Hidden Highlights 2.27.12: Punk’s Jacket, Beth’s Outfit, More

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.

And with that, welcome to Hidden Highlights. I am your host, Dimitri Dorlis. Each week on Hidden Highlights, we’ll be looking back on the week of wrestling, taking a look at our top 3 highlights from each of the major wrestling shows (Raw, Impact, and Smackdown) and a ppv if one occurs.

Also, as with the original Hidden Highlights, we’ll also take a look at reader-submitted highlights, and post our favorite ones at the end of the columns. How do you get your submissions in to me? Well, you have two options. The recommended option would be to send me an email at [email protected] with the title Hidden Highlight. The second option would be to leave a comment here with your highlight, although I can’t guarantee that I’ll read all the comment highlights, so if you really want to get your submission in, send me that email. The best 10 submissions will get posted, so make them good!

I’m still looking for a new banner for the column. Sadly no one has jumped up to take the lead here, so maybe I’ll just start using awesome pictures of Lauranitis and/or Otunga for banner images from now on.

And with all the housekeeping out of the way, let’s get down to business.

5. CM Punk was totally watching the Elimination Chamber hype video. – CM Punk basically has a spot in this column whenever he wants it. When we eventually get around to voting on the inaugural member of the Hidden Highlights HoF, Punk has to be considered in the conversation. Anyway, watch how Punk entered the Elimination Chamber. As he climbed the steps, he started to look at the other competitors in the match. Then, while looking at everyone else, he closed the door to the chamber. Normally the refs will close the door following the final competitor entering the ring, but this was Punk sending a silent message to the rest of the competition. And if you’re wondering what is up with the title of this Hidden Highlight, go back and watch the Elimination Chamber facts video they play on tv leading up to the PPV. Just wait for the one clip of Taker slamming the door closed, and you’ll understand.

4. Cameramen aren’t real people anyway. – This is not really a positive Hidden Highlight so much as it is a lesson in how to sell a real injury. If you have a wrestler who got “hurt,” and a cameraman who got caught up in the action that caused him to get “hurt,” then you should, maybe, check on the dead cameraman just laying there. Did they just assume that, because the guy was rocking back and forth and groaning in pain, that he was ok? I have to assume that was what was going on because it took forever for them to get to the cameraman, despite Cole and Lawler looking out for his well-being. Small props to Punk for at least selling the injury he just caused by looking on in shock.

3. One coconut away. – Fun highlight during the Diva’s Title match….wait. There was a Highlight in a Diva’s match? Ok, beyond that, we actually had a highlight here, and it was thanks to Beth Phoenix’s undergarments.

Oh god I really need to watch what I say.

Anyway, notice the pattern of the clothes under Beth’s skirt. Plaid. Same pattern used by a particular Scotsman. One who had a famous feud with the father of one Tamina Snuka. Beth went above and beyond in her homage to Rowdy Roddy Piper with the plaid garments.

2. Screw it this is awesome. – Next week’s banner will most likely be some version of this.

There isn’t even a highlight for this. I just love it too much to not include it.

1. Guess Booker still hates Cody. – Booker T is one of the most complimentary color guys ever. He doesn’t support just the babyfaces or the heels, but everyone. Except for Cody Rhodes. When Barrett was throwing Cody repeatedly into the cage, I swear the last time I heard a color guy that excited, King was screaming out “puppies” at every Diva that walked by. So kudos to Booker for realizing his feud with Cody wasn’t that long ago, and that he should still probably be a little bitter over it.

1. Whatever, here’s the commentary jacket thing. – I really, really didn’t want to include this, but because I got at least 5 different people telling me “HEY DID YOU SEE THAT PUNK WAS WEARING HIS COMMENTARY JACKET?” you get me addressing this. Yes, this was a highlight, though it wasn’t exactly hidden considering Cole commented on it about 3 times while Punk was walking to the booth. So yeah, he wore his jacket and kept with character. I guess that’s something.

And no, I’m not including the picture of Lauriniatis giving Long a thumbs up after Otunga’s match. You gotta space this stuff out.

Ok, I’m gonna come clean right now. I was working on Thursday night and Impact didn’t record for me, and despite my best efforts, I couldn’t find a copy of the episode online. So, I turn to you, dear readers. A ton of you complain that we don’t give Impact a fair shake. I don’t necessarily agree with that, but I’m giving you the chance to come to the support of both myself and Impact. Send in as many Impact highlights as you can to make up for my inability to watch it this week.

Next week will be back to our normal Impact highlights, which I assume will include Aries in some way because Aries is great.

