Hidden Highlights 06.23.08: Issue #147

Posted by JP Prag on 06.23.2008

Vince McMahon and Jim Duggan disappear into the background, Scott Armstrong speaks John Morrison’s language, Scott D’Amore appears in a prophetic vision, audience members shoot on Batista, and more!

Hidden Highlights
By JP Prag

Issue #147

Hello everyone who needs package delivery companies to learn to just drop off a package instead of making you wait on your roof for 12 hours, 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: Oh man is this going to be a crazy week (I know that isn't very surprising coming from me)! I'll be in Nashville for two days, then in New Hampshire for two days, then my brother and future sister-in-law will be staying with me for four days. And then it's back to Nashville for three days, then off to NY for the forth of July, then back to Nashville for four days… wait, wait… I'm getting ahead of myself. Before you know it, it'll be August 11 and I'll be at TNA's Hard Justice thanks to Midway Games, makers up the upcoming TNA iMPACT video game. Look for late breaking news about the game from yours truly, Jeff Small, and JT should he EVER get back to me.

One man who won't be there is this week's guest co-host. Sure, I could have extended the invitation, but we already have to put up with him enough this week. He wants you to Ask411 Wrestling about everything you barely understand, he's Steve Cook! Steve?

Cook: Hola, amigos! It's nice to see you JP, and we all know the real reason I wasn't invited to your little shindig was because I'd drink all three of you ham-n-eggers under the table. Just so everybody understands, JT wouldn't have a job at 411 if it wasn't for my recommendation, Small wouldn't have that Thursday news column if it wasn't for me stepping aside (twice), and JP wouldn't have any readers this week if it wasn't for me agreeing to help him out. So it doesn't surprise me that the three of them would hit it off so well. They are the Arn, Ole & Tully to my Flair. I'll let you three decide which is which.

JP: I think you've got it backwards. You are the one who ate Arn, Ole, and Tully with flair!

Sforcina: More fat jokes?!

JP: I guess that's enough for now. Let's get on with the Hidden Highlights!



Monday, June 16, 2008 by JP Prag

JP: So what did Jericho do during the three and half minutes while Flair got a standing ovation? Did he start relisting his 1004 and moves? And what did Flair do for the three and half minutes he was out in the parking lot? Or did Triple H let him in sooner? And how long was Triple H standing around outside the arena practically naked? For the whole 10 minutes that segment went on? Well, at least I get to skip through Triple H's two and half minute entrance. That saves me time every week!

(3) Where was that?:

As part of the Million Dollar Giveaway, Vince McMahon called up a gentleman from North Carolina (a state I have spent a great deal of time in). In order to make the segments "more fun", Vince did a little Q&A with the guy, asking who the most handsome guy from NC really was (Vince was born in NC while his father remained absent from his life for another 14 years). The guy one the phone then said, "Ric Flair", what Vince obviously hoped he would say to foreshadow events later in the night. The funny part about that, though, is Ric Flair was born in Minnesota! He only adopted North Carolina as his home much later in life.

(2) Disappear, Casper:

A lot of the time, we here in Hidden Highlights talk about the little things that talent do stand out. Sometimes, though, it is abut what they do to not be visible. Usually, this one is reserved for production crew members, but this week it goes to Vince McMahon and Jim Duggan. After giving away some cash, the two were still on stage when Jeff Hardy came out for his intro. The two stood so perfectly still and made no movements that they did not distract at all from Jeff Hardy's intro. Actually, it was quite easy to forget they were there, not a skill I would expect Jim Duggan and Vince McMahon to have.

(1) Pre-planned:

Now, we all know that the prizes that Vince gives out are pre-planned and we learned two weeks ago that they pre-screen the callers. That said, I was amused by this little one I caught. When Vince called up Beth to give her $16 in honor of the 16-time Champion Ric Flair, he actually had to glance at the card to confirm he was giving away $16! Oh, Vince, your memory is already starting to go…

Cook: Hey, Flair's as much a North Carolinian as Larry Csonka is. And how about this for a Hidden Highlight… a woman with the same first name as Flair's ex-wife getting 16 bucks! Well, I find it amusing anyway. I'm not sure why I find divorce funny.



Tuesday, June 17, 2008 by JP Prag

JP: Over in the land of extreme, CM Punk actually won a match!!!!! I know, I am completely shocked. Still, Hornswaggle also won his match, which means that Finlay's son still has a much better win-loss record than CM Punk this year. And on the other hand, I'd rather not have John Morrison be the recipient of the loss. There's a guy who is ready to do so much more, although that Wellness violation continues to loom over his head. At the very least, then need to make the Dirt Sheet a part of the actual program and not just a WWE.com special.

