Hidden Highlights
By JP Prag and James “JT” Thomlison
Issue #56
Intro
Hello everyone celebrating the new year, and welcome back to Hidden Highlights!!
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, who once again chimed in on this week’s 3Rs!
We bring you Hidden Highlights with one goal in mind: to appreciate all those little things that make a huge difference. JT?
JT: I just have one thing to say, good buddy:
JP: What on earth was that?
JT: Sorry, JP, a clear message had to be sent.
JP: A clear message? How was that a clear message? Myself and 98% of the readers have no idea what the heck you’re talking about.
JT: That’s okay; the 2% who do needed to be reminded of their place…
JP: Weirdo. On with the Hidden Highlights!
Hidden Highlights for WWE RAW Presents Unforgiven: Sunday, September 17, 2006 by JP
JP: LIVE from the back room at the Good Times Emporium in Somerville, MA, WWE RAW gave up the surprising hit Unforgiven. The card looked good on paper and was able to deliver in every single match. I don’t know what happened in WWE-land that they let their wrestlers just go, but it did last for at least one minor PPV (maybe it was in honor of Trish?). Unfortunately, a certain bedsheet never made it on camera. I’m quite upset, but that just steps up the challenge some more. More on this later, but for now: Get those signs on TV!!!
(3) No, I’m still hurt… really!:
The opening contest of the evening saw Johnny Nitro defend his Intercontinental Championship against the “returning after a mysterious few years away” Jeff Hardy (ouch, JR. Did those TNA write-ins get to you?). First off, I’m giving this match my vote for MOTN. These two have a great chemistry together and the action never let up, even in the so-called “rest holds”. And they did the entire match without any gimmicks until the very end, and it was one that made sense. Which, of course, leads us to our Hidden Highlight. Jeff Hardy had thrown Nitro into Melina knocking her off the ring apron. On the ground, she rubbed her ankle and took off her boot, a boot that she used on Hardy (those heals could kill someone! I’ve seen it on Quantum Leap and LA Law). But after Melina dropped Hardy, she went back down to the ground and continued to rub her ankle! Excellent sell by Melina to keep up the injury even after she delivered the fatal shot.
(2) That went flying:
Shooting to the very end of the night, John Cena was able to defeat Edge in a TLC match for the WWE Championship. First off, good job by the bookers to put this match on last and not the McMahons and DX. Real wrestlers and titles first. That is a good message to send to everyone. Second off, here’s the Hidden Highlight. Late into the match, Cena his Edge with a chair and then threw the chair on the mat to slide it out of the ring. But if you watched the chair, it actually took a HOP at the end of the apron and went sliding over the Spanish announce table! If that wasn’t a funny enough hidden moment, John Cena himself saw this and gave a look of shock and “Oh crap” that was just priceless. Sometimes, it’s the real reactions that are the best.
(1) The price you pay:
Going backwards into earlier in the evening, Kane was fighting Umaga in the only non-ending of the night. Throughout the match, Estrada continued to lose pieces of his clothing. Early in the contest, Kane managed to get Estrada’s jacket (and it would have been funny as hell if he put it on). Umaga managed to get the upper hand on Kane and was beating him down. It was at this point that Estrada came into the ring and screamed at Kane, “You will pay for that jacket!!” Absolutely hilarious moment by Estrada to care about his jacket so much he wants Umaga to kill Kane over it, and to remember it even later in the match when chances are nobody (but me) would hear him.
JT: You just referenced Quantum Leap. You sir, are a genius. And I agree with you whole heartedly on your assessment of the Pay-Per-View. Good show all around. The only thing that would have made it better would have been the bed sheet, but alas, it wasn’t to be I suppose.
Hidden Highlights for WWE RAW: Monday, September 18, 2006 by JP
JP: The great thing about Montreal is that everything is just insane. The crowd was hot the whole night, which really made the show better. And might I say how super impressed I am at Edge for not only changing the heat on him, but the vast majority of the heat on Cena. On top of that, I’m way impressed that there was not ONE MENTION of the Montreal Screwjob, even though Michaels was in the main event. Michaels only said about three words all night, which was probably for the better in this case.
