Hidden Highlights 04.02.07: Issue #83

Hidden Highlights
By JP Prag and James “JT” Thomlison

Issue #83

Intro

Hello everyone who was at WrestleMania 23, and welcome back to Hidden Highlights!!

There are very few positive things on the Internet. It’s more about everyone’s negative view of what everyone else is trying to do.
— Eric Bischoff, Controversy Creates Ca$h

Hidden Highlight (n) – a small, hardly noticeable point that makes a big, positive difference. This could be anything from a wrestler putting extra emphasis into his moves to make it believable to a person in the background reacting while not the focus to the cameraman shaking the picture to create an effect. There are just so many unsung heroes of wrestling that it is impossible to cover them all.

Every week we take the top 3 Hidden Highlights from the biggest shows on television (RAW, ECW of SciFi, iMPACT, SmackDown!, and a PPV or television special if there is one). Plus we turn to you, the readers, to let us know all the Hidden Highlights you saw this, last, or any week in history. On top of all that, we explore the other issues that prove why this is the most positive article in the IWC.

And who is this mysterious we, you ask?

Why none other than JP Prag and James “JT” Thomlison, of course!

We bring you Hidden Highlights with one goal in mind: to appreciate all those little things that make a huge difference. JT?

JT: OK, so when we are writing this it is before WrestleMania and we are super excited!!!!

JP: But when people are reading this, WrestleMania already happened and they are either happy or disappointed.

JT: Do we pretend that we are over our WrestleMania excitement and that another day has gone on?

JP: We could, except we are also at RAW in Dayton, OH the day after WrestleMania. And you are at the SmackDown!/ECW tapings in Ft. Wayne, IN the next night. All and all, it’s not like WrestleMania weekend has ended.

JT: Point taken. Besides, they’ll have to read all our live reports and special “Hidden Highlights of WrestleMania 23 Weekend” appearing later this week (or so we “hope”).

Dion: Are you guys like this all the time?

Iain: ………………..there’s still beer, right?

Kirsty: My goodness. Of course there is still beer. And yes, Dion, they are like this constantly. Now both of you shush so we can enjoy our weekend!

Sasha: Why did I even come…? You guys are worse than a bunch of little rowdy Jakes!

JP: Exactly. So in the meantime, let’s get on with our regular Hidden Highlights!

Hidden Highlights for WWE RAW: Monday, March 26, 2007 by JP

JP: The Brand Extension came to an end as Divas from two different brands teamed up, CM Punk just showed up and wrestled, the ECW champion got pinned by Vince McMahon, and the RAW and SmackDown! main events beat up each other and then themselves. I know this is the last push to WrestleMania, but could we at least pretend these guys would have to go through some paperwork to show up on another brand?

(3) Oh, that’s my name:

In the aforementioned divas 6-woman tag, playboy cover girls Ashley, Candice Michelle, and Torrie Wilson (notice they didn’t mention she was a two-time cover girl with Sable) took on Victoria, WWE Women’s Champion Melina, and Jillian Hall. Did you catch that last one? Jillian Hall. As we’ve seen over the years, the WWE is keen on their divas losing their last names. For a while now on SmackDown!, Jillian Hall has just been called Jillian. Yet on RAW, she got her last name back both on the graphic and when Lillian announced her. I was glad to hear it, and hope she can keep her last name for a while to come. Also, a move to RAW with the real Women’s Division would probably be good as well.

(2) Where is my prop:

Speaking of SmackDown! wrestlers being different on RAW, another one has to go out to Mr. Kennedy. First up, when he came down to his match, he chased off Lillian Garcia just as he would Tony Chimmel for not announcing him right. I was glad to see him keep up his character even in this light. Then the best part happened as he climbed the ropes, raised his hand to get his microphone, and……………… NOTHING HAPPENED! It was definitely amusing that RAW was not set up for the likes of Mr. Kennedy and his normal routine.

(1) Mine, all mine!:

You’ve seen it a thousands times in a wrestling ring, and every time the crowd cheers (or boos) appropriately. Two people are in the ring and one rips the microphone away to say their point. As a matter of fact, during the Cutting Edge, we saw it happen multiple time. But there was one time in particular that caught my attention. As Finlay was making his point about all the other wrestlers being pansies who just wanted to talk, Edge reached for the microphone. Knowing that it was coming, he did not stand there like every other wrestler always does and let the microphone get taken away. Oh no, not Fit Finlay. Being the crafty veteran that he is, he ducked away and tried to keep the microphone for just a little bit longer. Now that is a natural and smart reaction that I was glad to see. Kudos to our favorite leprechaun toting brawler.

JT: I have so much more to say about RAW, but I can’t. Why? Because we had 64 e-mailers doing it for me. We’ll just have to wait for that!

Hidden Highlights for ECW on SciFi: Tuesday, March 27, 2007 by JT

JT: It’s the last ECW before WM 23 as RVD gets a win over Elijah Burke (igniting a New Breek vs. Originals showdown), the Hardy’s are skeptical of Edge (imagine that!), Snitsky runs through Balls Mahoney with ease, Lashley is a man of few words, and Edge watches on as the other seven MITB match members beat the hell out of each other! Somewhere in that craziness, the heels got a victory over the faces/Edge heading into the big weekend!

(3) Hey! I’m just a ref:

After the RVD vs. Elijah Burke match, the New Breed came out to attack RVD, but of course the Originals came out to clear the ring. As they did, they went to the wide angle shot of the ring and outside the ring (typical TV side shot), and you could see Sandman walk into the ropes and swing that big stick of his. But did you see who he swung it at? The poor ref! He wasn’t even close to an Original! The highlight, however, is the ref. He quickly recognized that it has been swung in his direction, and he instantly threw his arms up in a flail, like “WATCH IT!”. I guess sometimes the ref’s have to improvise as well!