Funaki: What am I even doing here?

(3) A little extra umph:

The second of five matches for the evening saw my favorite teacher Matt Striker take on newbie Evan Bourne in a… well… one person looked pretty crisp and the other looked sloppy. So I will concentrate on the one that looked crisp and give him the William Regal (on Wellness Suspension) Award! After Evan Bourne was knocked to his back, Striker went for a quick pin-cover. But he did not just go for a pin and hook a leg, but actually used the elbow of the arm he was using for the hook to dig further into Bourne's shoulder joint. Nice work by Striker, who is a Hidden Highlights machine but will never get a push out of it. Enjoy becoming a trainer at FCW soon!

(2) Man, that's not cool:

As mentioned above, CM Punk defeated John Morrison in what was a good, fun match (although one I have seen about 100 times). During the match, Morrison was beating on Punk in the corner and referee Scott Armstrong was getting in Morrison's face about it. Morrison then pushed Armstrong out of the way, to which Armstrong responded, "You don't touch me, man!" First of all, I like that Armstrong responded at all to Morrison and let him know loud and clear what the rules were. But better than that, he went with the hippie response and called Morrison "man", a nice little touch that Armstrong would have no idea would be picked up by the cameras and microphones.

(1) History re-written:

There has been a long debate on whether the World Heavyweight Championship (currently on SmackDown) is the same title as the WCW Championship (just like there is a debate if the WCW Championship is really a continuation of the NWA Championship). I happen to subscribe to both theories, but that is a debate for another day. It looks like, though Teddy Long also subscribes to the former theory. When introducing the Big Show, he called him a former "World Heavyweight Champion" instead of calling him a former WCW Champion. I like that Teddy views the titles as the same, and used the current terminology to link them to all titles active in WWE today.

Cook: I was getting drunk and watching the NBA Finals during this. What a boring series that turned out to be, eh? Who knew something from Los Angeles could be so soft, disappointing and fake? Anywho, Matt Sydal needs his name back ASAP.



Thursday, June 19, 2008 by Steve Cook

Cook: JP isn't the only 411er in this column that will get to see TNA live and in living color. As a matter of fact, by the time this article hits the presses I will have attended a TNA house show in Cincinnati. I'm not sure what to expect other than Kurt Angle, AJ Styles, Scott Steiner & Booker T, since that's the only thing they're advertising. Will they find enough duct tape to put Angle together to wrestle on a house show? I can only hope! Oh yeah, there was an Impact this week, and there was stuff on it.

(3) The Great & Powerful Oz!:

When's the last time somebody called Kevin Nash by that name on television? OK, I admit that this mostly just gives me an excuse to link this YouTube video featuring the great and powerful one, but what the hell? I marked out, and I doubt a lot of people understood that reference by Samoa Joe. If they did, that probably doesn't bode well for TNA's ability to draw in new fans.

(2) Scott D'Amore? Who saw that coming?:

Larry Csonka and myself were conversing over MSN Messenger during the show (dude won't let me on his podcast but he talks my ear off during these wrestling shows… I don't get it), and the following exchange occurred during the World X Cup tag team match…

Samoa Steve says:
I see Daivari's off the Wellness
Larry says:
lol
Larry says:
indeed
Samoa Steve says:
and Tyson Dux is still alive, D'Amore must still have some power in TNA
Larry says:
Dux is looking well also

Soon after this they aired a video on Gail Kim talking about her past in the pro wrestling and who should appear in a talking head segment but Scott D'Amore? I don't believe D'Amore's been on Impact since the disbanding of Team Canada in July 2006. It's kinda freaky how random people pop up shortly after you mention them. I wish women from my past would pop up shortly after I think about them, but apparently it only works with wrestlers. Drats!


(1) Yes, I'm so lazy I'm relying on Manu for the last one:

Actually, this one is pretty good. I got the following e-mail from Mr. Bumb on Friday evening regarding something from Impact:

"im watching this week's Impact, and Christian and AJ just did a double swandive headbutt off the top rope, about a year after benoit killed his family and took his own life."

To be honest, that didn't even cross my mind when I watched the show. I dunno, so many people do the diving headbutt that I don't even associate it with Chris Benoit anymore. Who did it first anyway? I'm guessing Dynamite Kid, but maybe I should Ask 411! That guy rules! Anyway, I didn't think anything of it and I'm sure AJ & Christian weren't thinking anything of it either, but it goes to show that one year later, it's still something that comes up pretty often. Hmmm, maybe this isn't exactly a "highlight". But it's hidden, by gum!

