Hidden Highlights 07.21.08: Issue #151

Posted by JP Prag on 07.21.2008

TNA referees run from an invisible dog at Victory Road, Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels share a closet, Tony Atlas can’t use a map, Mike Tenay thinks he’s in WCW, Mick Foley welcomes back Jimmy Wang Yang, and more!

Hidden Highlights
By JP Prag

Issue #151

Commentator: Previously, on Hidden Highlights…

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Commentator: The Hidden Highlights world was changed forever when a new format came in to town. Some quickly adjusted to the new layout…

The Jew: Love the new format.

Mark: Much better format... cleaner, quicker, much easier to read.

Squirrel Master: This format > old format. It doesn't affect my A.D.D.

Commentator: … While others were not so happy with the change…

Guest#1: This way sucks. Bring back the old one.

Manbearpig: The old way was better. At least then, all the TV shows and the PPV of the week got somewhat equal coverage.

Zack: PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! bring back the old format. I'm begging you.

Commentator: … and others yet were just plain confused, misguided, or distracted…

Random Jobber: Besides the blue writing, What changed?

Neil: No more reader write ins?

Davis: Who was the babe in the ECW Pic?

Commentator: What most don't know is that beneath the new format hides a deep, insidious secret. What could it be? Will this secret undermine the new format, or is it here to stay? What does JT think about all of this? Or perhaps, he has been in cahoots with the new format all along?

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Commentator: And now, 411mania.com proudly presents…





JP: Hello everyone doing a lot of typing in the air, and welcome back to Hidden Highlights! If you've never been here before, let me tell you what we are doing in these pages.

Hidden Highlights 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. The Miz may hold his opponents hands down to make a pin attempt better. Charles Robinson may let a little tear shed from his eye every time someone mentions Ric Flair. Mike Tenay may tell you about the 17 year history of a visiting wrestler and make them sound huge in one sentence. These are all examples of little things that make the product far better.

Every week this article spotlights the Top 15 Hidden Highlights of the week, whether the be from television (RAW, ECW of SciFi, iMPACT, SmackDown!, and a PPV or television special if there is one), the past, small shows, tapes, or the indy scene.

This article may have an author, but it is also dependent upon the readers and true fans of professional wrestling—those who love what they watch and want to tell the world what they have found. The Top 15 are chosen from what I see and what readers write-in. Whatever is the best is what you'll see!

And who am I? Well, 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.

Now let's get on with the Hidden Highlights!


(15) Woof Woof

JP: Let's kick it off in style with TNA's Victory Road and one completely out of left field that only Chris from St. Louis could find.

Chris: I was watching the opening of round 3 of the World X Cup. In pre-match intros I noticed the ref running away and then I saw Milano Collection AT following him. One can only assume that the invisible dog was chasing him. That is CLASSIC!

JP: Hehehehe, that is classic. We've got a bit more from Victory Road as well coming up in a bit, but how about a little RAW first?


(14) Talking the local language

JP: During the impromptu second match of the night on RAW, Paul Burchill challenged Kofi Kingston (I've been meaning to ask him if his family is ok after the hurricane passed through there. What's that about Ghana?) for the Intercontinental Championship. As the match was going on, I was listening to the way Michael Cole described Paul Burchill and his choice of words included "hooligan", "ruffian", and other such terms. Kudos to Cole for using British insult descriptions for Paul rather than American ones. It really was a nice subtle showing of multiculturalism.


(13) Where we at?

JP: Cole wasn't the only one to do subtly funny lines. Over on ECW, my new hero Tony Atlas got in one of those classic, old school heel moments that I marked out like it was 1977. Of course, being born in 1982, I'm not sure how I did that. Anyway, Atlas had brought a fan in the ring to see if that fan could bend a frying pan. Atlas asked the fan (Chad) where he was from and he responded, "Lexington, Kentucky." Without missing a beat and not putting any special emphasis on it, Atlas just said, "Never heard of it" and just kept going! I bust out laughing and hit the floor with that one.


(12) Matching for different reasons

JP: Of course, sometimes it is not about what people say, but often about what they wear.

Ghost of JT: A color/outfit coordination in Hidden Highlights?! A rarity among rarities!