(3) Ooooh, that is hard:
In the first rematch from Unforgiven, Kane and Umaga met in the ring to basically the same result. Also, the Hidden Highlights resulted in basically the same results as well! At the end of the match, Estrada came into the ring to punch Kane in the back of the head. But when he punched him, Estrada found Kane’s head way too hard, and had to just shake it off very quickly. Funny moment by Estrada that went unnoticed by the announcers (and almost missed by the cameras) that deserves some props right here.
(2) Lost and Found:
After Johnny lost to Ric Flair, the rest of the Spirit Squad hit the ring to try to beat down Flair (who quickly bailed). But when the team hit the ring, somebody (I wasn’t able to catch who) lost a sneaker! I was just amused by this. Did the sneaker just fall off, or was someone planning on throwing a shoe at Flair? Quite odd indeed.
(1) She’s a pushover:>
In the semi-main event of the evening, Lita was taking on Candice Michelle in a match where I did not understand a single crowd chant. Late into the match, Lita had gotten Candice on the mat, and Candice was trying to get up. And what did Lita do? She just PUSHED Candice down. And then Candice tried to get up again, and Lita pushed her again. And once or twice more they did it just for emphasis. Pushing someone down is just such an effective and realistic thing to do, that I have to give credit to Lita not only for doing it, but doing it multiple times in the same match. Double entendre intended.
JT: I loved that they put Cena in a match with DX. That was nothing more than Vince saying “Myself, HHH, and HBK are all behind this guy. He is the future. Get over it.” As mentioned in the R’s, I also like that Lita is wrestling again, so kudos for her making the list!
Hidden Highlights for ECW on SciFi: Tuesday, September 19, 2006 by JP
JP: Over in ECW-land, King Booker made his royal presence known. Line of the night definitely went to Paul Heyman when about to introduce a production guy to Booker and he goes, “Oh, he’s useless”. CLASSIC!
(3) That all wandering eye:
At the beginning of the show, Mike Knox was coming out with Kelly Kelly in hand for his six man tag match. A little detail I noticed of their walk was how close of an eye he kept on Kelly the entire way down. Mike Knox really put over his jealously by stopping every few seconds to turn around and make sure Kelly was still there, still in clothes, and still looking at him. Good job by Knox, whose jealousy is definitely founded as we saw later in the evening with CM Punk.
(2) That’s a reaction, kids:
After a rude introduction to King Booker, Balls Mahoney had a match with Kevin Thorn. Each, though, was accompanied by ladies: The original Queen of Extreme Francine for Balls and Ariel for Thorn. And in a classic ECW moment, we got a nice little cat fight. Except in this one there was less rolling around, and more Francine beating the crap out of Ariel. But I have to give the tarot-reading vampire credit here for the Hidden Highlight. She let out a number of long, high pitched scream that let you know she was really taking a beating, no matter where you were in the arena. Props to reader Brian Blaze for catching the same.
(1) Taking it up a notch:
I don’t think Joey Styles and Tazz put this over enough, so I will give it the proper respect right here. Late into the main event match up RVD taking on King Booker, Booker went to the top rope to perform the Harlem/Houston Hangover (which he ended up missing, no less). Do you even remember that last time he performed that move? Sometime in 2005, which was the last time he performed it since he beat the Big Show at Vengeance 2002. Just be trying to hit the hangover, Booker T put over how much you have to up your game in ECW, and especially against RVD. The announcers may have missed the opportunity to put over their own product by this one little move, but I will not let it pass.
JT: Didn’t I give them love last week? Oh well, no matter, as Cole gets some love later, too!
Hidden Highlights for TNA iMPACT: Thursday, September 21, 2006 by JT
JT: You know what I noticed? Norman Smiley is a SUPER safe worker. Seriously, I haven’t paid that much attention to him because ..well, he’s Norman Smiley, but all of his moves are fairly crisp and the opponent is never really in any danger when he performs a move on them. No idea why I even mention it, but does anything surprise you anymore!? Anywho, Christian and Monty plot, Jarrett and Joe beat the snot out of each other (and saliva, did you see JJ at the end there?), Lethal makes a “jackass” out of Petey, LAX means business (and parties!), Cornette in the house!, Eric Young keeps his job… for now, Rhino gets destroyed, Sheri also in the house!, and Christian said “Piss off, Queer Eye”. That shit was plain funny.