2. Smackdown apparently has a shortage of mics. – During the opening segment, Miz was in the ring congratulating Daniel Bryan on being in the main event of Wrestlemania (and by the way, mini-highlight to DB for appearing to not give two shits about anything the Miz was saying, despite the Miz stroking his inflated ego). Enter Sheamus, who walked down to the ring without a mic. This led to a great bit where Sheamus needed a mic and stole one from the Miz, thereby allowing himself to speak and stop Miz from interrupting at the same time.

1.Aksana apparently has been taking lessons from Kane. – I mentioned this in the first column back, and kinda got a little grief for it, but it bears repeating. Aksana apparently has the same supernatural powers that Kane does when it comes to room lighting, although I guess her powers are even greater because she gets that terrible saxophone music that the WWE insists on playing during “romantic” segments. Anyway, if it shows up once, it’s a bit for comedy, but now this appears to be a part of her character. Also maybe the Funkman has the ability to make terrible segments great.

Like Raw, you guys had a bunch of Highlights you sent in for this, so I’ll go down there now.

Reader Highlights

gpjunk sent a Highlight in via email, which helps him land the first spot here.

At the end when Long was raising Punk’s arm he made sure to raise the arm that Bryan hadn’t been working on the whole match.

Jeremiah sent in the same basic thing, although he did note a smart thing on the part of Bryan.

On SmackDown, as Punk was going for the flying elbow drop, Bryan shot up to stop him. Instead of crotching him as is the usual, he pushed him to the side causing Punk to fall on his left arm, the very appendage Daniel had been working over the entire match. Whether this was planned or Punk happened to fall that way, it was brilliant. Then, after the match, you could see him tell Teddy Long to raise his right hand instead of his left, as it was still injured.

Nick gives us an NXT highlight that was pretty damn good, if I must say so myself.

Just had a reader submission for Hidden Highlights from this week’s episode of NXT…Derrick Bateman wore a T-shirt from the novel and film American Psycho, whose main character’s name is Patrick Bateman. As a huge fan of both the novel and the film, I thought it was a cool reference on Bateman’s part to show where his character’s surname may have originated from.

411mania’s own Ryan Byers and Jeremy Thomas combined to make note of a peculiar occurance during Ron Simmon’s Hall of Fame announcement.

Did anybody else notice that in the Ron Simmons HOF video, both Doom and the Nation were really downplayed? They hit the “damn” era, the APA, and the WCW Title but left the rest out. Probably a conscious effort to focus on his face stuff over his heel stuff.

Scipio2009 is turning into some kind of Highlights superstar. He came up with two this week:

-HBK “walking through” HHH, once he proved himself to be a coward, by refusing to accept Undertaker’s challenge.

In the span of 20 minutes, HBK went from the guy, happy to be around to see his buddy accept Taker’s challenge, to the guy, happy to try to encourage his friend to accept the challenge, to the guy, question the guts of his friend, to a guy, refusing to acknowledge the presence of some dude, just turned corporate shill-boy, all while being true to what fans have come to expect from HBK.

His other one is in relation to New Japan, and let me say this right now: if the highlight is good enough, and the promotion you are highlighting is big enough, you’ll get your highlight in

-One more highlight (This is a highlight that doesn’t involve WWE/TNA or ROH, so it’s out of the scope of the article) , and it comes from New Japan Pro Wrestling:

HH: the reaction New Japan’s announcer and referee, “Red Shoes” Onno(sp), at the defeat of Hiroshi Tanahashi, the ace of New Japan, by Kazuchika Okada.

In a nutshell, picture the “trollface”, of that little girl when Miz beat Cena, i think, and imagine one of the most respected referees, in all of wrestling, bordering on tears of frustration.

The win is being looked on as a major upset, and the reaction of the supposed impartial people, drives that home.

The Great Capt. Smooth made his Highlights debut by noticing a great callback on Smackdown. These are the kind of highlights I love to see.

HH from Smackdown: The reversal Santino used to eliminate Otunga and win the battle royal on Smackdown was the same way Del Rio eliminated Santino to win The Rumble last year.

Finally, we have one from Raleigh NC. I debated putting this one in, because DB making others look good isn’t so much a highlight as it is him being great, but if I give shoutouts to others for doing their job, then DB should get recognition once in awhile. But maybe you readers have different opinions.

Daniel Bryan vs Sheamus While wrapped up in the ropes for Sheamus’s 10-count chest attack, Bryan tends to sell it perfectly with the bouncing on the rope.

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And with that, the third edition of Hidden Highlights v2.0 is in the books. Make sure to send in your reader Highlights so we can return this to being the most reader-inclusive and positive article in the IWC.