(2) On the biggest week of the year, Vince makes the column, Part 1:

Well first of all, let me just say that Vince’s promo cracked me up. His condescending comments regarding his “physical specimen” and such was just absolutely hilarious. One part in particular that made me laugh was when Vince was talking about how he had been up all night partying, and “hadn’t even shaved”. The only problem with this is that he was CLEARLY clean shaven! When a man Vince’s age goes a day without shaving, you can tell, but here he was with a face as smooth as a baby’s bottom. You know Vince, if you’re going to be on TELEVISION saying you haven’t shaved, you might want to – ya know – actually not shave? Remember kids, sometimes the mistakes can make you chuckle as well, and this one certainly made me.

(1) I really don’t like you:

When they announced the main event eight man tag match, they – like they always do – show all of the competitors from both teams on their “matchup” screen. The first thing that I noticed was that interestingly enough, Matt Hardy and Edge were on the same time. But what I really liked about this was that they were on opposite ends of the lineup! With Edge bringing up their past this week on RAW, it only makes sense to sell that there is still bad blood there. Just because they have to work together doesn’t mean they want to be anywhere near one another. Nice continuity reflected on the picture. Nice work editing team! (interestingly enough, when all four men were shown in the locker room, they were standing in the exact same order as their picture, again putting the biggest distance between Edge and Matt)

Interestingly enough, we saw this go even further as Matt C. sent us this, and since he made the same connection, I’m just going to go ahead and insert him here!:

You really had to be paying attention to see this one. When Matt was on the ring apron he did an exorbitant amount of cheering for his team. Odd, but innocent enough unless you caught his second tag out to Punk. At the time of the tag the face team (Edge a face?) was positioned with Edge and Punk on the entrance side and Jeff on the side opposite the stationary cameras. Matt tags in Punk and they switch places. The cameras have a shot of that corner for the next 5 seconds before cutting to one of the handhelds picking up action in the heel corner. The next time you see the face corner Jeff is now standing nervously next to Edge while Matt is where Jeff was plus 5 feet further away cheering away for Punk. Matt can’t even kayfabe enough to stand next to Edge if he can help it.

JT: Exactly. My point is proven. But AS IF that wasn’t enough! We have an even
DIFFERENT addition to the same story from Chris Page:!

First off, the eight man tag match on ECW with the Money in the Bank participants. Matt Hardy is in the ring and he tags in his brother Jeff. The two do a little double team and Jeff continues the offence. But did you notice Matt at all? Most people when they tag out would just climb onto whichever side of the apron in their corner was nearest. Matt was heading in that direction, then looked up and realised he’d be standing next to Edge, so wandered over to the other side of his teams corner and stood so that he’d place CM Punk firmly between himself and Edge, thus making two points.

1) Everyone hates Edge and nobody particularly wants to stand next to him.

2) Matt Hardy hates Edge more and would rather fire a staple gun into his throat than have to stand next to Edge all chummy chummy with him for any extended length of time.

JT: I saw that, and came very close to using it myself, so definitely wanted to put it up here with mine and the other one. I think if we’ve proved anything here today, it’s that Matt Hardy just fucking can’t stand Edge and everyone from the actual men to the production team are doing a damn fine job of selling it.

JP: I’m still just trying to figure out what you meant by a man his age when showing a beard when referring to Vince McMahon. Didn’t I get in trouble with your parents when I said my parents were “getting up there in years”?

JT: No, man! What I meant was a man his age (or very, VERY few men his age) can go an entire day without shaving and look that babyface clean. Hell, most 30 year olds can’t pull it off!

Hidden Highlights for TNA iMPACT: Thursday, March 29, 2007 by JP

JP: What did I say two weeks ago? What did I say?!! I said:

I was afraid there was going to be a cage match before Lockdown. At least they figured that would be a bit overkill. Then again, there are another four weeks go. Oh my…

Listen, I’m not on the WWE Payroll. If I was, I surely would not have spent this much money on WrestleMania tickets. Vince Russo, Mike Tenay, Jeremy Borash… you don’t have to do the opposite of what I say just because you think the IWC is on the WWE’s payroll and is trying to undermine you. Having not only a six-sides of steel match—but an X-Division X-scape match to boot—that IS overkill. I’m fine with the Lockdown concept, I really am. I don’t think it needs dressing up. But giving away a match like that on TV… that just made the cage seem really small. And not Jeff Small. Because that would be tiny.

(3) X-scaping:

But I’ll redeem you and give you credit for a very interesting ending to the X-scape match. Normally I wouldn’t call out something this blatant, but it deserves a little praise. Normally during a cage match involving escape, if the two combatants end up on the top of the cage together one of two things happens: (a) the both work their way back inside due to a stalemate or (b) one falls back inside and the other escapes. Now this time, something different happened. Both Jerry Lynn and Petey Williams went over to the outside of the cage together. And they held each other to the cage until one could make a safe fall. I have to say, this was a very unique way to end the match that I found quite interesting and affective. The goal was to get out, so why would any competitor take the stalemate inside the cage? It just goes to show how much more risk the X-division stars are willing to take. Sure, Lynn could have just as easily lost the match by taking Williams outside, but he decided the risk was worth the reward. Just a different mindset that is worth highlighting.

(2) I’m not a heel:

While the Christian Coalition (Team Cage? Damn rewrites.) was arguing with Team JAR, Jim Cornette came down to interrupt and the crowd started booing. Now Cornette is not a heel, but sometimes he has to do heelish actions that make sense as an authority figure (remember when Foley was an authority figure and was trying not to do bad things to Austin but Austin kept forcing his hand?). Since he knew the boos were only temporary, Cornette told the crowd, “Come on, you don’t mean it.” I thought this was absolutely a hilarious thing to say, and he was right. The crowd didn’t mean it, they were just caught up in the segment.

