Hidden Highlights 07.16.07: Issue #98

Hidden Highlights
By JP Prag and James “JT” Thomlison

Issue #98

Intro

Hello everyone with a lot of leftovers in the freezer, 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: There are 20 days left until preseason football starts, and last night (Saturday) was all about Brats, Beer, and Boxing. I’m also hosting my Godson and his mother. Summer is in full effect!

JP: I’m not sure what you’re godson has to do with Summer, but I’ll take your word for it. Personally, I’m about beaches and body boarding. Then again, I don’t live 1500 miles away from the nearest beach.

JT: I live close to a beach.

JP: Lakes do not count, no matter how “Great” they are. Only salt water bodies at least 1000 miles across count.

JT: So what you are saying is that Antarctica has beaches while Michigan does not, and that you’d rather swim in the Article Circle than go in a lake that you could never see across and does have wakes.

JP: Damn straight. Break out the sun tan lotion penguins, it’s time to take a swim!

JT: You know that male Peng—

JP: Actually, this conversation is going in a weird direction. Beaches only exist on the coasts, so let’s get on with the Hidden Highlights!

Hidden Highlights for WWE RAW: Monday, July 9, 2007 by JP

JP: You know, something has been bothering me as of late. In Candice Michelle’s theme song it says: “Too much lovin’ / Never hurt nobody”. But we know that’s not true! Too much lovin’ is what took down Al Wilson. Remember how evil Dawn Marie was on their honeymoon? She was insatiable!

While we are talking about history, if you are looking for the origins of Beth Phoenix (in the WWE-verse), she was a friend of Trish Stratus who attacked Mickie James after Mickie went psycho on Trish Stratus. Mickie apparently also did something to Beth Phoenix in the past, but we never found out what as Beth was injured a few weeks later. I’m guessing something happened at Six Flags on July 29, 2005 when the two had a match for OVW there. Perhaps Mickie cut Beth off in line? Well, the mystery will unfold over the weeks.

JT: Also of note, no pictures for JP’s stuff this week. As I said, I’m hosting, and do not feel like making them sit through random wrestling shows as I look for particular parts to pause it and then grab the pic.

(3) Reduce, reuse, recycle:

Anyone who is serious about environmentalism knows the Three R’s, listed in the title above (not to be confused with that article Larry publishes). Well, I was watching the Triple H returns videos (more on those in the Reader section below) and I noticed that they were reusing these scenes of Triple H working out. But do you remember what those scenes were from? They were used in his feud with John Cena to show what a pretentious spoiled bastard Triple H was while John Cena was a “everyman” working out in the little gym with no air conditioning. I was amused that they “reduced” the content, “reused” the footage, and “recycled” a heel scene into a face one. Good environmentalism by the WWE production crew.

(2) Waste not:

Speaking of people caring a bit more, something was definitely lacking during the Sandman’s entrance. As he came down through the fans, the Sandman stopped in front of a couple of eight year old girls. I thought to myself then, “Oh man, this is going to be hilarious; the Sandman is going to spit beer right where some little kids are.” But he did not, and actually swallowed his drink. At this point I thought he must have noticed the kids and decided against spitting. Then he got down to the first row where it was a much older crowd and again… he swallowed his drink! I could not believe it! Something must have changed in WWE land. Maybe the Sandman is getting a little more attention since he moved to RAW. Who knows? I’m going to keep an eye on this one.

(1) Oh, how sub par:

As William Regal was waiting for Jonathan Coachman in his office, Regal began to check the furniture for dust. And when he found them, he just had the funniest grimace on his face. I’m not even going to type anymore, JT’s screen capture is going to due all the talking for me.

And JT, thanks for not pretending like you didn’t have the shot. I know that as soon as you saw that, you knew I was going to call it. When it comes to Regal, I just can’t resist!

JT: Okay, so apparently ONE of JP’s HH’s will get screen captured as he specifically made note of me screen-capping it. And so you know, I DIDN’T have the shot. My Godson’s mother now hates you. Congratulations.

JP: See what happens when you try to claim Michigan has beaches. My work here is done.

Hidden Highlights for ECW on SciFi: Tuesday, July 10, 2007 by JT

JP: JT forgot to put opening commentary in here, which means I get to make up stuff for him. Well, I already completely made up that beaches conversation, so what could I have him say now? Oh I know, JT, what do you think of Larry?

