Hidden Highlights 06.16.08: Issue #146

Posted by JP Prag on 06.16.2008

Slammiversary passed by, Paul Burchill emulates William Regal’s left side, Finlay picks up dance moves from Teddy Long, Kevin Nash uses the production entrance, Maryse hits Cherry in the sweet spot, and more!

Hidden Highlights
By JP Prag

Issue #146

Hello everyone having a "normal" week for the first time in three months, 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: It's almost relaxing to have a week consisting of just four plane rides, four states, a time zone shift, and 4am in Monday compared to what's been going on since March. Now people, I do have something I need to talk about: laziness. I like relaxing and taking life in stride, but there is a difference between taking in the moment and being a person THAT STANDS ON A PEOPLE MOVER!!! Unless you have leg problems or you last name is Jetson, you should walk on a people mover (especially since they go slower than the average person walks). Want to know why countries like the US and UK have obesity problems? It's because people can't even walk anymore!

Speaking of obesity problems, that brings us to this week's guest co-host. He loses all of his matches to jobbers half his size because he eats a pizza on his way to the ring. Going by the Massive Q, we know him better as the man behind Evolution Schematic and my inspiration (except for the fat part): Mathew Sforcina! Q?

Sforcina: Fat jokes. How clever.

JP: Hey, I work with what I'm given.

Sforcina: You're just lucky I took ECW this week and thus I'm in a good mood.

JP: Why, did you eat a whole bag of extra thick chips with it?

Sforcina: Yes, but mainly because… hey!

JP: Oh, if it were always that easy! Let's get on with the Hidden Highlights!



Sunday, June 8, 2008 by the Readers via JP

JP: I guess Sforcina ate all our readers because we got none for Slammiversary. Maybe I should have gone to the show after all?

Small: Oh no, you did the right thing.



Monday, June 9, 2008 by Mathew Sforcina

Sforcina: Hmmmm…



What more can you say? The highlight of Raw in a show with few of them. Sure, Burchill debuted his new well named move, Mickie James finally beat Beth Phoenix, Cena and HHH got into a rather weak pissing contest until Jeff showed them how you do it, the tag champs and the #1 contenders to the tag champs both got beat clean, and Vince gave away some money. Oh yeah, and Jericho tossed... Shawn... Someone into, uh... I dunno, something, I really wasn't paying attention. Still, Highlights were to be found, and find them, I eventually did. Kinda. (Oh, and the guy who had the Spinner sign? I agree.)

(3) So rich, he IS the Stock Market:

Ok, this is kinda odd, but I'm pointing out a Proto-HH. A HH in training, you might say. Well, it's good enough on it's own I guess. See, when JBL made his entrance, the big HD set changed, as it does. JBL's face and graphics were all over the place. And at the bottom was a stock ticker, which works given his gimmick. But looking at it, one of the few things that was up was JBL, and it was up $100! That's just enough to get it over the line (compared to wondering if Gabe from EPrizes was a reference to another Gabe who was probably watching the show for one reason or another, or Santino using the same roll up Sal used to beat him). But as a free tip, JBL, next time, why not personalise the ticker slightly? There's a dozen or so names on there, why not throw in a CENA down 50 points, or a WWE up 10 when you're the champ? Personalise it to the match at hand. Then you too can be in this column every damm week.

(2) Left to his own devices:

In a slight theme to these HH, I'm not sure if this was intended or just coincidental. But Burchill, as he took on Kennedy to avenge his mentor Regal's firing, worked a style mainly using the left side. Certainly the vicious clothesline he threw was a lefty. And what is Regal known for, among other things? Being a left handed competitor, so naturally his student would be too.

(1) Hardcore Holly? Subtle?:

Yes, Hardcore Holly takes the top spot this week, well him and Cody. See, in their match with Umaga and Snitsky, the two got off to a good start, despite their communication problems. But a very subtle reminder was tossed in while they beat down their opponent, as Cody set up for a suplex, Holly went up to the middle rope... then came down and delivered a double suplex. Even when they are in command, they are still having communication problems, and that does not bode well for Night Of Champions, although I think it's worse for Holly than for Cody...

