Hidden Highlights 12.29.08: Issue #174

Posted by JP Prag on 12.29.2008

JBL pushes Rey Mysterio further away from the ring, Rhino literally spits on Kurt Angle and the Main Event Mafia, Shelton Benjamin uses his knee to inflict extra damage on Hurricane Helms, we have a special tribute to the Hidden Highlighters of the Year, and more!

Hidden Highlights
By JP Prag

Issue #174

Commentator: Previously, on Hidden Highlights…

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Commentator: It was believed that Ezekiel Jackson had already made his WrestleMania debut, but that appears to not be so.

Texter Morgan: I thought the guy Big Show pulled into the ring and chopped was Charles 'The Hammer' Evans, an Ahmed Johnson look-a-like who was released about a month after Wrestlemania. He never came out of developmental (OVW / FCW) to a brand officially.

DaHumorist: Yeah, that wasn't Big Zeke, that was Charles The Hammer Evans.

Commentator: Despite discrepancies, in history, some were still catching up to the present.

Neeraj Angal: So, you take HHs over the comments section now?

Stenographer: E-mails are still preferred and will always receive preference, but we've been accepting entries from the comments section since Issue #150. This is mostly due to people using that section to the exclusion of e-mails, so we do not want to waste the material.

Commentator: Even in this new world of Hidden Highlights, some miss the subtext.

Kuunda: What, seriously? Morrison gets congratulated for dressing the same as he always does? That's a Hidden Highlight? Wouldn't it be more of one if he had dressed differently, in something more befitting the venue? Like an old-style military longcoat or something? This is just sad.

JP: Sometimes, it's what you always do that is the little touch. Doing something different in Iraq is what is EXPECTED. You'd expect people to dress in military fatigues and do things nice and different for the soldiers. John Morrison did the complete opposite: he appeared as he always appears, including the coat and slow motion cameras. Staying in character and using props like that in that type of environment is amazing and deserves kudos. Do not forget that this man spent the week visiting bases and interacting with soldiers. Yet when he went on stage he was in perfect character.

So in this case, being different would have been blasé. But still able to be the perfect John Morrison character in those conditions are why he enjoys a special place in these pages.

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





JP: Hello everyone who for some reason still does their writing job while on vacation, 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!


RAW – Retro 1 Week

JP: We'll kick things off this week with the man who wondered if he could post something in the commentary section… and then proceeded to do so.

Neeraj Angal: When Chris Jericho came out looking spiffy for his match against Jim Duggan, Lilian was the first one to notice that he was not in wrestling clothes. Right after introducing him, you could see her mouthing (off mic) something along the lines of "Aren't you supposed to compete? Why are you dressed like that?" at Chris Jericho. Way to stay in character.

JP: I think Jericho also mouthed something back to her, but I completely missed what it was. Although Lillian often messes up announcements, she is quite good at staying in character and doing little things in the background, so she does deserve her kudos when they come.


iMPACT – Retro 1 Week

JP: Sticking in the past, we had some iMPACT!

T-mac: On the week that Brother Ray got jumped by the MEM, in the locker room talk before the beat down OBD did not shake Brother Ray's hand....take a look if you get a chance!

Ghost of JT: Errrr… so what?

JP: I think T-mac is either trying to say ODB is (a) planning a swerve, (b) is too drunk to care what is going on, or (c) too dirty for Brother Ray to want to shake her hand. Then again, he did drink from her flask!


RAW

JP: Jumping ahead to this week's RAW, Layla El (I haven't seen them use "London" yet) and Jillian Hall teamed up to take on Mickie James and Melina. Boy am I freaked out by those two acting all buddy-buddy considering their backstage history all the way back to OVW. Anyway, late into the match Layla was able to hit a move on Mickie James and went for a pin cover. When Layla did so, though, her foot momentarily was underneath the rope. The referee—much to his credit—immediately broke the count and let Layla know that a foot under the rope immediately invalidates the pin. Nice eyes by the referee and a good job reacting to what he was seeing and sticking to the rules.


RAW

JP: Later in the evening, JBL and Rey Mysterio renewed their acquaintance when they met to see who would go on to the Fatal Four Way the next week in order to possibly get a shot at John Cena and the World Heavyweight Championship at the Royal Rumble. In the middle of the match, the two competitors were outside the ring with the referee making the 10-count. With seconds to spare, not only did JBL make a quick dash to the ring while Mysterio was down, but he actually pushed him further up the ramp so that if Mysterio revived he'd have much further to go make the 10-count. Smart thinking by JBL to make sure he would win, even if it didn't end up working out.