JT: Larry is such a douche, and I wish he’d leave the site forever.

JP: That’s pretty harsh JT. Do you have anything to back up your claims?

JT: Yes. He’s bucktoothed, smells like a cat put in a microwave, eats li—

JP: Uuuuuhhhh… I’m going to have to have you pause there, JT. How do you know what cat in a microwave smells like?

JT: How do you know what a skunk tastes like?

JP: Ah, touché. Wait a minute, I’m writing this whole conversation and I just had JT best me! Damn it, just get on with it!

(3) Giving back to the fans:

So last week we discussed fan interaction and tonight we head back to it! After Styles and Tazz had hyped up the CM Punk vs. Nitro match at the Great American Bash, we came back to the ring and saw Punk leaning between the ropes, aiming at a kid in the front row who was with his dad or older brother or SOMEONE holding a great CM Punk sign (they were together because as soon as the kid caught it, the guy gave Punk like a “thank you” nod [or some kind of acknowledgement nod] specifically for this kid). It’s really nice to see wrestlers when they are addressing specific members of the audience; it just gives it a more personal feel. And besides, how cool is it he picked a kid that was clearly a big fan of his?

(2) Alone… so very, very alone:

Speaking of the Punk match, him and Stevie Richards had yet another encounter (a pretty good one at that). During the match, they kept showing ECW World Champion Johnny Nitro watching the match, and the picture that I saw struck something with me:

More of a word that struck me – loneliness. I mean, look at it. The room is dark, and completely empty (except for possibly a strategically place WWE Energy drink). But it really is a fitting scene. This isn’t Hollywood, it’s ECW. There is no flamboyance here. His girlfriend is on RAW. His former partner has fallen off the face of the planet. He has nobody there to connect with. He is truly alone; not only alone, but also stuck with the burden (and target) of being the ECW Champion. I just thought this whole setup was an excellent way to set the mood for what the reality of the situation with him is. He is out there on an island all by himself.

(1) Get down!:

During the first match of the night, Elijah Burke hit Balls with the Elijah Express (face front at that), then instead of waiting for Balls to fall down (and he was most certainly on his way south), he stuck his hand behind Balls’ head and pushed him down. I really liked this because it works on both a kayfabe and non-kayfabe way. Non-kayfabe, it looks really viscous which of course help sells the image that Elijah is trying to portray. But in terms of kayfabe it is actually a really smart move. You only have so long after hitting a move to score a successful pin before an opponent kicks out. So even though Balls was falling, Elijah pushing him gets him to the ground quicker, allowing him to roll him up quicker, and get himself a few extra seconds he wouldn’t usually have; a few extra seconds that may have in fact be what got him the win and prevented a kick out by Balls.

JP: I wonder if Johnny Nitro is going to get his own theme music? I never liked when the former La Resistance members used the same music on different brands. He totally needs his own to separate the “MNM” Nitro from the “ECW World Champion” Nitro Heheheh, Nitro = ECW. That’s poetic. Oh, and speaking of music, ECW got another new opening theme music and video. Guess last week was just a hold over until they could work out the new one.

Hidden Highlights for TNA iMPACT: Thursday, July 12, 2007 by JP

JP: We’re on the Road to Victory Road and the matches were being set in stone. On the other hand, there was almost 20 minutes of wrestling on iMPACT itself! Guess they had to fit a few of those matches in between the two dozen video packages. I’m a big Dave Sahadi fan, but that was a bit much. All the videos were good and got me interested in the matches or stories that they proposed, it was just the order and quantity of them that was the issue. That blame would go to the director and producer of iMPACT, though I’m not sure who they are. So you get off easy this week, kids!

(3) The Silver Fox goes to school:

During this week’s Paparazzi Production segment (who was holding the camera if Shelley was in the video?), we got to see Old School vs. New School debate in a segment hosted by Kevin Nash. But did you notice where Kevin Nash’s podium was? It was clearly very close to the New School side. Was Nash showing his bias for his buddies (who proclaimed their love for Nash at the end of the match)? Most likely, I’d say!