JP: Well, since you like talking about stuff that we (and especially readers) talked about four months ago (IE, JBL's stock symbols), I can't believe you didn't mention the irony of Sntisky coming out just as the Raw HD symbol flashed up. And then you could have talked about color coordination!

Sforcina: Hey, lay off, I cherry picked the best 3 of the night.

JP: And you'd know all about that, wouldn't you, fatboy.

Sforcina: Why you...



Tuesday, June 10, 2008 by Mathew Sforcina

Sforcina: ECW fans were given a treat as they got to see Goddess Victoria destroy some poor Barbie Girl. From the opening bell to the sick finish, a clinic of style, class and ability was conducted, as Victoria systematically showed why she deserves to be in the Diva Title match at Night Of The Champions, why she WILL win the Diva Title match at Night Of The Champions, and why she truly is the greatest wrestler alive today.

Oh, and Estrada got beat up, Evan Bourne 'debuted', The Tag Champs retained, Adamle broke kayfabe and stuff, but Victoria! That's all you need to know. Oh, and it's only under severe duress that

(3) Where have I heard that before?:

So something that the IWC has been buzzing about a certain Bryan Danielson wrestling in a non-televised match before Raw for the company he used to be employed by against a guy he trained with. To be fair, it is slightly a big deal, just not the huge shake up some people are predicting (like in exchange Taker might show up for a one shot in ROH... Right.). However, the IWC had American Dragon on the mind. So imagine my shock when Victoria, of all people, clearly reminded the ref that she had until 5! Sure, it worked in context of the match and her glorious character, but it's still a subtle callback for those in the know.

(2) Everybody Dance Now!:

It is only under SEVERE pressure from those in control that I am forced to include a non-Goddess related HH. And given that 4th and 5th were brought up later on in this column, and the guys you'd expect to be HH machines like Punk, M&M2K8 and Shelton were notably HH free, I've had to REALLY pull on this one. But still, it was humorous to see Finlay begin to do the Teddy Long Shuffle, since it looked an awful lot like the last time Finlay busted a move...



(1) Sometimes things just work.:

The WWE has a habit of putting hooks on the front of theme songs. From Austin's glass to Flair's Woooo to the Infamous Gong, most songs have some sound to immediately tell you who it is. Victoria has one, and it fits her. But at the end of the match on ECW, it just worked as she was announced the winner by ref stoppage, the camera switched to her looking very mean and satisfied, her hands beginning to make belt motions, and the words "I ain't the lady to mess with" hitting the speakers in a perfect little moment. She proved why you don't mess with her to Kelly, and the belt is next.

JP: Why do you bother? She'll never go out with you, just look at you.

Sforcina: That's not much of a joke.

JP: As opposed to your body which is?

Sforcina: Keep laughing, funny boy.

JP: Thanks, I will.



Thursday, June 12, 2008 by JP

JP: I talk about it constantly in the Journal, but TNA actually took a different direction this week! They focused on the in-ring product with generally decent length matches, acknowledged history, had continuity, built to the PPV, and generally cut down on backstage and comedy-only skits. And kudos to a lot of the little touches like having Daivari's promo be subtitled and then going from him (Iran) to Raesha Saeed (Syria) to keep the westerners in subtle racist hatred on the Mideast instead of blatant racist hatred.

(3) Get to the point:

Early in the evening, we got a preview of the upcoming World X Cup (and I like how seriously they are treating this event and not like an afterthought as the last one was) as the Motor City Machine Guns (Team TNA) took on Masato Yoshino & Naruki Doi (Team Japan). Late into the match, Yoshino and Doi set up the Hardy Boyz spot in the corner with Doi acting as Matt Hardy (the jumping stand) and Yoshino playing Jeff. But as Yoshino did the flying leap to Alex Shelley in the corner, Yoshino stuck out his elbow to a point and hit Shelley right in the clavicle. OW! It was so quick I almost missed it, and the announcers definitely did, but that is quite a devastating way to deliver extra damage and pain. Those Japanese guys really do work stiff!