JP: Oh, you'll like this one. John Baker has really outdone himself.

John Baker: Tag teams wearing matching outfits are usually a safe bet for a Hidden Highlight.

Ghost of JT: I don't see where this is going to be different…

JP: Shhhh… let the man talk!

John Baker: And the Y2J/HBK feud is taking place because there is a double standard with the fans, or Jericho wants to be Michaels, depending on which wrestler you ask.

JP: I'm going with the double standard because I tend to agree with heels.

John Baker: Instead of a tag team, though, we had two wrestlers from the same mold, involved in a blood feud because of their similarities, with both men wearing matching outfits. Whether that was planned or not, I thought it was a nice touch that followed the overall theme of the feud.

JP: Knowing Jericho, it was planned! What else do you got?


(11) Get the F back in

John Baker: Ever since Vince's accident from a few weeks ago, Raw has been in a state of pandemonium. Stars from other brands have shown up, there's a new World Champ, Martial Law was declared, Kane is crazy again, etc.. Things have gotten so chaotic that right before Kane came out towards the beginning of the show, Jerry Lawler mentioned the WWF, letters that have been all but completely retconned from WWE history. While it was almost certainly an unintentional slip by Lawler, it served to show just how crazy things have gotten.

JP: Hahaha, I like that the slip up is being added to the chaos. I can't believe that with $200 million in cash sitting around, the WWE cannot find a way to get the F back from those evil Pandas.


(10) Move this thing

JP: I know John Baker was talking about Jericho a moment ago, but there was something I wanted to mention during his match with Paul London (who gets to keep the long shorts). Early into the match, Jericho had tossed London to the outside and wanted to inflict some damage on him on the guardrail. So Jericho went over to the guardrail and tried to rip off the protective covering. The fan at ringside, though, held the protective covering in place, so Jericho tried again. This time, the fan took the protective covering and put it back into place perfectly! That was pretty good and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

As a bonus, Jericho did a good job by never showing it bothered him and then just threw London of the guardrail like that was what he wanted to do all along.


(9) Smarter than the average bear

JP: We've come a long way this article and we haven't mentioned SmackDown yet. Luckily, Ben Stickle had sent this one in.

Ben Stickle: During the Umaga Kennedy match, I noticed something which shows either Umaga's instincts or his maturation (means maturing, get yer minds out of the gutters) as an in-ring performer, depending on which point of view you wanna take.

JP: Actually, I was thinking of mastication, but that's only because I'm ready for diner.

Ben Stickle: While Umaga had Kennedy down and was going to the corner to climb to the top turnbuckle, Kennedy flinched a little, and Umaga immediately whipped his head around to see if Kennedy was getting up. Thought it was a nice little touch that showed how Umaga was taking nothing for granted in that match.

JP: It was just like JR was saying during the match: Umaga is actually a smart competitor that only makes you think he is a savage.


(8) Welcome back, Kotter

JP: Speaking of things said on SmackDown, earlier in the evening Jimmy Wang Yang made his return from Wellness suspension to loose to "Jerk Superstar" Brian Kendrick with Ezekiel. As Yang came out for the match Foley said, "Jimmy Wang Yang certainly looks well rested." Oh zing! I guess a month at home will do that for you!


(7) We love product placement

JP: The only thing more beloved in Hidden Highlights beside color coordination is product placement. Luckily, lwcmvp (parents, name your children better) found one on RAW.

Lwcmvp: On his way to the ring, JBL stopped in the aisle to go over the game plan with his team. But the Hidden Highlight came when he turned around to talk to them, like it has been the past few months, the logo for his energy drink was on the back of his jacket. He gave the camera a clear view of the logo. He could have talked over plans when the opposition was coming to the ring, but there would be no camera on him then and he would not be able to plug his product.

JP: I think he got a talking to for plugging it nonstop. The WWE is a public company and cannot give away free advertisement all the time.

Lwcmvp: Oh, since you printed a Bulletproof Monk HH last week, I've got a Family Matters one.

In the episode in which Carl and Urkel wrestle the Bushwhackers, the very opening scene sees Eddie Winslow reading a magazine: a WWF Magazine with Crush on the front. I remember the magazine.