(2) I need a break:

The main even for the evening saw Christian Cage, AJ Styles, Tomko, and Robert Roode take on the championship team of ::takes a deep breath:: TNA World Tag Team Champion Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon), TNA X-Division Champion Samoa Joe, and TNA World Heavyweight Champion and IWGP Champion Kurt Angle. Early in the match, Robert Roode was in the ring and taking a beating. He then ran for the corner and tagged a surprised Christian Cage in. To this, Christian gave a “what are you doing?” look. Roode saw this and appropriately responded by saying, “I needed to get out!” Excellent response by Roode and clear reaction to what was going on in front of him with Cage.

(1) Not going to happen:

The show opened up to a match between Abyss and Lance Hoyt that eventually led to a stare down between Abyss/Sting and Tomko/Styles. Sting told his two opponents that Abyss would be the one to tell them what the two were going to do to their opponents at Victory Road. Tomoko obviously did not believe this as he turned around, said “yeah right”, and then tried to pull AJ up the ramp. AJ—in his childlike curiosity—brushed Tomko off and said, “Hey, I wait, I want to see this.” What an excellent interchange between the two showing their characters to great depth. Instead of just standing there waiting for things to happen, Tomko showed his irreverence and skepticism and tried to leave, while AJ rebuked his moves in attempt to just see what was happening. Kudos to how that entire five second interchange played out, and more so to Tomko and Styles for pulling it off.

JT: I have not watched this yet, so I will assume that Christian was again awesome with his all around awesome style of awesomeness that he displays when he’s being awesome. …awesome.

Hidden Highlights for WWE SmackDown!: Friday, July 13, 2007 by JT

JT: MVP has got some business to attend to, Matt Hardy (to the surprise of NOBODY!) continued his roll, this time over Masters, Finlay is still a beast, a Major gets a major pin, Rey Rey is coming back, Kane is an excellent stalker, Chuck Palumbo is… back, or something, Mark Henry beats like six people – including the tag champs – easily, Victoria (who got counted out) is pissed, and Edge wants to party!

(3) BALLIN!:

After MVP finished his ever-so-well-timed attack on Matt Hardy, he raised his hands and for a brief second rubbed his fingers together, as if to indicate money! It wasn’t the most hidden thing on the planet, but it was very brief and went along beautifully with his whole “Ballin!” thing. After all, “ballin” as you all know is another term for “yeah, I got money bitches”. I really liked it because he continues to incorporate little things into his character that are so fitting for what he’s trying to do and who he is trying to be.

(2) Get the fuck off me. I am Finlay, bitches:

What can I say? In honor of Finlay stepping up on Nancy Grace and holding his own (I would get into my thoughts on Nancy Grace but we keep it nice-nice around here), I am giving him a Hidden Highlight which was DEFINITELY missed if you blinked. During his match with Jimmy Wang Yang, he found himself forcing Yang into the corner. Naturally, the ref started to count and broke them up. It looked something like this:

When he did this, Finlay backed up a bit and the ref put his hands on him to say “hey, move it back”. It looked like this:

And in a matter of a blink, Finlay swatted his arm! This is SO Finlay-esque. After all, why would he give two shits about a ref. Hell, in his debut match, he got DQ’d for brutality on Matt Hardy. He cares not. He loves to fight, period. Nobody is going to stand in the way of that. I really liked this interaction between ref and wrestler because while we might see a thousand “two count!?” disputes, we rarely see a wrestler just blow a ref off like “meh, matters not to me, I’m here to fight”.

(1) Loss of time, anyone?:

Finally, I yet again get to give some love to everyone’s favorite man on the mic, JBL! Leading up to the Finlay match, they showed part of New Orleans and Cole said:

“There’s the historic French Quarter. I’m sure you’ll be visiting there tonight.”

To which JBL promptly said:

“I plan on spending a [b]week[b] there [i]tonight.[/i]”

I initially thought that maybe JBL had just misspoken, until I heard Cole again talking about them being in N.O., to which JBL said:

“Straight from Bourbon Street. One I know well. I spent a [b]month[/b] here one [i]weekend[/i].”

That is when it hit me. He was not misspoken. He was totally selling New Orleans – or rather – the ability to get drunk there. Spending a week in one night? Spending a month in one weekend? This was completely and intentionally orchestrated by JBL to fit his character, and it cracked me right up once I realized it. It so eluded to the fact that when you are in New Orleans (or anywhere you’re getting totally shitfaced for that matter), you drink so much that a few hours might turn into three days. Just hilarious stuff to me. JBL: WRESTLING ANNOUNCER GAWD! Don’t forget it people.

