Hidden Highlights 02.09.09: Issue #180

Posted by JP Prag on 02.09.2009

Shane McMahon gets added to the RAW opening, Matt Striker knows his musical references, graphics are not ready for the Eric Young vs. Alex Shelley match, Kizarny goes after The Brian Kendrick’s hair, and more!

Hidden Highlights
By JP Prag

Issue #180

Commentator: Previously, on Hidden Highlights…

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Commentator: It was a packed issue of Hidden Highlights filled with all sorts of goodies that many people appreciated.

Thomas: So in this ONE article, we get some Back to the Future references [my favorite trilogy btw], some hot Olivia Munn in PUDDING~!, AND Rob Van Dam?!
I CAME!!!

JD: Was the Olivia Munn hotness a one shot deal, or can we expect more Olivia Munn with future Hidden Highlights?

God Bless the USA: Olivia Munn + pudding on her ass + whipped cream on her tits = America as a whole orgasming.

To quote every turd who comments on every AJ Grey post on 411 "I just came"

Commentator: Of course, despite the crass enjoyment of all above, there were those who always wanted more.

neverAcquiesce: A BTTF reference without mentioning 1.21 jigawatts? Or the flux capacitor? For shame.

Gay: #1 Olivia is in the video.
#2 She is in that outfit.
#3 She is covered with goo.

AND YOU NOTICE SOMETHING KEVIN DID?

WTF!

The Voice of Reason: JP: I honestly had not even thought of that, but you are most likely right. I can see RVD thinking of that history and putting it together for this one shot deal.

Oh god, I really shouldn't have mentioned RVD in this article. I know what's going to happen in the commentary section below!
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Guys, seriously! Sometimes I wonder if you people aren't bringing these kinds of comments upon yourselves. Let's not continue to feed the little trolls now shall we?

Guest#8587: "The Voice of Reason" are you going to continue to whine or was that just a one shot deal?

Commentator: Back in the real world, there were more pressing questions to be asked.

Jeremy: JP are you from Bellingham? I live in Milford and I saw The Wrestler this past Saturday night as well!

JP: Actually, I live in Providence but Bellingham was (believe it or not) the most central place for Small and I to meet up that was playing the Wrestler. Either way, that theatre is a lark!

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





JP: Hello everyone who may or may not be going to California this weekend, 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 up to 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!


WWE Royal Rumble – Retro 1 Week

JP: Better than kicking it off in the past, we'll kick it off with the ladies.

Cathy K: Jeff appeared for his Rumble match dressed in black with white face paint and is subsequently betrayed by his trusted former tag team partner, Matt.

The most famous wearer of black clothes and white face paint is Sting, who... well, I love my history but, gosh, take your pick. The two most relevant ones are Rick Steiner (UWF Tag Champs 1987, cost him his WWA World Heavyweight title 2003) and Christian Cage (tag partner Jan 2006, cost him NWA World Heavyweight title August 2006), although Sting seems to have a worse history than most of former tag partners acting against him, for example, Eddie Gilbert, Lex Luger; Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen are similar but probably don't count in the context.

JP: Not to mention the whole reason Sting started wearing the black and white was because the people in WCW thought he betrayed them for the NWO (it was the fake Sting #1) and he decided to leave them hanging and go to the rafters for a while.

Cathy K: The point is that if ever there was a costume you could wear that was shorthand for "I am about to be betrayed by my trusted former tag team partner", it is the Sting costume.

JP: Jeff Hardy with the foreshadow in his clothes, eh? People use to say you could tell if Ric Flair was going to win or lose depending on the color of his tights and knee pads, but I never found that particular rumor to be true.

Cathy K: I wish he'd kept it for the probable Hardy vs. Hardy at Wrestlemania though - it would have worked better there. Having it for the Rumble was a bit "kayfabe be damned", because the costume choice only makes sense if he knows what's going to happen in his match, whereas at Wrestlemania it would make perfect sense. Oh well, he deserves a bit of credit for trying...

JP: Actually, at WrestleMania they should both wear Hart Foundation inspired outfits! That would go well with the WrestleMania X clip they showed on all of this week's programs.


iMPACT – Retro 1 Week

JP: The Rumble has got quite a lot of coverage, so let's move it forward a bit.

Guest#2689: Didn't make the cut this week, but from Impact last week, when they started the show and had the fake names for Nash and Booker, Nash's was "Chet Lemon" who used to play for Nash's hometown Detroit Tigers.

JP: I did not make the connection at all. If JT were not a Ghost I'm sure he could confirm that, but for now I'll take your word as gospel!


RAW

JP: Enough time spent in the past. We have not had much of a chance to look at the present in recent weeks! Who's up first?

Michael Sakurada: Hello JP Fine!

JP: Ummmm… that's not my name… it's JP Prag. My e-mail address is @mikefine.com. Mike Fine is a close friend of mine who runs an e-mail server that I abuse heavily, but even if we were to marry I'd make him take my name.