(2) Come out where you stand:

Back when I got to attend iMPACT live thanks to our friends at Midway Games (makers of the TNA Video Game, available in September 2008!), we sat in the production area behind the announcers and next to the curtain where all the production people and backstage interviews came from. Well, late in this week's iMPACT, Samoa Joe called out Kevin Nash, who was busy giving an interview backstage. Kevin Nash, instead of going all the way around and coming through the ramp-way instead just walked right through the production curtain and into the arena. I like that touch as he wasted no time just to get an intro and it made the entire spot look much more genuine and realistic; not a set-up and obvious plan.

(1) Stay clothed:

Although trying to become singles competitors for quite some time, it looks like Tennessee Cowboy James Storm and Robert Roode are back in the tag team scene and show why there were so good at it in the first place. The two took on LAX for the tag titles, but The Pride of Tennessee Ms. Jackie Moore was the real star of the show. Not once, but twice Jackie took her belt and wrapped it around the throat of Homicide to give her team the advantage. And after each choke, she subsequently put the belt back on! I loved this touch as it showed that even if someone said they used the belt, she could point right at it and say, "Hey, I've been wearing it all this time!" Not only that, but she put the belt back on after James Storm scored the pinfall and everyone was arguing in the ring. She still tried to hide the fact all along instead of just letting it sit out there.

Sforcina: I'm reaching for some sort of joke about you watching Jackie's pants, but then again-

JP: You're too busy just reaching for your own?

Sforcina: STOP THAT!



Friday, June 13, 2008 by JP

JP: I wonder if Mick Foley is going to get in trouble for calling Bam Neely's outfit a "wife beater". Didn't a politician or another sportscaster get in trouble for that one? Ah, to live in a country with an entire amendment to the constitution dedicated to the freedom of speech blatantly ignored and trampled on on a daily basis. But hey, at least the KKK can continue to have rallies in city parks! Freedom wins again!

(3) That's really long:

During the opening segment, SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero was in the ring and asked Batista to come out to sign the pre-signed contract for his match with Edge at Night of Champions. When Vickie was showing the contract, I thought to myself, "Man, that thing is much thicker than usual." Sure enough, when Batista was getting set to sign it, you could hear him go just under his breath, "What is this thing, like 300 pages?" Nice little ad lib there by Batista, even though he wasn't on mic at the time.

(2) And that is how you do it:

I can't believe I'm going to do this, but I'm going to give this Hidden Highlight to Maryse. During her match with Cherry, Maryse had been knocked on her back (resisting joke) and Cherry was standing over her about to set up for something else. Normally, when a wrestler is prone of their back they just lay there waiting to be grabbed; but not Maryse! Instead, she kicked Cherry right in the kneecap—a move that was effective, logical, and devastating. I like that Maryse worked this spot in and used her superior leg length to take out her opponent instead of just letting being on her back be a detriment.

(1) I remember when…:

Although I hit Mick Foley pretty hard earlier, I'll make it up to him with this one. Halfway into the night, CM Punk took on MVP in a long, back-and-forth match (good for MVP, bad for the continued lack of push for the man holding the Money in the Bank). During the match, Mick Foley said he remembered Punk "as a young guy, wrestling in front of very few fans." And where would that have been? Oh that's right, in ROH, where Punk was ROH Champion when he signed his WWE contract and had an angle with Foley where Mick tried to convince him to defend the title on his way out. Nice of Mick to work that in there yet still put the WWE over ROH in a subtle little knock.

Sforcina: You know, a lot of people are still defending Punk's current run with "He wasn't meant to win the thing!" and thus this was the plan, the MITB wasn't going to be his. So? WCW wasn't meant to die, ECW wasn't meant to die, Austin wasn't meant to break his neck. Change and adaptation are key to successful wrestling. You have to change with the times, you have to evolve, when you get served a different meal in this world you have to eat it.

JP: As opposed to you, who eats both.

Sforcina: Weak.

JP: Whatever, big guy.




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 missed some good ones by doing this section early, meaning you get some things slightly delayed! 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 this week with 411mania's own Sat (High Load/Low Road), who sent in some Hidden Highlights for One Night Stand… just a little too late. Yes, I could have updated the draft for Randle, but I was busy, too:

During the Singapore Cane match, Chavo Guerrero and CM Punk came over to the Smackdown announce table and they started to brawl. Michael Cole goes over to Mick Foley and he starts hiding behind him. It makes sense to hide behind Foley because he is a big guy and Foley would probably get in front of the action keeping Michael Cole safe.

