Hidden Highlights 03.24.08: Issue #134

Posted by JP Prag on 03.24.2008

Spring is in the air, and Chris Lansdell is the guest co-host here. We’ve hatched up referees being afraid to touch Umaga, Kane bringing Elijah Burke right where he needs him, BG and Kip James getting behind a fence, The Big Show maintaining his weight all week, and more!

Hidden Highlights
By JP Prag

Issue #134

Hello everyone who had a blast at the Family Feud and had Foxwoods give them $10 for free, 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: First off, my apologies last week for the extra wide column. One of those images stretched the screen out a weeeeeeeeee bit too much.

Chris: Which one?

JP: Well it was thi— Hey! Nice try there! The last thing I need is two weeks of a messed up format. All you people need to know is to get one of these on TV:





Always nice!

Chris: Not too shabby at all.

JP: Oh where are my manners? You know our guest co-host from these pages and The Way I C It, he is Chris Lansdell. Chris?

Chris: Oh, so NOW you choose to introduce me? I feel so dirty. So used. So... at home and welcome. Always a pleasure, JP. Greetings, humanity!

JP: You think humans read this article? Huh, I never quite considered that. Well humans, let's get on with the Hidden Highlights!



Monday, March 17, 2008 by JP

JP: It was finally a week where everyone stepped up their game and provided Hidden Highlights galore. I mean, I barely stopped writing notes during the show! Luckily, you readers covered a lot of them below, but I still had a few that did not come up.

(3) And…. fade:

As you know, here in the pages of Hidden Highlights we do have a certain love for the production folks whose work usually goes unnoticed. At the end of the Highlight Reel when things broke down to a fight between Chris Jericho and the Big Show, the Highlight Reel logo faded away and the WWE logo came in a line writer style, like it was being written on the screen. It went so seamlessly that I had to take note of it here and give props to everyone in HD production for making that happen.

(2) Why won't you touch me?:

After winning his handicapped match against Paul London and Brian Kendrick (remind me again why they were moved from SmackDown! to RAW?), Umaga seemed to be getting a little upset. He was yelling and screaming and pointing at his left arm, wanting it to be raised in victory. You see, Umaga has become so cognoscente that he recognizes that he won the match and should have his hand raised in victory. But the ref was too afraid to get near him and actually kept his distance. Even when Umaga started walking towards him to get his hand raised, the ref bailed out of the ring afraid for his life. Nice to show that everyone still is afraid of the savage Umaga while Umaga himself has evolved and knows what he wants.

On a side note, during the main event, I hope you noticed that Umaga stood on a side and corner by himself since none of his partners wanted to be anywhere near him.

(1) RAW is Santino:

It is no secret that Santino Marella is a Hidden Highlights favorite, and this past week on RAW the man upped his game to so many levels. Now, we could go over everything he did, but some of them were easy to catch. How about a couple that you did not see? Although calling Snoop Dog "Snoopy the Dog" was pretty classic.

Anyway, when Santino made his entrance during the Divas match, he actually looked up at the Playboy cover and spat at it! That man certainly knows his disgust!

Later on, Santino stole Jerry Lawler's sandwich in what was the regular highlight of the night. But the Hidden Highlight was after Santino punched Lawler in the head, Santino yelled as he was running away, "Haha, you lose!". I have nothing else to add to that except the minutes I spend rolling on the ground laughing at the whole thing!

Chris: FINALLY! I found one that you missed! HAHA you lose J Stupid P!!! CM Punk had "Happy Birthday" on his left wrist band, along with some other writing. It almost looked liked "SM". Could it have been Santino's birthday?

JP: So what you actually have is HALF a Hidden Highlight, and one that my loyal readers found and completed besides? Hence, why ***I*** don't have it listed.

Chris Umm... well uh... I steal your delicious sandwich? Ahhh I prefer Quizno's anyway!



Tuesday, March 18, 2008 by JP

JP: So if Colin Delaney does not have a contract, that means he is using his own funds to go around the country and follow the WWE. And who is letting this guy backstage? Someone really needs to talk to the folks in security.

(3) It's like the ghosts in Super Mario World:

The opening contest saw Elijah Burke take on Kane in a short endeavor. As Elijah was making his way to the ring and doing his into, he would not take his eyes off of Kane to make sure Kane would not attack him. But then, he let his concentration slip just for a second and during that second, Kane started advancing towards him. Elijah noticed quickly, hopped off the ropes, and ran to the other side of the ring. Nice sequence by both men to show there, showing how to perfectly react to each other.