(1) There you go, little guy:

Being the connoisseurs of wrestling we are, we know that many moves require your opponents assistance in order to pull off flawlessly. Some moves, like the Stratisfaction, are so obvious that it can be painful to watch. Others, like the flipped piledriver, are pulled off so ingeniously that they are 100% believable. One of those moves that we can almost never see the opponent’s help in is Shark Boy’s Dead Sea Drop. This week on iMPACT, though, I caught a very interesting sight. As Shark Boy flipped over Alex Shelley to pull off the second part of the move, Shelley repositioned his hands in order to balance Shark Boy better and make him move forward without losing balance. I thought this was an interesting item to catch as it is something I normally do not see. Just a noteworthy bit of kayfabe caught in the act!

JT: I would have seen this, as I actually was able to TiVo it on Thursday. Sadly, Kirsty was apparently kicking me out of my bed for snoring which led to a long Ric Flair discussion which led to no sleep for either of us. I don’t think I was really there because I don’t really remember any of this.

Hidden Highlights for WWE SmackDown!: Friday, March 30, 2007 by JT

JT: Edge continues to weaken his opponents for the MITB match, Finlay slows Kennedy’s roll a little (hey, have to put them in check once in a while), MVP… well, he continues his trend, Hardy gets a win over Kennedy, WM is apparently two days away, we discover there are actually 10 divas on the roster, Punk gets a win over King Booker, and JBL takes two Stunners as Taker and Dave can’t keep their hands off each other!

I would also like to note a very observant pin attempt by JP in regards to the Orton/Hardy match. It was a great call!

(3) What’s in a name?:

After Maria had iVictoria in the corner and delivered a “unique” move as he called it (which JBL questioned as a move), she tagged in Torrie Wilson. Torrie promptly lifted up the undies and proceeded to shove her ass in Victoria’s face. Now there is obviously not a name for this move (unless you want to go with ‘Stinkface’, although that somehow doesn’t seem appropriate for Torrie). So JBL began to speak, and as soon as the word “What” came out of his mouth, Cole said “offensive maneuver”! We all heard JBL finish that sentence, as he said “What would you call that move!? What would you call that move?”, and Cole continued to say “offensive maneuver”. The point here though is that he answered the question before JBL even asked it! He KNEW what was coming. These two are developing a great repertoire between one another, and this was a sign that they are starting to finish the other’s sentence. Plus, the whole “offensive maneuver” convo was pretty funny, at least to me.

(2) On the biggest week of the year, Vince makes the column, part 2!:

Now, this technically wasn’t something from the actual SmackDown taping, but it was something I saw during the show. They showed the recap of the WM 23 Press Conference at Trump Tower, and despite having seen it a couple of times already, I noticed something I hadn’t before! As Vince is going through all of his little mocking motions, he quickly reached up and gave Trump’s nose a little flick! I mean, how much more taunting can you get. You are standing in the lobby of HIS building, with THOUSANDS of fans on HIS side, and you reach up and give him a nose flick? BALLS. In the most advertised, talked about, thrown in your face and hyped match on the entire WrestleMania card, a little touch like this just gets lost in the shuffle but really was such a great move that just sells what a prick the McMahon character really is.

(1) I own you… sort of:

During the Kennedy vs. Fit Finlay match, Finlay stormed Kennedy in this corner, which was proceeded by Kennedy moving out of the way and Kennedy ramming his shoulder into the ring post. Then Kennedy attempted to go for the pin by pinning up and laying over both of his legs in an attempt to prevent the kick out. However, if you were paying close attention to the pin, you may have noticed that while he kept his left arm in a position to hold the pin, he took his right arm, stuck it between Finlay’s legs, and grabbed him by the lower jaw. I am failing to think of a good comparison at the moment, but it is much like when a parent grabs a small child by the lower jaw like “hey, what do you think you’re doing!?”. Much like the Vince flicking of the nose, this is just a great little rub-it-in-your-face move to add insult to injury.

JP: I was sitting right next to you screaming out Hidden Highlights, as were our New Zealand crew, and none of our calls made the column save for a little note in the introduction? For shame, JT, for shame. You are so selfish!

JT: If by “screaming out Hidden Highlights”, you mean us laughing at botches and wincing at sick bumps, or making complete booking cliché’ references, then you’re right, I have done us a great injustice.

JP: Oh please, I threw out at least four.

JT: And they were dually noted! It was a long day and I was in a zombie like state! Cut me some slack!

JP: You did seem a bit despondent at dinner (which by the was incredibly delicious!).

JT: Running on fumes man… running on fumes.

Reader Write-in Hidden Highlights

Hidden Highlights aren’t just for us to find and tell you about, but for you to spot and share with us. Don’t just sit there and stare, but be a more active, attentive, and engaged viewer. Appreciate all the hard work that goes into making the wrestling we have the privilege to watch and then let us know what you caught this and every week.

This week JT gets to pick our Reader Write-in Hidden Highlights of the week.

JT: We had an INSANELY busy week which figures as we’re both totally swamped with the WM weekend and such. So, *GENERAL WARNING*:: some parts of the following Reader Write-in Hidden Highlights may be edited for grammar, spelling, and English translation…

Before we get started, we got this interesting note from Thomas W., who has issues with JP’s wording!

Hidden Highlight in your own column. You always say, “some parts of the following Reader Write-in Hidden Highlights may be edited for grammar, spelling, and English translation…” Speaking of editing for grammar, you should do that yourself. You said, “I watched the Hong Kong movie the Departed was based off of.” Based off of? Nothing is based off of anything. It’s based on. A house is based on it’s foundation, not off the foundation. Well, look forward to reading this next week!

JP: First off, our warning says MAY be edited for grammar, etc…, meaning we might not catch it or call it. Second, in over 1100 pages of Hidden Highlights I just may make a few mistakes. Sue me. Third, you made a grammar mistake making fun of my grammar. “It’s” = “It is”, not the possession of It like you were intending. So there!