RAW

JP: And what would an issue of Hidden Highlights be if we didn't talk about someone's clothes?

ZeroXY: A Hidden Highlight on RAW this week. Rey Mysterio came out in red and white, the same colours on the Canadian flag.

JP: A total disrespect to America! He only wears the red, white, and blue colors when he is in Iraq. Infidel!


RAW

JP: The main event of the evening saw Santino Marella and Beth Phoenix (Gamarella) team up against John Cena and what eventually turned out to be Hidden Highlights Hall of Famer Trish Status. And while I would love to give the top spot from RAW to Trish Stratus, it instead must go to Santino Marella. As the bell rang, Santino was beating his chest to prove he was the alpha male and that he should start the match. Then, completely off mic and barely audible he said as much… except he lowered his voice to a much deeper octave to show how much of an alpha male he was! Nice work by Santino to still do the voices and stay in character even though he was not actually on mic.


iMPACT

JP: Since ECW was nothing but recaps this week, we'll skip right ahead to iMPACT. At the beginning of the show, Mick Foley came out to (shocking!) address the crowd. As he did so, the Main Event Mafia also made their way out to confront the executive shareholder and see if they could convince him to join their cause. As they did so, it was apparent that Booker T and Scott Steiner were dressed to wrestle, so they must have had a match. Instead, during the promo Foley assigned them a match against AJ Styles and Brother Devon.

This left me perplexed as I hate when people come out dressed to compete for matches that have not officially been assigned yet. But then Kurt Angle did the greatest thing in the world where he just slipped in on the mic, "What about those couple of jobbers we were going to face tonight?" With that one little line he totally explained why Booker T and Scott Steiner were already dressed to wrestle and that Mic Foley was screwing with them by changing their assigned matches. Excellent work by Kurt Angle showing he really gets what Hidden Highlights is all about.


iMPACT

JP: iMPACT moved on plenty during the night, but it was the main event match of Kurt Angle with Sting vs. Rhino with Jeff Jarrett that caught my eye multiple times. First up, before the match got underway, referee Earl Hebner scolded Jarrett on the outside and told him to stay away from his guitar (that was placed slightly away). As soon as the referee's back was turned, Jarrett immediately started to inch his way towards his guitar so that it was at least within arm's length. Nice little sly motion by Jarrett to show that he was not going to be without his weapon.


iMPACT

JP: During the aforementioned match, Kurt Angle had Rhino in the center of the ring and was holding him in bear-hug like maneuver except on the ground. As Angle was holding him in that position, I suddenly notice that Rhino actually spit on Angle's right shoulder! I don't know if Rhino was just trying to clear out some excess saliva or what, but I now side with the Main Event Mafia. Where is the respect?


iMPACT

JP: Finally during the same match, Angle managed to lock Rhino into the ankle lock. When he did so, Rhino was actually facing directly towards his Genesis opponent in Sting. Using all his might, instead of getting out of the maneuver, Rhino actually turned the whole thing around so that he was facing Jeff Jarrett. It was an interesting story to see unfolding as Rhino literally turned away from the Main Event Mafia to find strength in TNA. I enjoyed the subtext and thought it worked quite well.


SmackDown

JP: Over on SmackDown, the show opened up (after 3 minutes of entrance music) with Triple H letting Vladmir Kovlov know that he was out for revenge. This eventually led to match between Triple H and Chavo Guerrero, forcing Triple H to abandon his sledgehammer. As Triple H moved over to the side of the ring to drop his sledgehammer down, I saw a pair of hands reach out and actually try to catch the dropping heavy object! I don't know who tried to catch that thing, but they better watch out for themselves!


SmackDown

JP: After that match, there was another one for the United States Championship pitting Shelton Benjamin against Hurricane Helms. During the match, Benjamin and Helms in a neck synch, but then he did something very William Regal-esque. While still maintaining the original hold, Benjamin wrapped his leg around Helms and put his knee in place near Helm's crotch. If Helms struggled against the move, he would actually force himself into Benjamin's knee! Nice little piece of amateur style there that I live to see.


SmackDown

JP: Later in the evening, Michelle McCool defended her Divas Championship against the number one contender Maryse. Unfortunately for McCool, Mayse was the better competitor that day and special guest referee Maria made the three count for the new champion. After the match, McCool lost her cool (oh pun!) and began a major beat down on Maria. As the fight spilled into the outside, McCool was destroying Maria against the crowd wall. As she did so, Maria actually reached up and grabbed on to the cross on McCool's outfit. Immediately, McCool swatter Maria's hands away and the massacre continued.