JP: No, JT, I think that’s just you projecting your excessive alcohol consumption on to other people again. By the way, did you notice that Edge left his toothbrush in the bathroom? That’s kind of gross.

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

JP: It seems like everyone wanted to catch up to last week and forget about this week. Oh well, works for me. So, *GENERAL WARNING*:: some parts of the following Reader Write-in Hidden Highlights may be edited for grammar, spelling, and English translation…

We’ll kick off this week by answering the age old question: What is in that Pepsi backpack? First up is Barrie Fox:

There’s no cans in the back cooler; he has 2 funnel things in each hand and just fills up people’s cups. They have these things at the rock festivals in the UK dispensing free beer, which is great.

JP: That wasn’t our only response on the subject. Brian Sinclair said:

I have seen something similar to what the Pepsi vendor in the background was wearing. I was in Japan and taking in a baseball game at the Tokyo Dome. I noticed that the vendors were all female and that instead of plastic bottles of pop or beer, they were carrying around what amounted to pony kegs on their back. How cool is that? Hot Japanese women walking around with kegs on their back dispensing beer! Apparently the trend is catching on here in the states. Uh… the pony kegs, not the hot Japanese women walking around with them. Too bad. 🙁 Maybe we can work on that!

JP: Oh gosh, I hope so! The hot Japanese women I mean, not the pony kegs. Still on this subject (Pepsi backpack, not hot Japanese women), Mike Labbe said:

The Pepsi backpack is in fact a cold pack for soda. Essentially there is Pepsi and Diet Pepsi in them and the opening is in the bottom of the pack. The vendor simply needs to reach back next to there hip/side and grab the bottle by the neck and cap and pull it forward. Another soda then falls down in place of the recently removed soda ready for the next customer. There is only two openings so you would have all Pepsi on the right and all diet Pepsi on the left, or vice versa. They use them at the Sea Dogs games in Portland. That’s where I go the good look at them.

Best part is, is that they keep the soda ice cold.

JP: More than I ever wanted to know about Pepsi backpacks. JT, are you satisfied?

JT: Yes, although it seems we got three different answers on the matter, so there must be more than one form of these. Either way, my curiosity has been satisfied.

JP: Good, good. Mike finished up with:

I have meet Traci Brooks in person 3 times, and without a shadow of a doubt she has an extremely cute face, and a beautiful smile.

JP: I just don’t get why it doesn’t come across on TV. I’ve heard of the camera adding ten pounds, but never ten years. It’s crazy! I enjoyed reading the conference call with Ms. Brooks as well because it shows how much of a wrestler she is and how dedicated she is to the business, unlike some women out there ::cough::CandiceMichelle::cough::. Off that subject, I can move on to Harold Conrad:

Hey man, love you articles but I just wanted to mention one thing about Ortons RKO on Jeff Hardy. That was very nice what he did to add a little spice to the RKO. BUT a couple of weeks ago he did the same to Bobby Lashley in the tag match he had with KING Booker against Lashley and Cena. That was the first time I noticed it and I thought it was cool because a) he did it to Lashley and b) it just looked ill the way a freaked the RKO… I had to keep rewinding it over and over again. If you have access to the tape check it out!

JP: I’m not JT, I don’t keep tapes around forever (you should see his collection, a whole wall in the basement!). I do believe you, though. Still, you should have sent that in when you noticed it! Like first timer DrBassman (that’s how he signed his letter. I have his real name, but I assume that’s what he wants to be called):

First off, I’ve wanted to write this in as a hidden highlight for weeks because it airs on every single WWE television show. In the little video package that airs when a WWE show first hits the air (the one that starts with a black and white video of an old wrestling match and progresses through all the modern superstars), there are several sound bytes of famous WWE catchphrases over the years. Anyway, in the current incarnation, a snippet of The Rock’s “If you smell what The Rock is cookin” is followed immediately by Vince’s “You’re fired.” The combined effect, if you listen to the two sound bytes as one phrase, is “If you smell, you’re fired.” I always get a chuckle out of that and it might explain why we haven’t seen Rikishi in awhile.

JP: That, and the getting cosmetic surgery without permission or asking for a day off and not showing up for work.