(3) Don’t touch my stuff!:
At the beginning of the Jay Lethal vs. Petey Williams match, Petey went on the attack and threw Lethal out of the ring (after Lethal had set his trenchrobejacket on the floor ringside. After hitting the Hurricarana and throwing Lethal back into the ring, you couldn’t see it on camera but by the motions of Williams’ body, he was grabbing the jacket and throwing it away! For one this is another example of playing to the live crowd whether you’re on TV or not. For another – and probably more importantly – it’s just like a heel to considering any possession (in this case, ring attire) of his opponent to be worthless and therefore deserves to be damaged or discarded.
(2) Check your ego at the door, JT:
Well, it finally happened. We have finally crossed the line. We have bought into our own hype so much, that we think we know everything… okay so I say *we* because JP writes this column as well so I’m throwing some blame at him, but in reality, this one is all on me. So, we saw Eric Young come down with something in his pants that appeared to be some kind of protection. Now, I immediately thought “that’s a Hidden Highlight”. Why? Simple. Petey Williams just lost a match by taking a bowling ball to the you-know-where, so Young had obviously saw this in the back and was adjusting his ring gear accordingly so that the same thing didn’t happen to him. ………and I was WAY OFF! Not even close. We eventually learned it was a tape (and a DAMN funny one at that), and he was merely keeping it safe for Jarrett. I do take a little comfort in the fact that I thought of it though. I was wrong, but my head was definitely in the game… besides, had it have actually been a cup that was an adjustment after having seen the previous match, that would have owned.
(1) Don’t forget the fans:
This HH goes to our good buddy Samoa Joe. First, I like that forty-five minutes later, Samoa Joe still hadn’t cleaned off his blood. He was just sitting there, staring into a mirror, using the blood as motivation. Nice call. But that isn’t the Highlight. During the interview:
A. He said it wasn’t just the fans now, it was about him as well.
B. The entire time, he was speaking normally in the first person. “I this”, and “I that”.
However, for a brief moment during the promo, he said “JOE IS GONNA KILL YOU! JOE IS GONNA KILL YOU!”. He spoke in the third person. Now, where can you find that saying? That’s right, kids, on the back of his shirt – available to? – yup, the fans. I thought this was great that while he was cutting a promo about how badass he was and how he was going to destroy Jarrett, he made sure he at least on some level included the fans; the same fans that will be his ally this Sunday at No Surrender.
JP: I almost lost you when you said you didn’t pay attention to Norman Smiley (one of my all-time favorites), but you came back with some good ones, so I’ll let it slide… for now!
Hidden Highlights for WWE SmackDown!: Friday, September 22, 2006 by JT
JT: So we had the premiere of SmackDown on the new CW! I’ll tell you why I’m excited for this. For one, NO MORE LOUSY PRE-EMPTIONS! For another, the difference in quality has just gone from poor, fuzzy, and bad audio to crystal clear, high quality DirecTV programming. Plus TiVo! New intro, new nametags at the bottom (how cool is that little mini Titan-tron next to their names?), new match-up backgrounds, new animations, new everything! Oh yeah, we had a show too. Tag action featuring four of my faves, Hardy and Helms continues to fester, Jillian strips everyone, Rey …well, flat out beats Chavo’s ass, Taker returns, and how about that crowd for Sylvan? I really liked how all three Championships were showcased, even if not on the line. On a side note, let me tell you something, SmackDown definitely HAS a Tag Team Division. It might be small, but it is damn entertaining. Also, next week I get Booker, Cena, Finlay, Batista, Lashley, and Regal all in the same ring… with JBL calling it. I might have a heart attack.