JP: I actually have to agree with Manu. When the two did the flying headbutts, I immediately thought of Chris Benoit. It wasn't as blatant as when Triple H did the cross-face, but I do like that they are trying to take back Benoit's moves and put them into the normal repertoire. I mean, the guy was a great wrestler and you cannot take away all of his moves otherwise you are left with… well… sub-Snitsky-like "wrestlers".



Friday, June 20, 2008 by Steve Cook

Cook: Some people tell me about this new-fangled technology called Tivo or DVR or some craziness like that… here in the Cook house we still live in the age of the VCR! And thank goodness mine still works, because I didn't want to miss all the crazy hijinks on Smackdown.

(3) Foley with the insider lingo!:

One somewhat notable event on Smackdown this week was the break-up of Deuce & Domino, which in my humble opinion couldn't come soon enough. Though there is an argument to be made for keeping all of their suckiness in one match… anyway, upon the Crack in the Mouth by Deuce, Mick Foley commented that as a team, Deuce & Domino had jumped the shark. I probably don't need to tell you what that means, but it was especially fitting since the term derives from a bad episode of Happy Days. Considering that D & D were a bad episode of Happy Days, it all makes sense.

(2) Bautista Bomb?:

A sign appeared in the crowd several times with the words "Bautista Bomb" on it. Now, one would think that was simply a case of an ignorant fan not knowing how to spell their favorite wrestler's name. Au contraire, mon ami. Big Dave's shoot name is actually David Michael Bautista Jr. Did I actually use the term "shoot name"? Kill me now. Anyway, I just thought I'd point out this case of WWE fans being smarter than they may seem.

(1) Lil' Naitch still pays homage to the Man:

Some of you may not remember this, but I can tell you that Friday night was not Charles Robinson's first foray into the squared circle. During his time as a Ric Flair flunky in 1999 WCW, Robinson had a match with Gorgeous George… no; not the old-time wrestler, she was Randy Savage's girlfriend at the time. Robinson came out in wrestling attire similar to Flair's, and also imitated most of Flair's moveset. Flair was Robinson's favorite wrestler growing up, so I was not surprised when Robinson used one of Flair's trademark moves in his match with Great Khali. Indeed, after receiving a chop to the head Robinson did the trademark Flair Flop, landing face first on the mat. I missed Flair's match with Khali, so I can't tell you if he did the same thing or not.

JP: Oh yeah, I was marking hard for the return to the ring for Lil' Naitch. Remember when Flair was the insane power that be in WCW and Lil' Naitch was his personal referee, always guaranteeing a victory? I always thought of that whenever Charles Robinson was refereeing a Flair match. Heck, I still think of evil nWo Nick Patrick in every one of his matches. That guy cannot be trusted!




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: You all must have known Cook was coming and decided to take the week off! 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 and finish it off this week with Jehy:

I've got 2 hidden highlights for you from ECW this Tuesday both starring your favorite diva, Victoria.

JP: That's Sforcina's favorite. Although Victoria is a future Hidden Highlights Hall of Famer, my favorite is Gail Kim and Cook's favorite is Traci Brooks.

Oh, so true story. JT met Traci when TNA made their debut in Detroit a couple of years ago and said that he worked for 411mania. When he mentioned the site, Traci said, "Oh, that's where Steve Cook writes! I love that guy!"

Cook: Can you blame the girl? She has outstanding taste. Too bad she seems to have misplaced my phone number…

JP: Misplaced, burned in a pile of garbage, same difference.

1. With her beating down Kelly Kelly in the corner the ref was giving her the five count, she stepped back and told him "I've got till 5" and held her hand up showing 5. Of all the weeks she did this, it's the week that Brian Danielson had a dark match with the WWE and we all know that's his thing.

JP: We do? I think we've covered others that do this, especially Victoria herself!

2. She was insulting Kelly Kelly during the match by calling her Barbie, which is Kelly Kelly's real name.

JP: Well covered last week, where we learned in the commentary section that Kelly Kelly's real first name is, in fact, Barbara.

Well, that was it. Yikes, what is going on around here?

Cook: Ever since they introduced the comments section readers don't think e-mailing is necessary anymore. I don't hate the commenters like the other writers do, but it seems like some of them have no concept of reading comprehension. Which is probably why I still have a job here.


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: Although I started off mean to him, I suddenly remembered why I liked having Steve Cook around. Nice work this week!

Cook: Let's see… you start off mean but by the end of the night you're a big ol' softie. Why do you remind me of most women I know? Are you wearing a dress?

JP: Stop trying to make me into something I'm not! I already told you last time I'm not that type of guy. Yeash!

If you do want to know what type of guy I am, 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 147th 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!