Anyway, two other things from the 7/6/07 Smackdown. First, I’ve been reading long enough to know how much you guys love realism in pin covers. At the end of the Matt Hardy/MVP match, Hardy hits the Twist of Fate and collapses into a kind of lackadaisical cover, as though he knows he’s won the match and is just going to lay back and enjoy his victory. But then, the veteran instincts kick in (the ones JBL raves about) and he realizes that laying on his back with one arm around MVP’s near leg is a weak cover, so he reaches his other arm back and clasps his hands together to form a tight seal out of which it would be much more difficult for MVP to break. This sort of veteran HH shows why Matt Hardy is becoming a top-tier performer whose potential can no longer be ignored.

JP: I noticed that too and was proud of Hardy. Matt sabotaged his own career and set himself back five years when he requested to move to RAW to be with Lita. Can you imagine if he stayed on SmackDown! for another year or two as a heel? Especially on a show that is always being stripped of its top talent he could have taken over. Plus, without Jeff around he is given a lot more leeway. With Jeff back in the E, Matt is being thought of second.

Second, WWE has changed its “mystery shadow” and the timing is a bit conspicuous. For years, WWE has always used what appears to be an outline of Hardcore Holly whenever they needed to represent a mystery guest/opponent/unknown entity. But when airing the promo for The Cutting Edge, the shadowy outline was clearly different, and if you looked at it carefully, it sure looked an awful lot like Mr. Kennedy. Mere coincidence, or the production crew screwing with the smarks on purpose? You decide, but it’s a HH in my book.

JP: I love the non-descript mystery shadow. Much better than when they used to use real shadows. Let’s just say Viscera is hard to miss. Speaking of things we missed, Shane let us know:

I was at the Lockdown PPV in St. Louis, and I had my hidden highlight sign with me. I didn’t send in anything about it originally because I wasn’t sure if it had made it on tv. But now that the dvd is out and I have watched you can clearly see me holding up a hidden highlight sign when the show opens up. Just thought I would let you know. You can also see it about halfway through the Roode-Williams match.

JP: And where is the screen cap, Shane?! Do I have to go out and buy the DVD to get my own props? Get to work kid!!

I joke, sort of. Good job there, and the rest of you should learn by example. Speaking of people who are learning is Josh Uhler:

I don’t know if this is a hidden highlight or not, but during the first match of RAW between Bobby Lashley and King Booker, Lashley went for the pin on booker and the Referee was about to count and stopped and went to check Booker’s shoulders to make sure they were down. Maybe I just haven’t paid attention but it was just weird because I don’t think too many referee’s do that anymore.

JP: Josh, you most definitely have not been paying attention as much. I believe we have been talking for over two months about how the referees have been using a more “shoot style” and have complimented several examples. So yes, what you caught was a Hidden Highlight, though one that has been covered quite well. Also, I can tell you have trouble paying attention due to your atrocious grammar, spelling, and capitalization. Read me for one week and you know how I loath that. Just ask Manu. And Neeraj Angal knows better than that:

On the Smackdown from a week and a half ago, there was a match between MVP
and Kane. I noticed several hidden highlights:

– MVP changed his nose guard from red to black to match his ring attire.

JP: A playa can’t be perpetratin’, yo!

– During the match, JBL talked about how MVP has “wrestled great wrestlers over the last 2 months.” I thought this was a classy way for JBL to reference Chris Benoit without taking his name or shitting all over him.

JP: It’s hard to think about MVP being US Champion without thinking about where it came from. I’m sure that haunts MVP in the same way that Elijah Burke must be haunted that he is the last man to wrestle Benoit or that Lashley was the last man to defeat him. These men will always have to deal with these facts and wonder if they played a role in what happened.

– MVP has started doing a little karate/showoff hand gesture before his boot to the face. A great way to establish it as a signature move.

JP: I’ve been giving MVP love since day one and I’m so glad that marks, smarks, and JBL are all on board.

– Kane had been hooking the inside leg of MVP throughout the match. But at the finish, Kane hooked the outside leg. Why? Because MVP’s outside leg could’ve reached the bottom rope and broken the count, of course. Great ring awareness by Kane.

JP: Kane, on the other hand, does not get enough credit. The man is gold and lives and breathes his character like no other.

– My final props go to backstage guys/production people, or whoever had Kane set the ring on fire BEFORE the match. Usually, this is a dead giveaway that Kane is going to lose the match. But these guys pulled one on me by having Kane win the match despite setting the ring on fire before the match. A nice little touch to throw me off my game a bit.