(HONORABLE MENTION) King Booker is above you:
When Booker did his usual spiel during his ring entrance, when he was doing the Macho Man spin, one of his hands was closed with only the pinky up. Two things. One, this references tea drinking etiquette. Two, the pinky can sometimes be used in a similar fashion as a middle finger. While the middle says “Fuck you”, a single pinky to some signifies “You’re not worth it / worthy”. So him doing this either means that Booker is adding the little things to his character (tea), or signaling that the crowd of peasants isn’t worthy of his presence. Either way, it’s great.
(3) Mood swing, anyone?:
In the opening segment, when Teddy Long told Booker T that he’d be facing the Undertaker, both himself and Sharmelle went ballistic. But did anyone notice that <i>before</i> he turned back into Booker T and started to rant, he took off his crown, threw off his robe, and lost his accent. I thought this was a great little touch because he takes the King character SO seriously, and a temper tantrum the likes of that one are just not befitting of a King. He had to make sure he was completely out of character before he could justify such an outburst (i.e. “I just wasn’t myself”). What can I say, the man is on fire!
(2) Good for you, Michael Cole:
That’s right, people. Cole is getting some rare love! Anyone who’s watched these two from the start knows that anytime Cole starts talking about the Divas match, or their athletic ability, or wrestling skill, or whatever, JBL always goes off on him about that’s such a joke that he’s even thinking about such things. Essentially, saying that the Divas are super hot and are to be watched, nothing else matters. So this week we had Marse from the Diva Search (if I’m wrong, yell at Csonka) welcome us back to SmackDown on the new CW, and JBL says “what the hell was she speaking?”. Cole then says, “Who cares? You were listening?”. Given the history between these two on this subject, this was a perfect little jab that was not only well-timed but completely applicable. Touche’, anyone? Exactly. These two continue to get better by the week.
(1) THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS close:
There were plenty of two-counts in the Hardy vs. Helms match, but it’s the final one that caught my eye. After Helms hit the Shining Wizard on Matt, he went for the pinfall but Hardy kicked out. Helms stood up and looked at the ref (as they always do), and the ref signaled to him that it was two (as they always do). But then for a quick second, the ref made a motion with his hand. He had his left hand out in front of him palm up, and his right hand about an inch above it palm down, as if to indicate “his shoulders were this far off the ground”. It was very brief, but I thought it was a very unique touch for him to further justify himself that you just don’t see very often. I’m not even sure I’ve ever seen it at all.
JP: Wow, the way you wrote your intro you’d think the WWE were producing SmackDown! just for you. Well, some people might argue that case, but I wouldn’t.
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: Luckily we already cut off reader write-ins on Friday. Sundown comes a little early up here. So, *GENERAL WARNING*:: some parts of the following Reader Write-in Hidden Highlights may be edited for grammar, spelling, and English translation…
Starting off this week is the return of the Joking JY Jeremy with a good one from Unforgiven:
During the Cena vs. Edge match, Edge sets up two tables early in the match. They manage to stay set up through the majority of the match, until Edge is on the outside and Lita interferes. Cena hits the FU on Lita and the top table falls over. Immediately Cena goes over and sets up the table, at which point my friend watching the PPV with me and myself both groan that he had to fix it for the big spot at the end of the match. Here comes the Hidden Highlight. Instead of just climbing the ladder and initiating the ending sequence for the match, totally blowing kayfabe over setting up a table for no apparent reason, Cena acts like he's going after Edge, then stops when he "realizes" that Edge is downed enough that he can grab the belt. With that simple action, he shows that he had set up the table with the intent of punishing Edge more, then saw he didn't need to. A big little thing from Cena that totally saved the end of the match for me.
JP: My friends and I were commenting on this, too. We had this whole story going through Cena’s head, and that he didn’t want to throw Edge through the tables and felt really bad about it. You are correct, by walking over to Edge and then saying, “No, I can win the title” he really did save the end of the match from looking ridiculous. On the same match, regular RC also played spot setup guy:
During the FU Cena gave Edge from the top of the ladder thru two tables, instead of watching the FU, watch the refs. They are the ones who are holding the ladder stabilized so that the momentum from the FU won't make the ladder fall, with Cena standing on the top.