MikeFine: Augh, dude, I already think wrestling is gay. I don't want to be gay with you.

JP: Have it your way. Small?

Jeff Small: I'm warming up the gay wagon for the most flaming bars in all of Houston!

JP: Perfect. Now JT, how can you resist that?

Michael Sakurada: Well…

JP: Oh yes, you can go on with your Hidden Highlight. I was just a bit sidetracked there.

Michael Sakurada: In the beginning of the RAW show, before even the opening when they do the WWE production opening, they have added a new opening that now includes Shane McMahon flying through the air now... Just something to point out the fact that Shane is back and wrestling.

JP: Production is 1000% on top of their game and this is another great example. I know SOMEBODY will say something like, "Oh, you praise them for what they are supposed to do." But in all honesty, what they do is incredibly hard work and should be given appreciation on a regular basis.

Jeff Small: I could give them lots of appreciation, believe me.

JP: Aren't you on vacation this week?

Jeff Small: How else could you get away with writing so many terrible lines for me?


RAW

JP: Let's get a little more hetero (or lesbian, which counts even more) in here with some Diva's action!

Dave C: During the Beth Phoenix/ Candice Michelle match on Raw, Candice took control with a series of chops. I noticed, rather than hitting conventional chops at her opponent's chest, Candice chopped Beth Phoenix on her sides, where there were gaps in her outfit exposing skin. For someone as oft-maligned as Candice, I thought it was a nice touch that she altered her offence in line with her opponents costume to be more effective.

JP: And I thank you for pointing out something Candice has done well and not just her body fat content.


RAW

JP: Sticking in the same Diva's match because we really need to keep on the subject after what we went through a little bit ago is this…

lilwayne1: During Beth's match, after she gave Candice a backdrop which Candice sold beautifully, Santino yelled out, "That's why I love you!" I lol'd when he said that.

JP: Also during the same match, Candice Michelle hit a move on Beth Phoenix and Santino yelled out, "That's not nice!" That man is always on top of his game and we can only give him tons of props.

lilwayne1: On a tangent, is Rosa Mendez is now the hottest chick on the roster or what?

JP: With Victoria gone and Gail Kim yet to appear, it seems like she's right up there. When Bayani gets back form his "health sabbatical" I'm sure he'll have some type showdown for the new Divas.


RAW

JP: Later in the evening, Randy Orton was not happy with how his earlier sneak attack went, so he tried again.

toby lane: After everything transpired with Orton kicking Shane, who was telling him, "That's enough."? Dean Malenko, a second generation wrestler!

What's even more interesting is that Malenko's dad, Boris Malenko used to tag with....

Wait for it....

Wait for it.....

Matt P: Whammy!

toby lane: Bob Orton!

I know that "The Legacy" doesn't need a retired Dean Malenko, but when was the last time we saw Dean Malenko speak on TV. If the rumors are true and that Harry Smith is going to be the fourth member of Legacy then why not have Malenko having a role in the same light as J.J. Dillion was with the Four Horseman. It would be only fitting that they would do something like this when Flair is coming back to Raw for "one night".

The formula would be there: Orton as the Heavyweight title chaser..... Rhodes/DiBiase as the tag team..... Smith as the Intercontinental title chaser and Malenko manages the stable.

What do you think?

JP: If it gets Dean Malenko back on my TV, I'm all for it! I really liked the history lesson and the interesting foreshadow you have proposed here. I might change it up and make Rhodes/Smith the tag team and DiBiase (who is really a third generation star) the IC title chaser since he works better in a singles capacity than the other two. It wouldn't hurt to get Natalya Neidhart off of SmackDown on RAW to join the group so they could have a dominant Diva, but that would require a face turn from Beth Phoenix and that just doesn't work for me!


RAW

JP: The main even for RAW this week saw John Cena and Chris Jericho face off in a non-title affair. Cena decided that he had had enough of Jericho's talk and decided to skip his own intro in order to start a beatdown of Jericho. As the beatdown began to get reversed, Jericho started to pull up Cena's shirt. Normally, when a wrestler does this the kayfabe reason is to attach the skin on the chest, so they just get the whole shirt off. But Jericho decided to take advantage of the opportunity and pull the shirt up so that is covered Cena's face and pinned his arms. With the shirt in the spry position, Jericho then laid in several shots on Cena before Cena could take it off.

Excellent work by the Hidden Highlights Hall of Fame member Chris Jericho who once again proves who he was the first ever inductee.


RAW

JP: Of course, that was not the only thing that Jericho did during that match.

The DaGreene: Cena had just reversed the walls of Jericho into the STF which caused Jericho to tap out all most as soon as the move was applied. Now you may think that's pretty wussy of Jericho, but that's where out HH comes in. Jericho knows that match was almost a throw away, and no reason to injure yourself when you have a Championship Elimination match in two weeks.