JT: Meh, I’m an editor. I make no such mistakes. Kicking us off this week is Tim T., who should go first because he actually got us a HOF HH in time, and well, being #1 is ….perfect:

Long time reader, first time hidden highlighter. I want to make this short, sweet and to the point, but during the Hall of Fame shown on the USA Network, Mr. Perfect was inducted third. Tell me what is so hidden about that? I will tell you. He was inducted by his wife, four kids, and his two parents. That makes 7. The number of perfection. Just another way to show that Mr. Perfect, even in death and in Hall of Fame induction is simply PERFECT!

JT: As we said in the live report (link towards the end), the word and the reference was used perfectly several times in completely obvious manners. Now we have a hidden one. It appears we have a mathmetician on our hands! Some people believe one thing, and some another, but there are many that do in fact seem to have proof that 7 is a “perfect” number. Excellent association Tim, it really was; that’s exactly the little shit we encourage here. Up next and getting us into RAW is Zach R., who found a couple from last week’s show:

I like how Eugene (yes, I’m mentioning Eugene in my hidden highlight) used glue to try to paste his hair back on to his head. Shows how the WWE really wants to play out that Eugene is, in fact, “special”.

JT: Fit his character to a tee, I couldn’t agree more.

I don’t know if you guys covered this… I believe it was last week… BUT when the Orton/Carlito/Flair match ended but before Randy his the “out of no where” RKO. I put “out of no where” in quotes because Randy did something that showed me that he was ready to hit the RKO. When he was about ready to hit it, he hit the mat with his fist. Why is this ironic? Even when he’s measuring someone up with the RKO, he slithers (I think that’s the word), rolls, and bangs his fists on the mat. When I saw the fist pound, I knew that was coming.

JT: I’ve actually seen him do this quite a bit even if the RKO is not going to hit. I’ll give him credit for that as it means he’s being consistent, and not giving away if the RKO is going to be successful or if the call is for his opponent to counter it. John L. has a BUNCH of stuff to talk about, but here is what he had for RAW:

– The first thing which caught my eye was in the opening segment between JBL and Shawn Michaels. We always hear Bradshaw talk about “the next Mrs. Layfield” on SmackDown, but tonight, as he was pointing at HBK, we could see an engagement ring in his left hand.

JT: KAYFABE BREAK! He does indeed use the term quite often on the WWE hotties and having his REAL engagement ring on television is indeed a funny “prop” if you will. Good reference.

– The second one was in the segment in which Vince was talking on the phone. If you look closely at the background, you’ll see a picture of the Undertaker. It actually is the cover of the new WWE magazine with Taker’s picture and the title “Undefeated. Undertaker.”

JT: JP would love this one. As he says, it’s all about the advertisements, and why wouldn’t you remind the world of his streak this close to WM? Smart.

– The third one’s probably the best this week. If you look closely at Eugene’s jacket’s sleeves, you’ll notice that they still have some green paint left in them back from when DX sprayed Dinsmore with paint. Great continuity.

JT: I put this in here so I could point and laugh at you John. You’re about the 834th email we’ve printed about this, and you should be ashamed of yourself! The jacket is stained, we get it people! (just kidding John) Next up is Adam P (or some of you may know him as Goob in the forums, except you Bobby, because you don’t read the section “BOBBY IS A LITTLE, LITTLE GIRL AND HE’LL NEVER SEE THIS HAHA!”), who’d is a good lip reader!:

Hey guys this is Adam aka 411 forumer Goob. I have a HH for this week’s RAW that occurred during the MITB cutting Edge segment. When Edge introduced Punk and mentioned he was from Chicago, the crowd of course went nuts. The HH is Punk, he looked at Edge and mouthed the words “Welcome to Chicago”, I thought it was a cool throwback to his ROH days.

JT: Regular John B. also wrote in about this. I love these little ones where wrestlers are gabbing without a microphone in their hand and you can tell what they’re saying. Just adds to the fact that they are in essence playing a role in character whether the focus is on them or not. That, and Punk clearly hasn’t forgotten where he’s come from. We also got an email from Sam and Amanda (did you hear that JP? Let me re-iterate: SAM and Amanda):

1. When, at the very beginning of the show, the advertisement for Lashley V. McMahon was shown, McMahon had black behind his figure on the virtual “poster”, not SD! Blue, ECW Purple, or even RAW Red, showing that he truly is separate from his employees, despite how it may appear at times.

JT: THE BLACK HOLE OF THE E!!! Sorry, that was entirely too easy.

2. During Cena’s interview segment I believe it was, he was talking about something that escapes me at the moment, but he called wrestling a profession. I thought this was a very good choice of vocabulary, with Cena trying to give more credibility to a (pseudo)sport that is often mocked.

JT: Yup, it certainly isn’t a hobby. I would guess that people not familiar with wrestling think these guys go home to their day jobs, and that is simply not the case. This is employment. This is just like any other form of entertainment. People don’t call acting a hobby, and this should be no different. Nice job on Cena’s part to have a little respect for the industry he is in.

3. This one my girlfriend Amanda actually caught. When the Hardyz came out to face Orton and Kennedy, as Jeff ran (Kenned!y) towards the turnbuckle to do his usual pose, the ref moved, making sure to do an extra good job of watching him make sure he wasn’t trying to get a one-up on the opposing team, despite knowing Jeff’s usual routine.

JT: I’d venture he was doing the same thing by keeping Orton and Edge in his peripherals as well. It was a handicap match, and that to the ref means nothing more than the number of participants; his job is still to make sure everything is legal. Speaking of cheating, Gilbert W. caught one from RAW that may indicate Big Dave isn’t being completely honest with us!:

I don’t know if I would call this a “Highlight” or something just barely noticed but here it goes. During the main even of Raw tonight “3-26-07” when The Undertaker was finishing his entrance the camera zoomed up on Batista’s face and you could tell he dyes his hair cause the sweat/water on his face had turned brown because of dye, and then after that when the match started you noticed Batista coughing his lungs out cause of the fog used for Taker’s entrance. Just wanted to send that to you cause I thought it was pretty funny.