JP: That, and Mick Foley is a former WWE Champion, so he at least has some credibility and strength (or imperviousness to pain).

During the First Blood match, I noticed two JBL fans in the crowd and they were dressed up just like him. But, the fun part comes at the end of the match. Both of the fans turned their backs to the ring while John Cena celebrated. That right there is some true fans; nobody is paying attention to you and you still support your idol.

JP: Just so long as they weren't those a-hole fans that refuse to sit down and block everyone else's view to put themselves over. Small and I had a guy like that at Lockdown who almost got beat up by a few less happy fans, and frankly I would not have been too upset. The guy even had his own title belts!

During the First Blood match, I noticed that Mike Adamle and Tazz were gone from their booth. Usually, the announcers stick around even though their night is over, but in this case it made sense for them to be gone because Mike Adamle had an appearance later in the show with John Cena and Mickie James.

JP: I would figure it was because they had nothing to do, so might as well take a nap! But I'll stay awake to hear from Nikolai Nygard:

I have a Hidden Highlight for the iMPACT on 6/5/08. During the bachelor party segment, after Sonjay revealed that Jake "The Snake" would be there, you can hear Lethal saying "No!" in the background. It's a nice touch as Savage and Roberts had a feud in the WWF. It was a nice touch by Lethal to remember than and be less than overjoyed at Roberts, and Damien, showing up.

JP: Looks like he got over it at the PPV when Jake and Damien XVII were hanging on his shoulder.

Also, it kind of fit that Shark Boy was the most enthusiastic about Koko B. Ware showing up (He did the Bird Bird Bird) they both had pretty silly gimmicks of portraying animals in their careers.

JP: Shark eat bird. Salsa Shark. Sforcina eat Shark. Sforcina no eat Patrick Monroe:

Foley took a pretty nice jab at Michael Cole on Smackdown. During the Palumbo/Finlay Belfast Brawl, they were fighting outside the ring. Cole said something to the effect of "They can use any part of the arena as a weapon" and Foley said "You mean ring, they can use any part of the ring as a weapon." Then Foley said "My back hurts from carrying you every week". Genius!!

JP: Actually, Cole said, "They can use any part of the weapon as a ring," which makes this even funnier. That, and you could hear Cole realize he said it, but he just kept going. Foley would not let him get away with that one. Speaking of Mick, The Casual Observer had some thoughts as well:

Since all shows have been hyping the "McMahon Million Dollar Mania," it was of no surprise that the subject was brought up, and I believe it was during the weekly Kozlov squash.

Anyway, onto the line of the night when Mick stated in regards to the Million dollar giveaway, "Vince hasn't wasted this much money since he signed Goldberg!"

I have not laughed so hard at anything in recent memory while watching the "Blue and White," and made a somewhat lackluster segment of the show a little more watchable, and shows that Mick is improving by not just giving us the status quo when it comes to commentating.

JP: I believe Vince made up his money with Goldberg in merchandise and buyrates. I would knock Vince more for not knowing how to use Goldberg, burying him for the first six months he had him, and then forgetting the terms of their contract and burning all of the days Goldberg had in his contract before WrestleMania. Sucks when someone sticks it back to you in the end, huh? Luckily, Dean from Bethel Park, PA doesn't need to stick it to anyone:

Shawn Michaels being slammed through the obscenely expensive Jeritron 6000 was quite a visual. Except... it wasn't a real monitor. The reason we know this is that part of the "highlight reel" logo was still visible after his head blasted through. That means it was a duratran logo placed there instead of a video signal, otherwise the entire signal would have disappeared.

And is it just me or did Michaels look like he wanted to blade but the camera was too close to him?

JP: Damn you high definition! You ruined us again! Actually, I was watching RAW on my Slingbox outside, so it was a little hard to see anything.

Kudos to Kennedy. Even with the mic off, you could read his lips on what he said to Katie Lea to get her to slap him. He said, "you're a tramp."

But the funnier thing is.. in Britain, tramp means homeless person. Weird.

JP: That means it is time for a song interlude!

