan! Fire the proton gun at JP!

Ryan: Are you crazy?! That thing is a nuclear bomb with a blackstrap!

Ghost of JT: Quickly, call the EPA, they'll put a stop to this!

Ryan: Somebody better.

JP: Why doesn't Jennifer Stevens?

Ghost of JT: Ha! I knew it!

Good job with Hidden Highlights. It's one of my favorite columns on 411.

JP: And you're one of my favorites too.

Ryan: JP schmoozes with a woman and I'm stuck holding an a-bomb covered in glitter-paint. If this isn't an extended metaphor for my love life, I don't know what is.

I have something of a reverse Hidden Highlight for you from the Jan. 14 edition of RAW. After Shawn Michaels won his Royal Rumble qualifying match, Mr. Kennedy appeared on the TitanTron to berate HBK with what appeared to be a pre-taped promo. I immediately noticed the VCR-style clock on the bottom of the screen, and it struck me as a wonderful touch – even though it was pretty clear already from the staging around him, the clock was an easy and classy added touch to show that Kennedy's monologue was pre-taped, which added just a little extra spit-shine to his heel personality. It also illustrated that Michaels was there to listen, not respond, and he did a great job of ho-humming his way through that before popping the crowd with Sweet Chin Music late.

JP: Absolutely, it was a mistake, but it was a mistake that worked. Still, it is not a mistake I would make with you.

Ghost of JT: Yeah, what about that time in Detroit last year when you—

JP: What's that Jennifer? You have more to say and don't want to listen to that nasty ghost anymore?

Y'know, something else that deserves mention as a Hidden Highlight is the way the Orton/Hardy brawl was handled at the conclusion of RAW on Jan. 14. It would have been easy for Ross to scream himself hoarse over Hardy's gorgeous swanton, as you know they would have done on TNA, but instead the announcers chose to go silent. Good decision, but when that silence stretched through even the instant replays, it turned into an excellent one. Letting the images of Hardy and Orton being stretchered off and the intensity of the big spot speak for themselves said more than J.R. or Lawler ever could have. Also, beautiful camera work on that swanton, shooting from the floor to make it pop even bigger and disguising the landing pad to shield whatever softness there was in the impact (couldn't have been much, though).

JP: See, once again sometimes NOT doing something is the true Hidden Highlight. You understand that Ghost? Sometimes, you don't have to show in order to get your point across.

Ghost of JT: What are you trying to say?

JP: SCRAM!!

Ghost of JT: ::tear:: ::runs away screaming::

Ryan: That was just mean JP. Way to show off for the lady, who is now gone.

JP: Awww… Ghost, come back! Ryan, I've got to take care of this. Can you move on to Peter Clay?:

One line from Vince talking to Finlay on Raw really made me laugh... it was something along of the lines of "I don't renege on deals, thats not the kind of guy I am". Ah, the irony.

Also, I like that they went back to an older/more sinister entrance music for Regal (after all, he is a man... such a man... hes a real man's man). His current classical musicy theme is just a bit too dainty.

Ryan: If Finlay actually does buy Vince's statement that he's a man of his word, I hope that the Belfast Bruiser doesn't find himself booked in any championship matches with Shawn Michaels anytime soon. Well, JP isn't back yet, we'll move on to first timer Sy Gould:

I have a hidden highlight which occurred at this past week's main event on Raw.

When Randy Orton charged into the ring and immediately unleashed a low blow on Jeff Hardy to get disqualified in 8 seconds, I noticed that the referee (I am sorry that I don't know his name) appeared to look a bit confused at first and then only after seeing Hardy collapse in pain and clutch his groin area did the referee decide to call for the bell and disqualify Orton.

The ref's reaction added an additional touch of realism to the segment. By acting unsure if the blow was indeed low, the ref gave the impression that as in all sports, not all calls are clear cut. Only after seeing Hardy in pain, was the ref convinced that the blow must have been low.

It's like the home plate umpire who didn't get a good enough look and isn't sure if the ball that is hit higher than the foul pole is fair or foul. Sometimes he waits for the fan reaction and lets that dictate his decision.

Ryan: It could have been that, or the referee could have simply been attempting to play up the fact that he was confused as to why Orton would get himself DQ'ed intentionally in a match that had Jeff's Intercontinental Title on the line. Either way, the delay by the official was a nice touch that added a bit of realism to the angle.

JP: Whew, ok, I'm back.

Ryan: Everything ok?

JP: Yeah, yeah, no proble— why are you still wearing that proton pack?

Ryan: The thing has to weigh at least two hundred pounds. I figure that if I continue to wear it while completing day-to-day household chores, I'll quickly work off the last bits of the fat that I packed on over the holidays.