JT: Awwwwww, is Davey-Poo showing a little gray?

JP: I dare you to call him that to his face.

JT: I’m sure you do. Now, I think this was a nice little catch. One thing we sometimes forget about is that even though it’s an arena, these guys are in a constantly changing environment, and sometimes it affects them. Continuing on is Travis B. who… well, took a bit of a different approach to his RAW viewing / Writing In. You’ll see:

I’m writing these as I watch Raw, so I am doing what I can to keep them coming as I spot them, I just hope I do justice to them.

JT: A random, live action Hidden Highlights report; I like it. Knock yourself out Trav.

While watching Raw, during the CM Punk vs Kenny Dykstra match. Punk instead of doing the usual float over type reversal of the Suplex, attempted to knee Kenny in the head. I’m not exactly sure if this is normal for Punk as I don’t watch much ECW, due to time constraints. But I found this move to be pretty cool.

JT: Well, he certainly is known for throwing his knee about and attempting it to connect it with other people’s head, but at the same time I’d say this is definitely a unique way of going about it so you’re off to a good start!

During the Cutting Edge I found it quite funny watching Edge and Matt Hardy’s interaction, and it showed some heat between the two still, and also that Matt hasn’t forgotten about Lita’s ability to lie on her back… But that’s a story for a different time.

JT: Ummm…. A bit of an observation more than a HH, but hey, you’re ranting, and based on your spelling, drunk, so I think we’ll just let you roll with it.

Jeff’s entrance dance has been the joke of the night. First used by Edge in the Cutting Edge to make a mockery of Jeff’s lack of mic time, and then by Kennedy to taunt him.

JT: Okay, definitely just ranting on at this point, but this might possibly one of the most entertaining emails we’ve ever gotten, so the judges have given me a ruling that it will be allowed!

J.R. is the only man that I’ve personally seen out of the Hall of Fame inductees at all that have actually shed legitimate tears to my knowledge when they have been announced on-air. It’s one of the few actual feel good moments left in the industry. Also I remember reading in an article about how the Rock – while rusty – is above all other wrestlers for his Promo/On-mic work. The same could be said for J.R., while losing his touch, he’s still better than any other current color commentator.

JT: I’ll give you this one, although JR is a play-by-play announcer, King is the color man. If those tears didn’t remind any of us “smart” wrestling fans of exactly what J.R. has meant to this business, then I don’t know what will. Something often not talked about is his influence backstage. I can’t name specifics because it’s late and I don’t feel like flipping through my mental rolodex, but JR has at one point been a member of the hiring team, and has more than likely hired several (or even many) major superstars of the last 10 years. And on a side note, while an article may tell you the Rock is one of the greatest – even when rusty, you need look no further than his promo a couple of weeks ago.

Shawn Michaels is still the best in the business when it comes to turning on his partner, as you never see it. That and he always adds his own touch to it, such as when he turned on Cena tonight. He used Cena’s taunt, and then finished it off with the DX crotch chop.

JT: While the Sweet Chin Music out of nowhere is rarely Hidden, I will give you that it is certainly entertaining and enjoyable, which in essence is the very goal Hidden Highlights is trying to attain.

Also Estrada still looks like a deranged muppet.

JT: …..whatever you say, TB.

Also in response to Corey Van Slyke’s Hidden Highlight about Team 3D not showing the current WWE Tag Team belts. They didn’t show them because when they won them the first time (which I believe is the ones they showed off and were given) weren’t the current titles, thus why they are different. I applaud TNA for allowing them to show off titles that essentially belong to the WWE in name and copyright, and showing that Team 3D has a legacy worth defending to those who don’t know a lot about them (Surprising there are some… I deal with uneducated marks every day…)

JT: Not getting anywhere near this one. I will however confirm that they won the belt – be it WCW (after the buyout) or WWE – six times before the brand split happened, so chances are Travis is correct.

JP: Just on a side note, the belts they showed were replicas and therefore did not belong to the WWE, per se. Ok, it’s a really thin line since they inferred that the belts represented other organizations. Ah well. Continue?

Also I was watching an old OVW Batista vs Brock Lesnar match today, when did
Batista lose his ability to use in-ring psychology?

JT: He hasn’t lost it, he’s just …….he’s changed. It happens as a wrestler evolves, and he retains some things and gets better at them, and other things he sadly loses due to mainstream conformity. That is what separates the stars from the LEGENDS. Unless Big Dave does his thing for the next six or seven years, he will simply be a pretty good big man who put on a pretty good show for a while and did – briefly – attain star status. It’s no offense to him but he hit his stride at 35, not 26 like many of the stars who managed to take it to that next level such as Jericho and Stone Cold. It’s the nature of the beast. Point here is that he has certainly done the most with what he’s been given and what he is working with. Yet MORE from RAW (man, the show must have really been as good as I thought it was) as Johnny 5 chimed in with yet another one:

This is during the Hardy’s entrance for the Hardy’s/Orton-Kennedy match. As the Hardy’s were coming down the ramp, we were given a shot at Orton and Kennedy. What we saw was Mr. Kennedy holding the rope up, as if to invite the Hardys into the ring, a motion which we see every now and again. However, what makes this a hidden highlight is WHICH rope he held up. This wasn’t a typical sit-on-the-second-rope-while-holding-top-rope-up standard act. Oh no, we saw Kennedy pull the MIDDLE rope up and hold the BOTTOM rope down with his foot. Why is this so great? Well, typically only girls go through the middle and bottom rope. Kennedy was basically calling the Hardys girls, inviting them in to get their asses whooped.