(2) This is where you fall down:

During the same match, Kane grabbed Elijah Burke for a chokeslam as Burke came in for the Elijah Express. Now when Kane grabbed Burke, he could have given him the chokeslam right there. But because Kane knew they were close to the ropes and Burke could have grabbed them, he backed Burke into the center of the ring to deliver the move and go for the pin. Smart thinking by Kane there to eliminate any chance of Burke escaping the pinfall loss.

(1) Spin, pivot, turn:

Later in evening, CM Punk teamed up with Jesse & Festus to take on Shelton Benjamin and the WWE Tag Team Champions The Miz & John Morrison. Late into the match, Morrison hit Punk with a kick to the chest and stomach, and Punk went down flat on the mat. Then, to dish out a little extra pain, Morrison stood on top of Punk's chest, did a pivot twist on his heel, and then used that momentum to set up his next move. Kudos to Morrison there to dish out the extra pain and turn it into his next move.

Chris: There are those who will tell you that Morrison is a deity. Doesn't this get him the William Regal Award for the week?



Thursday, March 20, 2008 by Chris Lansdell

Chris: This week's Impact saw the most unsurprising surprise guest ever, the return of Intense Kurt, and Brother Ray bringing almost as much funny as Santino!

(3) Triple Action Colour Co-ordination!

Knowing how much you love your colour matching JP, I know you'll love this. Petey Williams, Scott Steiner and Rhaka Khan all came out in black with white flashes this week, as a cohesive 3-man unit. And until I see the pictures, Rhaka Khan is a man.

(2) Foreshadowing is a cagey business

Ooooh a pun! One of the hardest things for a wrestling company to do is make people care about a match that they really shouldn't care about. The "Rough Cuts" series they are using has done just that for me and the BG vs Kip match. There's more to it this week, though, as at various points during the clip, both men were shown behind chain link fencing, as a subtle reminder that they'll be meeting at LockDown. As if this wasn't great enough, they repeated the hint with the Christian/Rhyno package later in the night!

(1) Samoa Joe, man of his word

It's not often that a Hidden Highlight spans the weeks. Continuity is a rarity these days in wrestling circles, so when Samoa Joe said last week that the next time we saw him in the Impact Zone, he would have the TNA World Title, I expected it to be overlooked for this week's show. But lo and behold, no Joe!

JP: According to a recent interview with Kurt Angle, they are trying to make many elements of TNA more MMA-style. If that is true, than I am all for it. That, mixed with the Rough Cuts, sit down interviews with Mike Tenay, and matches taking place in and the ring and having endings could go a long way.



Friday, March 21, 2008 by Chris Lansdell

Chris: I know all of you in the US and A love your college basketball, but when it wreaks havoc on my viewing schedule and causes my PVR to miss the last 15 minutes of Smackdown!, I turn green and my clothes rip. Well, not really, but close enough.

(3) Can we just get this over with?

During the Diva competition segment, as Michelle was being introduced and making her fine-ass way to the ring, I couldn't help but notice Victoria yawning and prompting her to hurry up. Victoria always manages to do something to bring attention to her, without damaging what we're meant to be focusing on, and this is another fine example!

(2) Finely-tuned athletes maintain their weight

The squashery continued for Big Show this week, as he took out 3 men, 2 of whom were former NWA Tag Team champions The Naturals. As he was being announced, though, they called his weight at 441 pounds... the same weight he weighed in at for Mania! An excellent nod to continuity there.

(1) Hey folks! There's a PPV next Sunday! It's kind of a big one!

I had to double check my initial thought on this one, but in almost every segment tonight, whenever the victor was posing, you could see the WrestleMania sign clearly behind them. This is not new, but normally it's more overt, with the wrestlers pointing to the sign. Subtlety sometimes wins more buys!

JP: I agree. Ever since Cena pointed at the sign three years ago, everyone has been doing it and it has lost its appeal. But just having the sign kind of floating their subtly does a much better job, at least as far as Hidden Highlights is concerned.




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: I had so many written for RAW, but you covered a bunch of them, giving me a chance to really narrow it down. 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 a little bit in the past with William Nitz:

This past week on iMPACT, AJ and Tomko came out to AJ's heel music.