JP: Ah, I see. What does Hidden Highlights Reader Write-In Finalist Trevor Alexander think about your new look?:

Even though it happened last week, I wanted to point out that someone in the WWE finally figured out if you have a persons whose entire gimmick is that they are a horrible singer, that they should… sing their own theme music. It took the WWE long enough but Jillian Hall is finally singing her own theme music. I hope they let her do it Men on a Mission style and have her sing live every time she comes to the ring eventually. (Also I wish they would let her become a true contender to the belt, she's a good wrestler and infinitely better than Candice IMO.)

JP: That's true, Jillian Hall is actually a trained wrester. I was impressed this week when Lillian announced her last name for a change!

Has anyone else noticed that Melina is slowly changing her character. She's turned into less of a Diva and more of a "ha ha" bitch. She's taunting and smiling more recently than I've ever seen her. She and Jillian have become more "cliquey"(sp?) in their matches with their interactions as well. When I see her she reminds me more of the girl who would point and laugh and cause a girl to have another girl to have an eating disorder instead of a socialite. :) and I like it her that.

JP: I still can't believe she'd rather be with Batista than John Morrison.

Ryan:: I'd imagine that getting involved with a perpetual World Title contender provides significantly more job security than getting involved with a guy who can barely make it on to Smackdown most weeks. Besides, Batista is a grandfather. Maybe Melina just likes kids.

It was awesome for SNITSKY of all people to come into the office and say he doesn't care about HD. I mean the camera, in standard def, zoomed in on him as close as possible to make a point. I'm sure he has been one of the more talked about wrestlers when it comes to seeing the WWE in HD and I'm sure the WWE knew that so it was cool to have Snitsky come in and pretty much say "I just don't give a *&@%". If Snitsky can't excite people about HD, WWE then no one can.

Ryan: Once again, I still have that proton pack, and I know how to aim it.

Who didn't see HHH destroying the screen after seeing the HD commercial for the past 3 weeks straight. I guess this gives RAW the reason for the new set next week if the rumors are true.

JP: I would have liked a more complete destruction, a la the time the nWo demolished the Nitro set and made it into nWo Nitro! But that took way too long.

Ryan: I just hope that "new set" means an ACTUAL new set. The last time we were promised a new look for Raw, all we got was a new border around the Titantron. The setup for the show has been essentially the same for a decade now, and I'd be glad to see a significant overhaul.

When they ran down the card for the Royal Rumble they didn't talk about the match for the Rumble that was confirmed on Smackdown last week, MVP vs. Ric Flair. Nice touch pretending the match until Flair actually survives Regal.

JP: It's a shame that Regal was once again held back from what he can do. Just like in the commentary section from last week, some people have never seen Regal when he's allowed to wrestle. But I know Hidden Highlight Reader Write-In Finalist Nikolai Nygard remembers:

ECW gets a highlight this week. Probably several that I wasn't looking out for but this week I felt I should give a ref love. So after the Kane vs Colin (I am totally digging this set up, thanks to this match he is officially working the Whipwreck gimmick. See since he got no offense at all, if done well this works GREAT.) Anyway, after Kane Chokeslams Colin for the 1-2-3, the ref does something good. Kane's music hits and the ref sort of moves at him, twitchy as if wondering if he should. Then Kane starts the lift for the pyro and on the right side of the screen we see the ref is busy pointing and although you can only see his hand, he's running around a little. I can see the finger move left and right and kind of bounce so yeah. I thought that was a decent choice for my first ref Highlight.

JP: See, that's why you were a finalist! Isaac Yarrell writes in again to see if he should have been:

Has any one noticed that Rated RKO are the Champions now? After John Cena got hurt, they took over. Is this a Hidden Highlight?

JP: Sure, why not! Although it would be more apropos if it was DX who was out with injury. We'll wrap it up this week with a second dose of Bill Bumgamer:

Did you happen to notice on Thursday's TNA iMPACT! that Traci Brooks was wearing a thong (visible for a second after Brooks attacked Ms. Banks and her pants slid down)? Not sure how hidden that was, but it damned sure was a highlight.

JP: Oh I noticed! I noticed indeed…

Ryan: This woman hit one of the best looking spears to grace pro wrestling television since the heyday of Goldberg and all you guys care about are her underpants? Tsk tsk, tsk tsk.

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: Once again, thanks to Ryan Byers for filling in this week and taking time out of his overloaded schedule. Ryan, take a break. Don't worry, I'll hold Larry off.

Ryan: Psh, like I'm afraid of Larry anymore. 411's podcast has alerted us to where the power REALLY lies in the Csonka household.

JP: Yeah, I'm not afraid of him either. It helps having two of the most-read articles in all of 411mania.

Speaking of which, be sure to catch my very own Saturday morning news report The Hamilton Ave Journal: the only wrestling news report focused on the business of wrestling.

Thank you for reading the 125th 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!