JP: Ah Jericho, the ultimate heel! Give him a mic and I'm sure he'd explain the very same reasoning.


ECW

JP: Over in the land of extreme, not only did Matt Striker make a reference to Dean Malenko during Jamie Noble's match, but he also made several musical references that you intrepid readers picked up on.

Michael P: Just caught this while watching ECW. During Tommy Dreamer's match against Paul Burchill, the awesome Matt Striker mentioned Tommy's passion and mentioned "the fire that burns inside his belly", a lyric taken from ECW's title song, "Don't Question My Heart". Being that Tommy Dreamer is the last of the ECW Originals and is involved in a storyline in which he desperately wants to become ECW Champion before his contract expires in June, the connection is excellent.

JP: Excellent catch there! To be fair, Tazz is an ECW original (although not active) and you could consider Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho, Dean Malenko, and Chavo Guerrero as ECW originals, although I think of all as WCW guys. And Joey Styles is still around!


ECW

JP: Of course, the music did not stop there.

Jeremy from Palmdale: On ECW, Jamie Noble made his debut and Matt Striker referenced the Hank Williams Jr. song "A Country Boy Can Survive". After the match when Noble was hightailing it out of the ring, Striker then mentioned how Noble could skin a buck and run a trout line, those are lyrics from "A Country Boy Can Survive", which Noble also used as an entrance theme in ROH

JP: Now that one required Matt Striker level knowledge. Kudos to you, Jeremy!


iMPACT

JP: Meanwhile on iMPACT, the Motor City Machine Guns continued to distance themselves from the rest of the Frontline (do they even have meetings anymore?) as they let Beer Money, Inc. beat up Lethal Consequences, the only tag team to ever have been named by the internet and yet picked up on by a major company. Despite the beatdown, Jay Lethal still went into the match with the Guns.

The DaGreen: Alex Shelly had been stunned after a boot to the head by Lethal. Sabin came into the ring and over to Shelly to take advantage of the situation of both men being down. Sabin noticed his tag partner was still a little dazed from a boot and—being the concerned guy he is—Sabin smacked Shelly a few times in the face to get him refocused.

JP: Oh those two, always taking care of each other!


iMPACT

JP: At the conclusion of the match, Eric Young and Alex Shelley got into a verbal confrontation and agreed upon an X-Division title match at Against All Odds. Immediately afterwards, Tenay and West began to go through the card for the PPV. When they got to the end, they did a "just been made official" announcement for Young vs. Shelley. But even though they did so, there was no "versus" graphic ready for their match and instead they just showed random clips of the two walking! I really liked that a graphic was not ready because in the kayfabe sense no one knew it was coming. If a graphic were ready it would have looked planned, but instead the random footage showed just how quickly that got turned around.

I can't say it enough, but sometimes it is the little things you don't do that make the true difference.


SmackDown

JP: The show opened up this week with a battle royal to determine the final entrant into the Elimination Chamber. One by one people were thrown over the top rope including the man who does not have a profile on the SmackDown roster page: Kizarny!

After being eliminated, Kizarny continued to argue with the refs at ringside. Meanwhile in the ring MVP was holding The Brian Kendrick precariously on the outside of the apron. As Kizarny walked by, he actually grabbed a bit of The Brian Kendrick's hair and tried to pull him out before the referees stopped him and made him keep going.

I don't know what he was thinking or if he just wanted to help out or stay in the action, but Kizarny was definitely living in the moment.

On a side note, since Vladmir Kozlov won the match, that means he's over going to get pinned inside the chamber or walk away as champion. Since I don't think he'll be main eventing WrestleMania this year, it looks like Kozlov is about to suffer his first pinfall loss. Let me think… who will be pinning Kozlov. Hmmmmm… might it be—just a shot in the dark here—Triple H?


SmackDown

JP: Despite competing in a battle royal early, the SmackDown roster came out for second helpings.

The DaGreene: Primo, Carilto, and R truth were making their way to the ring to face The Miz Morrison, and The Brian Kendrick. When R Truth started to sing his ring entrance and get to the first "what's up" you can see Primo saying "what's up" right after.

JP: Oh that Primo, always stealing other people's lines!

On a side note, The DaGreene, watch your tenses, spelling, and grammar. I know you are sending this on a phone from your Blackberry, but I've had to do a lot of cleanup for you this week, and that did not make me happy. Keep it clean and easy for me, and we'll see lots more of you!


SmackDown

JP: Finishing us off this week, The Brian Kendrick teamed with the Miz and John Morrison to take on the aforementioned team of the Colons and R-Truth. After The Brian Kendrick won the match, Tazz and JR started using the "The" part a lot and Tazz slipped in a line, "I used to be ‘The Tazz'". Excellent little quip at the expense of Mike Adamle that gave me a chuckle to end a full seven days of wrestling.


Well everyone, that wraps up this week's show. Thank you for reading the 180th 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!