I'm leaning on the lamp
Maybe you think I look a tramp
Or maybe you think I'm 'round to steal a car
But no, I'm not a crook
And if you think that's what I look
I'll tell you why and what my motives are

I'm leaning on the lamp post at the corner of the street
In case a certain little lady comes by
Oh me, oh my
In case a certain little lady comes by

Oh, she's wonderful, she's marvelous
She's fabulous, she's beautiful
And anyone can understand why
I'm leaning on the lamp post at the corner of the street
In case a certain little lady comes by

She doesn't always get away
She cannot always get away
But anyway I know that she'll try
Oh me, oh my
I hope that little lady comes by

She's not the kind of girl to be late for
But this one I'd break any date for
I won't have to ask what she's late for
She'd never leave me flat
She's not a girl like that

Wonderful, she's marvelous
She's fabulous, she's beautiful
And anyone can understand why
I'm leaning on the lamp post at the corner of the street
In case a certain little lady comes by

I'm leaning on the lamp post at the corner of the street
In case a certain little lady comes by
Oh me, oh my
In case a certain little lady comes by

Oh, she's wonderful, she's marvelous
She's fabulous, she's beautiful
And anyone can understand why
I'm leaning on the lamp post at the corner of the street
In case a certain little lady comes by

Ah Herman's Hermits, that you for teaching a generation how to stalk a girl and make it cool.

Sforcina: Hey now, they were very respectful to Mrs. Brown and her lovely daughter.

JP: I can't make a fat joke out of that.

Sforcina: I know, that's why I wrote it out like that. Like I'd just hand you something on a silver platter.

JP: Yes you would, only way you know which part not to eat.

Sforcina: I hate you.

Stenographer: You deserve it!

Sforcina: Quiet You!

JP: MOVING ON, I hope Marcus Hall has some fat jokes for you, too:

I couldn't help but notice that Armando Estrada only had 1 Cuban cigar in his pocket. Normally the dudes got like 5 packed into his coat pocket, but since he is no longer employed he can only afford 1. Just thought I'd pass that along.

JP: I want to know how Armando is staying in the country without a work visa anymore? Hidden Highlighter Nick Noel wonders the same, and wraps us up this week at the same time:

Estrada Is Down On His Luck – So much, that he's only carrying one cigar in his pocket nowadays. And he's got only wearing one watch too! So maybe that second one he wore he kept on Stamford, CT time as General Manager? Oh, and did Tiffany say "holla holla holla" … it sounded more like "challa challa challa".

JP: I would have thought Teddy Long would have learned his lesson about having personal assistants, but I guess not!

Estrada Has Worse Knee Problems Than (insert relevant professional sports player here) – After Finlay cracked him a good one with the shillelagh behind his left knee, those conniving little midgets Hornswoggle and Colin Delaney both used it to their advantage. Not only stealing the pin, but dealing that little bit of extra pain by hooking the injured knee in the process.

JP: Oh they are so evil!

Sforcina: Actually Colin did NOT grab the knee. Hornswoggle did, Colin didn't. I would have pointed that out in my thing, but you did. And thank you for that, because of you I had to use 2 Victoria highlights, your check is in the mail. Technically JP taking my Teddy Long one also helped, but I've only got the one check, so thanks.

JP: Gee, thanks Marcus.


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: Thanks again to a man in my top ten favorite Australians Mathew Sforcina for coming in this week and having a good ‘ol American-style time!

Sforcina: So all these fat jokes are good American times? Makes sense. Still, you'll be hearing from my lawyer.

JP: YOU wrote the damm things!

Sforcina: You kept them in!

JP: What?

Stenographer: And clearly that's grounds for damages on the basis of negligence and-

JP: Why do I keep inviting you back?

Stenographer: You don't.

JP: I meant him.

Sforcina: Because I equal ratings.

JP: Really. Why?

Sforcina: Because every time I open my own articles to fix the dozen or so typos, I give 2 or 3 hits due to me being the size of 2 or 3 people.

Stenographer: ...

I quit.

JP: I… have nothing left to say.

But when I do have more to say, 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 146th 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!






Stenographer: Actually, if anyone does need a fictional woman with training in typing, law and cooking, I could do with some extra work. Contact me at [e-mail]