JP: Believe me, they read Hidden Highlights and know we are paying attention. They’ll appreciate the props.

p.s. Was it you or some other column that wanted to know what the international broadcast was in place of the Benoit Tribute Raw? In any case, over here in India, they just repeated Vengeance matches without all the video packages and stuff in-between.

JP: It wasn’t me, but I was curious. Did they keep in the “Benoit” chants or was everything re-dubbed like we saw on ECW? Hmmmm… Anyway, sticking on SmackDown! is Marshall Berke:

I have another hidden highlight to you from the July 6th Smackdown. During the MVP vs. Matt Hardy match, MVP tells Charles ‘Lil Natch’ Robinson to ask Matt Hardy if he will give up. MVP says it many times quickly, and Charles says back to him loudly “I am asking him!” He’s not only letting the audience know he is doing his job, but he says it forcefully to tell MVP “I know my job, let me do it.”

JP: I heard MVP telling the ref to “Ask him!”, an homage to Hidden Highlights Hall of Famer Chris Jericho, but I totally missed Lil Natch’s response. Excellent catch there! And here’s another excellent catch from the returning regular John Bryant:

During the Bobby Lashley & Jeff Hardy vs Mr. Kennedy & Booker (That’s KING Bookah!) During one of the shots to the ring, when Jeff Hardy was making his usual poses in on the turnbuckle, at the bottom of your screen you saw Kennedy trying to get a cheap shot in before the camera went away. But when it showed it again you saw the Referee admonishing and warning Kennedy about trying it. it was both a great way to play off Kennedy being a heel who’d take whatever available chances he can to get an advantage and the fact that the Refs are doing a more Shoot-style version of their jobs.

JP: See, I told you you weren’t paying attention, Josh. John knew exactly what was going on and captured it in a new, unique way. Others who have been paying attention include Jcannady:

The second I saw this on Raw last night, I immediately thought of you guys.

JP: Errrr… that’s kind of creepy.

Right after the… second, I think HHH promo of the night, they switched to Booker T and Sharmell looking at the video screen. Sharmell asked Booker what was wrong, and RIGHT before Kennedy interrupted him, it seemed that Booker would go into a rant about his Wrestlemania 19 match against HHH. I’m calling it right now.. HHH’s feud when he returns will be against Booker T!

JP: Also if you caught it, there was a sign in the audience that said, “King Booker is a FAKE, Triple H is the King of Kings!” Built in feud, right there. DJ Strong had the same idea:

On RAW, right after the Triple H return promo, which was playing the King of Kings theme, King Bookah~! looked upset, and when his Queen asked him what was the matter, he started to tell her, until Mis-Taaaaaaarr–KennedEEEE Interrupted him. But, during their conversation, His Royal Majesty, with great frustration in his voice, infromed The Loudmouth that King Bookah~! was the only King on RAW.

Does this foreshadow a Booker/HHH feud? I don’t know, but it was totally worth noting.

JP: Except the problem is it will be the same result, racist cracker Triple H will win again. Finishing off this week and moving on to iMPACT is Patrick Morone:

On this weeks episode of Impact, during the main event, Samoa Joe got AJ Styles in the STF, then Joe got thrown out of the ring after hitting a double clothesline. His next big move was getting Tomko in a Death Valley Driver. Sheer coincidence, or was deliberate that Joe did Cena’s 2 finishers almost back to back??

JP: Is this like the Sonjay Dutt/Batista conspiracy? No, I’d say it was just a coincidence. Joe pulled out a lot of moves in that match that I haven’t seen him use in TNA. It was also the way he executed them. Like he took a pin attempt on him and turned it into the STF, which was amazing. I’ve never seen an STF applied so quickly.

That wraps up the readers this week. Very past focused, but that’s ok. Keep them coming!

JT: Speaking of Sonjay Dutt, he is on notice! He knows what he did!

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!

Exit, stage left!

JT: Sorry for being brief this week all, but that is what happens when you have company that does not give two shits about wrestling or the fact that you write a column! Have a great week my little Brazilian Cashews!

JP: Brief? It’s a twelve-page single space article! Sure, it’s the shortest issue since Issue #86’s eleven pages (and it’s no Issue #52 thirty-one pages), but it was a fine piece. Besides, it’s longer than “The Quick Takedown”, and that’s all that matters.

Thank you for joining us for THE 98th 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!