JT: ….I hate to break a column no no… but LOL. I can’t believe I missed this. This is HILARIOUS to me, and SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Kennedy like. I’ll be giving him some more love later, but for now, GREAT HH call J5. Next up is Jaime P., who I will admit is a complete charity case:

On the final Raw before Wrestlemania, after Austin cut his promo and stunned Coach, he drank a bunch of beers then got in his truck and immediately almost got in a wreck with Vince’s limo. So the HH is that Austin still doesn’t give a damn about authority by breaking the law (even if he’s endangering lives).

JT: Well, you probably won’t get many HH points because you merely pointed out that the Rattlesnake is the Rattlesnake, but the fact remains that it is WM week and it IS Stone Cold and his greatness should not be denied; nor should your level of being entertained. I will almost compare this to the Rock’s promo a couple of weeks ago (I know, again); the fact is these men took MAJOR time off (YEARS), came back, and it was if they were never gone because of how great these guys are. Don’t be discouraged by this Jaime, I’m sure you catch some good hidden ones, we just have to chalk this one up to one of the great one’s being… well… great. I won’t lie, it is honestly refreshing that while many of people email us with some really good hidden ones, we still get the occasional one like this where it’s merely pointing out awesome, because any of you who read us know that occasionally we will spend one of our three HH breaking the rules a little by just pointing out the most obvious greatness there is. Consider it our guilty pleasure, and there is nothing wrong with that.

JP: Actually, I think Jaime was saying the Hidden Highlight that Austin was drunk driving. And Austin, in real life, was once banned from drinking alcohol due to drunk driving and wife beating while drunk. But in the end, he still didn’t learn anything from it or change. Of course, you wouldn’t get this one because you’re drunk all the time, too.

JT: Oh… wow… I’m a bondsman and didn’t even make that connection, and I feel completely silly for that. Especially when RIGHT NOW I am ironically – wait, I’m not dru— ok, yes I am. Up next we have QNS (no, I won’t make the same joke JP does):

Hey guys, while watching the 3/26 edition of RAW, I caught this HH from the newest Hall of Fame inductee, Good Ol’ JR! As Mr. McMahon made his way to the ring to face Bobby Lashley, the King went over the stipulation that no one in the back would be able to interfere or they would lose their WrestleMania spot. JR replied with “That’s a payday you don’t want to lose.” Just a nice little reminder how important PPVs and WM in particular are to a wrestler’s wallet in the non kayfabed world.

JT: Which is exactly why he is one of the best. J.R. is usually one of the LAST people to break kayfabe, but still has been around long enough to know that you can throw something out there because it doesn’t change anything. Everybody knows that these guys get paid; it’s their job. A little comment like this hypes the importance of WrestleMania without giving away anything that he shouldn’t. Congrats to good ol’ J.R….

….

….AND YET STILL MORE FROM RAW! This time, from 411’s own Theo Fraser, who not only brings you the best in the latest news regarding the Wii and other Nintendo stuff, but also loves him some C.M. Punk!:

Hey guys! I know you’re preparing for Wrestlemania and the HoF ceremony right now, but I figured I’d send this along and you’d get to it sooner or later.

As a huge ROH fan, I’ve gotta give my boy CM Punk some love for his performance on Monday Night Raw this week (3/26 edition).

During his match with Kenny Dykstra, Kenny put Punk in a front facelock, and in a stroke of brilliance, Punk lifted himself onto tiptoes, as if trying to alleviate some of the pressure. That is something often overlooked by ‘rookie’ wrestlers, and goes to show that Punk really lives up to the hype surrounding his name.

Keep up the good work, and have a great time at the Grandaddy of ’em All!

JT: Thank you much Theo, I’m sure we did (innocent look because this doesn’t run until Monday). I agree that this is an excellent *attempt* to break a hold. Too often wrestlers just kind of hang out while in the facelock, and it’s nice to see someone putting in a little effort to actually try and get out of this ever-so-common move. It’s certainly a change of pace from the numerous “elbows to the gut”.

I’ll give you two guesses what show the next one is from. ……………..NO! It’s not the last RAW!

…………………………………………………………….It’s the last TWO RAWS!, from Shiori C.:

A few things from the last few weeks of Raw:

19/3:

– When Jeff Hardy came out for his match, he was half-way up the ring steps, only to turn back and slap the hand of some kid in the corner of the audience who’d held his hand out throughout Hardy’s entrance. I know it’s not really a character thing, but as a face, Jeff can’t bring himself to upset one kid in the audience!

JT: Man, we are just getting them ALL in this week! As we’ve said before, crowd participation owns and I really have to give it to Jeff. It appears he really has gotten his shit together, and like I said back then, if so then best of luck to him.

26/3:

– You’ll probably have picked this up as well, and it features Jeff Hardy again- after he’d finished his promo in the Money In The Bank Cutting Edge, Mr. Kennedy, who was stood next to him, was doing the internationally-renowned hand gesture for “quit your yapping”. It was barely on camera, so I’m guessing he was doing it for the live crowd’s benefit. Marv.

JT: A small and unnoticeable gesture by Kennedy? No. Never! See, it’s not just us kids. He is on his shit, and he is making people open their eyes to him. I cannot wait to see him in two years. FINALLY finishing RAW is Michael H., who wants to continue the CM Punk/Chicago love:

I knew Raw was live in Chicago and pretty much expected ECW’s CM Punk to make an appearance there since he’s from Sweet Home Chicago. I’m not sure how many non-Chicagoans noticed that his trunks (2 baby blue stripes and four 6-pointed red stars) are actually the city’s flag. I double-checked the stars in Raw’s photo gallery and he has them right. Being from Chicago, I noticed the Chicago trunks about a month ago and was glad to see him proudly wear them again in from of his home-town crowd and get that little extra cheap pop. I’m sure there’s plenty of other sports entertainers that give a nod to their hometowns. 619 for Rey, state of Texas on many trunks, Brooklyn Brawler’s Yankee jersey–those are all pretty obvious. Can you guys remember any others that are more subtle like Punk’s trunks?