But as they started the beatdown segment at the end of the match, I noticed that there was something different music-wise.

They were playing AJ's babyface music.

WHOOPS~!

JP: I wonder why they even had AJ's face music loaded up? I've seen JB's notebook computer; they literally just have MP3s in a player. 411mania own (maybe, it seems there is some confusion to that fact) Bill Bumgarner checks in with some more iMPACT:

Actually, there is a very good reason for the fedora in Cornette's office. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was filmed in five different studios in Hollywood - one of which was Universal Studios. Where is the Impact Zone? Why, the Universal Studios theme park in Orlando. Quite the subtle Highlight, but it's there nonetheless.

JP: Ummmm… they were VERY different types of fedoras, but I'll give it to you nonetheless. Just like I'll give this one to Trevor Alexander:

I'm shocked that you didn't notice the other Hidden Highlight between Kennedy and Finlay from Raw last week. Since it was a Wrestlemania rematch night those two fought each other. Why is that important to things going on now? Back during the Money in the Bank of last year Finlay was still treating Hornswoggle like a little bastard (I can't recall if they stopped calling him Little Bastard yet or had they finally given him a name by Wrestlemania). In the match Kennedy hit his finisher on Hornswoggle nearly from the top of the ladder.

That was back when Finlay seemed like he could care less about him when it came to his well being. So who better for Finley to take his anger out on than the guy who beat his son worse than anyone up to that point and time when he is embroiled in a feud with the guy who just put his son in the hospital.

JP: I admit, it had escaped my mind that Kennedy gave his finisher to little Hornswaggle. But I didn't forget this one by TheMidnightPunk:

On Raw a few weeks back, when Y2Js Highlight Reel returned. Before Chris was "Fired" he had the Jeri-tron 5000. But this time around, he pointed out the this was the "Jeri-Tron 6000, in HD!"

JP: I think we covered it, but what the hell! Also, did you notice that the screen had a sticker on it this week that said it was in HD? Nice little touch. Moving us into RAW from this week, though, is Luke Thickins:

CM Punk just beat Carlito on Raw (March 17th) and on his wrist tape I could see "Happy Birthday". Well... who's birthday was it?

Samoa Joe's!

JP: Damn! I thought it was for me! I mean, my birthday was just two days after that!

Chris: See, doing research pays off! Stay in school kids!

And while I'm here... the way Y2J's eyes shifted from side to side while he was nose to chest with Big Show had me marking out like I was 8 years old again.

Two hidden highlights from my two favourite wrestlers within ten minutes of each other!

JP: And the Big Show is not one of your favorites? For shame! What about you, Rick Landis?:

During the Big Show/Jericho match Jerry Lawler was talking about Big Show vs. Mayweather. He began to say the "match", but changed it to "fight". You see this is a Hidden Highlight is that they have yet to say what kind of challenge they'll be in. A bit of a stretch, but it works.

JP: No, it makes total sense, and I bet someone was in Lawler's headset reminding him to say "fight". I'm still surprised they haven't announced what type of match this will be. My guess is boxer vs. wrestler where punching is allowed. J.C. checks in with a one-two combination of his own:

During Raw tonight (March 17) I noticed something that reminded me of the lost art of the tag team match. At one point during the Main Event, Hardcore Holly threw Randy Orton in to the ropes in the vicinity of John Cena. You can see John Cena's arm swinging to try and make a tag but just came up short. The reason why? He was actually using the tag team rope. It happens occasionally and amazes me whenever it does.

JP: I agree completely, which is why we like to point these things out. Heck, even just going for the tag when he knew he was not going to get it was a Hidden Highlight unto itself! What do you think, Dwayne Walker?:

During the main event match, Orton was in the ring w/Hardcore Holly, Orton was in trouble. Hardcore Holly bounced Orton off the ringropes towards the Cena's corner, in the backround you can see Cena's hand frantically trying to blind tag Orton before he bounced back to Holly. Cena does not get the credit he deserves for the little things that he does.

JP: Apparently the exact same thing. Move us on to another topic RatzaChewy:

WWE is really committed in promoting their High Definition broadcasts, including infamously namedropping it in every other sentence a few weeks ago. But that's not all, this past week on Raw, Shawn Michaels was watching a live feed of Vince McMahon's Hollywood Star presentation on a TV... IN HD. Either Vince knows that HD is the future and will put all his money in it, or HBK's paycheck is so mind-bogglingly large that he can afford to have 40" LCD TV in his locker room.