Highlight? Dunno.
Hidden? It sure was coz I caught it during the replay when I paused and checked to see how the hell the ladder didn't fall from the FU's momentum. At first I thought it was thanks to Edge holding the top of the ladder with both hands but later realized that that would have been the case, had the refs not been standing there (and why the hell was the a 2nd ref out there anyway).
JP: Well, it was a dangerous match, so they needed two refs… yeah… that’s it. Refs definitely do not get enough props for their involvement in matches, and this was another good catch of refs in action. Still at the PPV is Croedel876 with:
During the Tag title match, I noticed that the Highlanders had Kenny in the corner. The Spirit Squad had the ref distracted that Rory waited for the ref to turn around to accept the tag to come in. Good to see the Highlanders playing true faces.
JP: Not only a good face move, but a smart move as well. Highlanders are playing the idiot savant role well, as they show they know wrestling moves and rules like no other. They knew that if the ref didn’t see the tag it wouldn’t count, so they waited until the right moment. One more for the PPV is Jack Thornley from across the pond:
I was just watching the replay of WWE Unforgiven over here in the UK. And during the Trish-Lita match, i noticed how JR phrased something early on in the match. He said "Lita, just managed to.....get off her back" which to me, is a reference that Lita is a ho.
JP: Oh, JR is always ready to dig into Lita as a ho, so this was another snide remark in a string of them. Do you think he sympathizes with Matt Hardy? By the way, freaking hilarious when Lita visited the Hardy Boyz. What a surreal moment. Here’s one from regular Josh Lankton that confuses me:
During the Kane/Umaga matchup when Kane grabbed the chair and went to strike The Samoan Submission Machine with it the first time, the referee (his name escapes me) warned him not to do it. Kane went to hit him anyway so what did the ref do? He started running to the broadcast side of the ring to yell at the timekeeper to ring the bell. But Umaga hit Kane before he could make contact with the chair. Immediately afterwards, the referee ran back to the action to keep calling the match. I just thought it was an awesome way for the ref to make it look like the match was about to end a few minutes before it actually did. On a side note, it's ironic that the match DID in fact end with Kane getting DQ'ed for using the chair.
JP: Ok, you know, I have no idea if you are talking about the PPV match or the RAW match. And then, I think you mixd up Samoa Joe and Umaga. I don’t know why people think Umaga and Joe are so similar. Except for the Samoan and undefeated part, they really have completely different gimmicks, styles, and stories. But with something less confusing, here’s one of my favorite ladies in the world, Jis wi—
JT: Don’t even start! I know what you are going to do!!
JP: You mean, actually print Jis’ comments and continue with the article?
JT: Yeah right!
JP: No, seriously. Watch this:
Here's one for the linguistically-impaired. There was a green and black sign just before the main event that read as "Mange Moi Cena." Now I've only been studying French for a few weeks, but I know enough to know that, in English, that same sign would say, "Eat Me Cena."
If you decide not to use this one, that's okay. I'm just excited that this class is paying off so quickly!
JP: I was wondering about that sign and was going to run it in Babblefish before you sent this over. Very creative on the French-Canadian sign.
JT: I bet you just thought it said “Mange-et-tais”
JP: Well, only for a second. Continuing on RAW is Bobby D and a special look:
I'm watching WWE RAW right now, & I wanted to point out a highlight I saw. When Jonathan Coachman announced the 6-man tag team main event, what did you see? Triple H suddenly looks intensely at John Cena. Now, according to "wrestling physics," usually faces get along rather well. Past issues are mainly forgotten, and everyone acts like nothing is wrong. However, that one look still showed a side of Triple H's ego. Triple H was never able to defeat Cena for "his" title, and somewhere down inside, it still bothers him. That one look let you know that Triple H still has unresolved issues with Cena, and made you think if the two could truly cope together as a team (which was seen later in the night to be true). It was just a nice reminder of past storylines.