The symbolism of this moment was absolutely not lost on me. Maria was reaching up to the cross asking for what it represents in Christian mythos: forgiveness, mercy, turning the other cheek, and treating even those with sin fairly. My immediately swatting Maria's hand away from the cross, McCool showed that she would not grant any of those Christian things, and that she was a hypocritical Christian herself. The moment worked perfectly and was probably written a little too well for typical wrestling entertainment.


SmackDown

JP: Similar to what happened on RAW between JBL and Rey Mysterio, the main event of SmackDown saw the WWE Champion Jeff Hardy take on the Big Show. Also similar to that match, both competitors were knocked to the outside and the referee began a 10-count. This time, though, the 10-count ended up in favor of Jeff Hardy. But did you happen to catch how? On his way back to the ring, Hardy actually gave a swift kick to the Big Show and used the momentum to continue into the ring! That extra kick is what kept the Big Show down and showed a smart little move by Hardy.


Hidden Highlighter of the Year

JP: Finishing us off this week, I thought I'd give one of these nifty year-end list to go over some of the best Hidden Highlighters of the Year. In no particular order of thought:

John Morrison and the Miz: These two are the personification of little details and constant improvement. They have taken great pride in everything they do in the ring, on the mic, and on their backstage skits and online shows. There is no one I have enjoyed watching as much as these two this past year.

WWE Referees: One of the things I always push for is more realism, and the WWE referee crew (and to an extent the TNA crew) have done amazing work acting more in the moment and actually interacting with the action in the ring. We have even seen them go against script to stay in line with things that are actually happening, so you have to give them love in that respect.

Maryse: You may want to think of Maryse as just some Diva Search reject who got a job as a wrestler because of her body, and you'd be right. But just because that is the past does not mean that it is the present or the future. The new Diva's Champion is amazing in her breadth of Hidden Highlights every time she comes out. In many ways, she reminds me of the Rock or Bret Hart in that she takes who she is in real life and exaggerates it 1000% in the ring. She has mastered how to be a perfect female heel and continued to get better in the ring. Even the way she executes moves is with extra bitchiness. It is because of this that although I started the year hating her, Maryse is one of my favorite active wrestlers now. Watch out for her in the year to come!

Vickie Guerrero: Speaking of SmackDown Divas, how can you forget the General Manager of the show? You do realize that Vickie has gone from the worst thing on television to the number one heel in all of the WWE? She has the crowd in the palm of her hand and everything from her expressions to her catch phrases to her outfits to her thought bubbles make her amazing out there. I don't know if anyone is working with her or if she just broke through on her own, but Vickie gets how to do all the little things that make a difference.

AJ Styles: I did not want you to think I was leaving out TNA, so I'd like to give credit to my favorite current wrestler AJ Styles. The man has had so many different roles this year from goofball sidekick to leader of the Frontline, yet he has made the transition seamlessly. Not only that, but while in his many different roles he made each of them completely believable. All the while he has been crisp in the ring and done some great stuff that was often worthy of winning the William Regal Award.

Matt Striker: Do I even need to explain why Matt Striker would be here? The man has appeared more times in Hidden Highlights this year than anyone. He is always smart on the mic, knows his history, and brings an A-game to every show. His carrying of Todd Grisham led them to well deserved Slammies. If Striker was with Tazz, could you imagine how well they would do?

Bunches of other Characters: There are plenty of others who deserves major props for the way they play their characters and work in the ring. Outside of the people we have pointed out as extra special this year, coming in close behind them are others like Santino Marella, James Storm, Robert Roode, Curry Man, Finlay, The Big Show, Mark Henry, CM Punk, JBL, Lillian Garcia, Chris Jericho (Hidden Highlights Hall of Famer), William Regal, Don West, The Brian Kendrick, Victoria, Awesome Kong, Festus, Armando Estrada, Hernandez, MVP, and others I'm sure I am missing. The bottom line is, you never know who will surprise you, so always keep your eyes peeled.

WWE and TNA Production Crews: The true unsung heroes of wrestling are the production staff. Everyone from camerapersons to pyro operators to grips to gophers and beyond are out there each and every week with the wrestlers for a fraction of the pay. They live on the road as well and often work insane hours (do you know how long it takes to put up and take down the RAW set?), yet manage to make the shows come together almost seamlessly every week. Sure, we like to point out when funny things go wrong, but for the most part we should be in awe of everything that goes right. The underappreciated operators of everything else that goes into a wrestling show deserves our kudos, praise, and respect all year long.


Well everyone, that wraps up this week's show. Thank you for reading the 174th 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 Thursday 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!