JP: Well, I'm pretty sure HBK is not toting around the TV himself, so it most likely belongs to WWE, Inc. to begin with. Up next is a lady I'm glad to be called her first…

Ghost of JT: Oh gawd, you are the worst!

JP: Damn it Ghost, I meant first time writer-in Rachel Pritchard:

On Raw I noticed a couple of things.

First up, during CM Punk's match he had 'Happy Birthday' written on his arm tape. Not sure who for, but it's a nice touch from him to keep having messages on there (like the 'saints' when Ace Steel was released a few weeks back).

JP: Well, we did learn above it was for my birthday.

Chris: You mean for Samoa Joe's birthday?

JP: Shhhh… I'm just about to have Rachel give me a special birthday present!

Ghost of JT: And what would this present be?

JP: A Proton Pack!

Chris: We already did this joke!

JP: Geez, I've been doing this for so long that I'm repeating myself.

Chris: Don't worry, you repeat yourself all the time, it doesn't hurt the article. What's worrying is that I'm starting to get used to this Ghost dude.

JP: Oh, that's good. Well, let's get some more new stuff with Rachel.

Secondly, during the women's tag match, Maria and Candice both wore purple - nice way of showing they're on the same page as opposed to being a team thrown together for no apparent reason.

Chris: See, you always talk about color coordination, but it doesn't get old! Especially not when I talk about it too!

The last one concerns Val Venis in the main event (which is something I never thought I'd say outside of a discussion of Heat...). When he was on the apron his gestures and facial expressions were PERFECT. This is especially obvious when DH Smith is in the ring. Freeze frame when Cena has him up for the FU and check out Val's face. Priceless.

JP: In Issue #84 (the last Live issue that including WrestleMania, RAW/Heat and SmackDown!/ECW), I think I spent a good deal of time talking about Val Venis and all he does to work on the Hidden Highlights despite his position on the card. Next up—

Chris: Wait, you aren't going to hit on Rachel some more? Because if you're not... Hey Rachel, how YOU doin'?

JP: Why do I need to when she's already hit on me:

But that's probably nothing you didn't notice, being awesome and all. Thanks for your time and keep up the good work.
-Rachel xxx.

JP: It's good to be awesome and appreciated, and I think you're kind of awesome, too.

Chris and Ghost of JT: ::GAG::

JP: Fine, I'll move on to others who appreciate me, people like Josh Huff:

With Randy Orton and John Cena laid out by the rest of the roster, Triple H hit the ring to dish out some hurtin'. But I thought his approach to the attack was pretty well-thought out. He glanced at both guys, entered the ring, looked at them again, saw Orton completely still and Cena moving just a little. So he turned to face Cena, checked Orton again, and got ready to lay out Cena. But then Orton made a quick recovery and was the first one to his feet, and with a quick glance at him Triple H turned his attention to Orton and proceeded to take both guys down with Pedigrees. Now, it would have been easy to just walk down, look menacing, and deliver the finishers, but I think Trips put some good psychology into it.

JP: Yes, it was a lot more thought out than the way he buried Booker T at WrestleMania. Is Triple H evolving? Perhaps. Let's be hopeful!

And while not very Hidden, I know product placement is appreciated at the H's, so how great was the Santino bit? "I got-a your delicious Subway Sandwich Jerry! MMMM! SO GOOD!"

JP: Dude, I did not stop laughing for five minutes after that whole segment, it was that perfectly funny! Then Victoria took a bite out of the sandwich, too! Taking a bite out of my time is Nick Noel:

I'm pretty sure it was Cody Rhodes you could hear checking up on Shane-O Mac.

JP: Well, I haven't heard too many other theories, so why not? Oh right, because I thought it was Hardcore Holly. Well, we've narrowed it down to one of the tag team champions.

RAW

Vince Channels Elmer Fudd – Because tonight he's going to "wetire Wik Flair!" I kept waiting for him to do it again, or see where he was going with it, but he only said it once which makes it even funnier. Chalk it up to his subconscious showing how much he really does love rednecks.

JP: Or that his subconscious knows he is acting like a cartoon character and he might as well talk like one too!