JP: Oh goodness, I've opened Pandora's Box on this subject!


(6) A litte rewrite?

JP: Mentioned earlier, the WWE does a lot of retconning. But we don't often talk about when TNA does it, especially oddly. When Booker T was making his way out at the beginning of iMPACT, Mike Tenay called the title sitting on his shoulder "The Big Gold Belt". As we all know, the true "Big Gold Belt" was the title that became the WCW Championship, and as a secondary choice the current World Heavyweight Championship on RAW. This was another example of TNA trying to link the history of WCW to TNA, making it like TNA is the next step in evolution from NWA to WCW to TNA.

Want more? They keep talking about Booker T being a five time WCW Champion. Well, he is also a World Heavyweight Champion so they should be calling him just a "Six time World Champion" instead. But it is like they are ignoring large pieces of his WWE run to continue to make him the extension from WCW.


(5) Roll away

JP: Also on iMPACT, Kaz was unable to capture the X-Division from Petey Williams after a very fast counter filled match. My favorite counter was towards the latter half of the match, Kaz was going for the Wave of the Future and Petey simply did a cartwheel to deflect it. It was so simple and obvious that I loved it; plus it showed what a smart and athletic competitor Petey Williams really is.


(4) Wear the right protection

JP: Like I mentioned earlier, we have some more Hidden Highlights from Victory Road, courtesy of 411mania's own Sat.

Sat: During the Ultimate X match, Don West said that he was talking to Kaz and asking him what the other competitors are going to be surprised about coming into the match for the first time. Don West said that Kaz told him that the most surprising thing about the match is that the ropes are really slippery. A few minutes later, I notice that Kaz is the only one wearing gloves, which means that he actually did have a chat with Don West because the gloves should protect him from the slippery ropes.

JP: That is pretty cool, actually. I think Don West gets beat on by the IWC way too much. The guy is fun to listen to and his love for the product comes through.


(3) A couple of donuts will do that to you

Sat: During the video package for Samoa Joe, I noticed that they said that Samoa Joe weighed 280 pounds, but when Jeremy Borash did his in ring introductions, he said that Samoa Joe weighed in this morning at 282 pounds. This tells the fans that even though the video packages are done way in advance, the wrestlers are still weighed before the show.

JP: I wonder what caused him to gain two pounds? Catering?


(2) Isn't caffeine a drug?

JP: Back on RAW, there was a moment that would probably fall into the "not so hidden" category but was just so perfectly put together that it deserves the highlight. Kane had said his sorries to Michael Cole and was out back looking for the World Heavyweight Champion. He then ran into Santino Marella where the exchange went like this:

Kane: Where's Punk?

Santino Marella: Did you try the Pepsi Machine?

This was such the perfect response on so many levels! Not only was it just hilariously unexpected, but of course being straight edge and having a Pepsi tattoo, it would make so much sense for CM Punk to be there!

Chris Groomes: Then, at the end of the show when Cena was leaving the arena, they showed a Pepsi machine! Some unintentional continuity to make up for their lack of it in the editing of their outdoor scenes...

JP: How many cameras were outside?!?! Judging by all the cut jump shots, I'd have to say there five cameramen. Nice of them to try to pull Cena clear or call for help or something.


(1) What about me?

JP: Santino is not the only one who is always on his game, as Lil' Naitch himself Charles Robinson is always doing Hidden Highlights and staying actively involved. At the beginning of SmackDown, Edge set up a match between Finlay and Hornswaggle vs. Rider and Hawkins with himself as special guest referee. When he said he's be special guest referee, you could see Charles Robinson in the background pull on his shirt and say, "What about me?!" Like I said, Robinson stays constantly in everything. Even though he knew it was coming, he looked generally perturbed and tried to make his case why he should be the ref. Nice work by Lil' Naitch, once again.


Well everyone, that wraps up this week's show. Thank you for reading the 151st ISSUE of Hidden Highlights!

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. The best of the best will be featured among the top 15 next week.

In the meantime, 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.

Until then, you have just experienced the most positive article in all of the IWC: Hidden Highlights!