JT: You know us Mike, we’ll rarely turn down a clothing observation! It’s especially great coming from you, because you’re not only pointing it out for us, but essentially confirming things as you live there. I will honestly answer your question; I don’t know. Punk’s are certainly one of the subtlest things I can remember, but there are years of a mental rolodex to go through. At any rate, good call. ST3 mentions something from last week’s ECW:

On the 3/20 edition of ECW, I wasn’t really paying attention, but then something caught my eye. Thorn and Ariel had on the red & black as usual. Then, Elijah had it on also. Striker had a red & black theme on his sweater. MCV was still a holdout, but any guesses as to who else was wearing red & black?

C.M. Punk

Now we all know that he’ll probably turn down the “help” from the NB, but at least this throws a little “will he or won’t he?” into the mix.

JT: And just when you thought we had mentioned every sort of outfit and color highlight possible, ST3 goes and finds yet ANOTHER great one like this! I completely missed it and it makes perfect sense because it does indeed leave you wondering. You just never know when that random heel turn from one of your favorites is going to show up out of nowhere. It’s rare, but it does still happen from time to time. Up next is Marty B., who admits that it certainly isn’t the most hidden thing, but still got a kick out of it:

Ok, this wasn’t really “hidden” so much, but I was cracking up at the guy in the second row of the ECW show wearing the La Parka mask.

JT: I completely agree that it isn’t very hidden, but as you all know we love the crowd around here so I see no reason not to get it in! Whatever entertains you! Nothing from TNA, BUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT John L. is back to lead the charge into SmackDown, where he had even more to say than he did about RAW!:

– First I’d like to point out that when the “In memory of Arnold Skaaland” -picture was displayed before the video footage they played, the Cleveland audience started an audible “JBL”-chant.

JT: Not sure what the highlight is, but if you people think I’m going to pass up a free shot to give JBL some love, then you have clearly not been reading the first 82 issues of this column!

– The Cleveland audience gets another mention as when M.V.P. was doing the elbow drop on the Liechtenstein champion, they chanted “Ballin’!”. A catchphrase I really didn’t think would get over.

JT: I have seen very little of Antonio Banks’ FIP stuff, but what I have seen impressed me. He has the tools, and people who are going to make it are the ones who can take a character like this and make it work. I was skeptical at first, but he has taken the hand dealt to him and ran with it. Crowd participation will always help a wrestlers cause, and based on how he’s been booked in his short time as MVP, they fully intend to let him be a star if he seizes it.

– As JBL entered Thaddeus Long’s office, Krystal left and as she walked out, JBL totally checked out the package and smirked. Great job by John to keep in his commentator character even during this segment.

JT: See, John, engagement ring continuity! JBL the man might be engaged, but JBL the character will check out any fine lookin’ woman in his vicinity!

– Next we have a couple of things from the backstage assault on Batista by Booker T and Finlay. First of all, notice that during the ambush King Booker’s not wearing his royal wardrobe, but seconds later, as he does his entrance to the ring, he has the cape, the scepter and the crown. Also in the ambush, we saw Finlay slam a barrel on Batista.. but if you look closely, he simply drops it to lessen the impact and protect the prone Batista. The ring veteran seems to know his way around backstage brawl segments as well.

JT: Booker and Finlay in the same HH!? …following a JBL HH!?!? You are on a roll, John! And yes, Finlay – although it appears he works stiff as hell – is probably one of the safest guys you can step into a ring with. It’s just something that comes with being a ring veteran and also a former trainer.

– A couple from the main event. At one point pretty far in to the match Finlay went for the pin on Taker and as referee Charles Robinson was saying something to King Booker, Finlay yelled out “Referee, come on!” to get Robinson to count the pin – as if wrestling was real.

JT: IT’S STILL …..IT’S STILL….. IT’S STILL REAL TO ME, DAMMIT!

– Also, during the main event, we had some angles where we saw Cole and JBL in the background. At one point I noticed Cole making motions to Charles Robinson and as I looked closely, he showed four fingers. Not suprisingly, about four minutes later the match got it’s finish.

JT: Hmmm, maybe that is the backup plan when the ref is having trouble with his earpiece? Mystery solved? We’ll probably never know for sure, but if Cole was signaling him, that’s a great catch right there.

– Finally, as Undertaker locked the triangle choke, I bet many of us marked a little inside when JBL pointed out that he was once in a similar situation and the only thing that saved him was Orlando Jordan. WWE isn’t exactly keen on mentioning past workers who have been fired and JBL mentioning Orlando was a memorable moment.

JT: Further proof JBL can say whatever the hell he wants and will be in Vince’s good graces. And why shouldn’t he be? He was a hard worker for almost eight years, then put on a headset and 10 minutes later had cemented himself as the best color man in the business. Man, the JBL love is a bit thick this week! James W. turns our attention from one embodiment of awesome to another:

I was watching Smackdown! this past week and noticed in the table match as Kennedy was going to get slammed by Lashley he was hitting Lashley and desperately trying to get out the move. I think this is a great touch as if you were about to get slammed you wouldn’t just take it. This is just another example, in my opinion, of why Kennedy is such a great worker. Also when he was going to receive the Batsita Bomb on many occasions Kennedy was seen hitting Batista trying to get out the move.