St Patrick's Day Colours – We'll just list them as they come. Lillian Garcia is fully bedecked in green, Carlito had his lime green wrestling tights and kneepads, (note: this is where I fell asleep, feel free to add in any others)

JP: No! That's why I have readers do the work for me!

WWE.com – After the furor surround Michael Cole's tenure at WWE.com and the hiring of a new web guru, WWE are taking a page out of TNA's book and advertising their website on the ring apron this week. More unique hits!

JP: The Industry News section is still weird to look at. And when will they start quoting 411mania? I covered at least two stories in Hamilton Ave Journal that were covered no where else last week!

Punk Speeds Things Up – As opposed to normally just waiting for his opponents to fall over after being hit with the GTS, Punk literally slapped Carlito to the ground to go for a quick pin.

JP: I wrote this down as soon as it happened, so thanks for getting it off my plate!

TNA

AJ Is Such A Heel! – So much so, when he gives Karen Angle her special seat, it's DIRECTLY in front of a little 6 year old girl. Poor little tyke.

JP: She should have been in school anyway! AJ believe in edjumikacian.

The Knockouts Title – I just thought it'd be nice to mention that the title is on the white leather strap, just like the old original WWF Women's Title. I think that fact makes the title seem a bit more legitimate by ever so slightly tying it into one of the first major women's titles on a national television show.

JP: I'm pretty sure the NWA Women's Championship far outdates the WWE's one. By the way, Awesome Kong is still the NWA Women's Champion, as well!

Accessorize! – This week ODB had a camouflage-style hip flask to complement her usual ring attire.

JP: Yet she would not give Gail Kim a drink, even when Gail asked. We'll finish off this week with Trevor Alexander (yet again) and some ECW and AWA(!):

ECW

Kudos to Elijah Burke from taking the beads from around his neck before his match with Kane. I don't understand why wrestlers feel the need to wrestle with jewelry (chains & earrings) these days and I'm glad to see Elijah realizes the tom foolery in it. (Also who did Elijah Burke piss off to become a glorified jobber these days. Other than going to the wrong town one time what has he done to piss people off?)

JP: I wish I knew, because Burke is one of my favorites nowadays. And yes, it always annoyed me when Ron Killings would be running around the ring with his chains jangling everywhere! The noise pollution alone was not worth it, nonetheless the logistics of actually wrestling like that. Heck, I don't know why guys wrestle with piercings, especially in their lip and eyebrow. That's a disaster just waiting to happen!

Have you noticed that the first three guys named into the battle royal at Wrestlemania for a chance to face the ECW champion… were all Smackdown guys (Kane, Khali, Henry). Two out of the three fought and killed two ECW guys (Richards and Burke) and the announcers didn't even mention if the home talent would be in the battle royal or not.

JP: Oh, I have noticed! On the other end, we have not learned who the RAW guys are going to be yet. Even Joey Styles mentioned they don't really know. They better get that all set beforehand, because we'd all like to know!

AWA (March 21, 2008 edition)

Just thought it was funny that during a Midnight Rockers match back from 1986 the announcer (L. James) compared HBK to Mike Tyson and brought the fact that he and HBK were both 20 (about a minute earlier he mentioned both of the Rockers ages) and that he felt that both of them (HBK and TYSON) would be future world champions. Who would have thought over a decade later that those two would be part of one of the biggest media blitzes in wrestling history and Iron Mike would be there when HBK lost the World Title.

JP: Now that is a crazy ex-post-facto Hidden Highlight that is crazy awesome! Nice catch there. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to play some Mike Tyson's Punch Out on my NES.

Chris: I keep waiting for someone to use the Star Punch as a finisher. Outside of CHIKARA that is. I'm going to go play it too now, just so I can knock over King Hippo. Good times.

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 I am already on the road to WrestleMania with a four day stopover in New York before heading down to Orlando. Look for a super special live edition of Hidden Highlights in two weeks, but for now we have a regular good co-host next week and a special thanks to this here guest co-host, Chris Lansdell!

Chris: Not a problem sir, always fun. And I'll pretend I don't HATE YOU for being able to go to Mania. One day...

JP: You could hate me for this being my second Mania in a row. Now I'm just trying to decide if I dare step foot into Texas again next year.

While I contemplate the future destinations of WrestleMania, 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 134th 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!