JT: First, thanks for the kind words James. Kind of makes you wonder why we don’t see this EVERY TIME a wrestler is about to take a move. I mean, why would you EVER want to take a Batista Bomb of DDT or something similar??? I’m sure kayfabe reasoning will tell you that most of the time, the wrestler simply does not have the energy to do so. You know, I’ll be the first one to say that we’re all getting a little ahead of ourselves with Kennedy, but it really is refreshing to see this kid who is so passionate about the business also be willing to dedicate himself to putting in the work to become a star. I’ll say it again, I’ve got a feeling about him. This next one is from Alan G., and while we usually cut out much of the praise and small talk, I’m printing the entire email because you can just tell he put in a complete effort and still felt he came up short; something I disagree with:

Hello there. How are ya?

I’m still pretty hopeless at spotting HH’s but I may have one.

It was during the Finlay/King Book Vs Undertake SD 23rd March.

Undertaker had Booker in a pin which Finlay broke up then continued getting some shots in, meanwhile King Booker rolled over to his corner so when Finlay went back all he had to do was reach up and tag. Booker used his brain there, he was getting a hiding from Taker so he was able to get to his corner safely thanks to Finlay

We don’t usually see that.
.
.
.
.
Sorry, that’s all I could think of saying there, I’m not very good at describing situations well. What I’m trying to say is if a tag partner breaks up a pin then the 2 guys usually beat down the other or we get a brawl. Booker used brains there, using the time to get to his corner.

Hope you can use it. (and understood it!!)

Keep up the great work mate, look forward to the columns.

Alan

JT: Well, Alan, first of all, we’re fine thank you; hope you’re good as well. Secondly, glad you enjoy HH.

Now, you did a good job and shouldn’t worry about your HH capability, as that was a fine one. Just to ease your mind, I will put it into different words to make sure that everyone gets what you’re saying (although I don’t find it necessary as you explained it well enough where most should get it). However, for those who didn’t:

What Alan is basically saying is that when a tag team partner breaks up a pin count, many times both men will go to work on the other guy, despite the partner not being the legal man. Booker knew he was in fairly bad shape, but also recognized that Finlay was not the legal man. So while Finlay got a quick upper hand on Taker, Booker made his way to the corner because he knew the ref would quickly order Finlay out, and as soon as he did, all Finlay would have to do is walk to their corner, step out of the ring, tag Booker quickly, and get right back in there to continue his momentum building beat down. It’s a good call Alan. Finally getting us to our other section is Jeremy S., who caught an Indy show recently!:

This is an Indy Hidden Highlight, so I’m not sure if it’ll make the article or not, but as lovers of all highlights hidden, you should appreciate this. This past Friday, I was at Chikara’s “Best Imitation of Myself” in Reading, PA and the entire night the ropes were all wonky. At one point, Jagged shook them and said “Cancel high flying for the evening!” and Ruckus also shook them and then looked really disappointed, which also made me disappointed, because apparently he was planning something cool that I wasn’t going to get to see. Anyway! The hidden highlight comes in during intermission. The ring crew is fixing the ring and one crew member attempted to slide his wrench diagonally across the ring to another. The wrench didn’t have the force it needed to make it over, so it stopped about halfway, right in the middle of the ring. The recipient of the wrench, got up on Chikara’s short apron and then preceded to wipe his feet before entering the ring to get the wrench! Huge sign of respect for the ring, even coming from someone who probably has or will never wrestle in it. I appreciated it, hope you do as well.

JT: Now only do we appreciate it, I’m sure more importantly the wrestlers appreciate it. The ring needs to be the safest piece of equipment in the entire building when it comes to a professional wrestling show. Clearly this guy recognizes that and we need more hard workers like him in this business. Kudos to him, and Jeremy, never worry about sending in indy stuff, we want it all! Hell, we want to know if you find a HH walking down the street!

And getting us out of here is Kevin W., who – after discussing the Game and 50 cents current relationship and complimenting the column (thank you), had this too say:

I’m going to the ROH Shows and Wrestlemania this weekend and can’t wait for some hidden highlights from Mania

JT: Hope you had fun, we sure as hell did! Heck, I WAS a Hidden Highlight, minus the Hidden of course because there is nothing Hidden about a drunken 26 year old wrestling fan standing on his seat and yelling “WOOOOOOOOOO” 43 times randomly throughout a wrestling show.

JP: I almost had to tackle him at one point!

JT: Oh, it wasn’t that bad and you know it! Anywho that’ll do it for the write ins this week. Thanks to all who participated!

JP: I don’t know whether to say I expect just as many for post-WrestleMania, or pray that we don’t because I’ll have to deal with them!

Do you have a Hidden Highlight from this or any week in history that you would like to share? Please e-mail JP..erT…er…us at [email protected] 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… we just like to know!

That Other Section

This week, JP and JT has something for That Other Section.

JT: Are you kidding? Do you know how long this article is already?!?!

JP: Yes, yes I am. Everyone, please go read:

WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Live Report

WrestleMania Live Report (sorry, no link, we’ve already posted this article before we posted the live report. Maybe I’ll do one of those famous “after-post edits” that JT loves doing to hide his mistakes!)

That’s enough from us. Our name is not Csonka and we don’t have voice recognition software to do all our typing for us.

JT: You weren’t supposed to reveal that!

JP: WHOOPS!!

Exit, stage left!

JT: I am so hung over…

JP: No you’re not, you’re still drunk.

JT: Oh yeah, that is true. At least I’m a happy drunk! I hate those assholes who drink beer and turn into pricks. For now, I’m off to continue my five day journey of “holy fuck me I’m drunk and it’s WM weekend!”. Have a good week my little dandelions!

JP: Uh, you’ve already used dandelions…

JT: We JUST established I was drunk! Cut me a break readers!

JP: And I can’t use the same dandelion joke again. Sigh. Happy New Wrestling Year everybody!

Thank you for joining us for THE 83rd ISSUE of Hidden Highlights! Be sure to drop us a line and let us know what you think and all the other Hidden Highlights we missed. Plus, we want to hear your Reader Write-ins for all the moments you see this and every week.

We’ll catch you next time in the reader approved most positive article in all of the IWC: Hidden Highlights! Until then!