JP: I noticed this as well, and when Cena finally turned towards Triple H he gave him a little nod and wiped the smile off his own face. The two let each other know they didn’t like each other, but could still work together for this. I do have to say, I like that RAW went very tweener on Monday, with heels confronting heels for the Intercontinental Title set-up as well. I hope this can keep up, because I appreciate the shades of gray and letting the audience decide who to cheer and who to boo. Props to rba for catch the same moment. Now Jeff is up next with a couple of his own:
During Raw's telecast tonight, I noticed 2 possible hidden highlights. The first occurred when Jerry Lawler announced that Raw would broadcast from Oklahoma City, OK. Lawler then made a comment that he hoped that nothing bad would happen to JR. This possibly alludes to the fact that something embarrassing almost always happens to JR in his hometown.
The second hidden highlight was during the 6-man main event. As HBK was the face-in-peril, he was slowly inching toward tagging Triple H, while Cade was making his way to tag Edge. As the camera showed Triple H's face, his eyes glance from Shawn over to the opponents' corner. Triple H continuing to prove why he is The Cerebral Assassin.
JP: History referenced once again, King knows that something terrible will happen to JR as has happened many times. And I understood what you meant during the second one, you are saying Triple H was not just trying to tag in, but was keeping in mind what his opponents were doing. Good catch. Speaking of good catches, Baron Vangor Toth (I don’t make these things up) did a little transcription for me:
Candice vs. Lita match
JR to King: Was that a schoolgirl? (referencing the maneuver)
King: Yeah ... I love schoolgirls!
JR: Let's not go there.... (referencing King's not-quite-pristine history)
I'm sure you caught it but, in case you didn't, there you go.
JP: See, King didn’t just get the digs on JR, JR got them right back at him. I do enjoy whenever King’s preference for little children comes up (so to speak). Still on RAW (quite the popular show there) Matt Hayden (that name is familiar) had another one for the main event:
During the segment involving Cena/DX/Edge/Cade/Murdoch, something small happened that I didn't notice until the replay of the brawl. As the heels stand in the ring assuming fighting positions and waiting for DX to enter, Murdoch, not taking his eyes off DX, reaches over and takes Lita by the arm and guides her behind the group of heels, out of harm's way. Surprising that Murdoch is such a gentleman (Edge certainly wouldn't do the same for Lita) but it seemed to make sense to me in a stereotypical redneck "all right little lady, the boys are ready to fight so you best get yourself out of here" kind of way.
JP: You see, play the role, don’t play the heel! That’s a smart move by Murdoch there to live up the gimmick. Since we just talked about the end of RAW, let’s go back to the beginning with Jharv:
Did anyone else notice that on the Sept 19 RAW how Cena saluted on his way out to the main event by folding his pinkie over his hand with his thumb--holding out three fingers. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but the "boyscout salute" as it's been used is based on the sign of a fleur-de-lis. A nice to a way to get over with the Quebec fans by modifying the regular salute he's been giving lately.
JP: You know, I’m going to have to just trust your word on it because I wasn’t a boyscout, nor did I catch it. But Cena always seems to know a lot about local culture and sports (see the old Excess segment with him and Matt Hardy in Japan), so I bet you are right. Ok, I’ve had enough of RAW (sorry to the rest of you), on to ECW with Chris Vining:
In the 6 man match on ECW... When Sabu finally got the hot tag from Tommy Dreamer, he swept the legs out from under Mike Knox, delivered a baseball slide to the legs of Test, knocking him off the apron. The "smart" Matt Striker jumped up on the first rope so he wouldnt suffer the same fate (he did get punched in the face though). When Striker tagged in as the legal man, the first thing Sabu did was sweep Striker.
JP: Oh Matt Striker, you are so smart. Will you be the second coming of Christopher Nowinski? I swear, if that guy didn’t have post-concussion syndrome, he’d be in this article every week.
Oh, by the way, Eric Quattro, I did not see your sign at Unforgiven, which is highly disappointing especially if your friend caught it. Did anyone else see it? Where is my screen shot?!
Wait, what is this from Katie?
I hope you guys saw the same thing I saw last night: for just a couple of seconds during Kevin Thorn's entrance--I saw a big orange sign (you couldn't miss it) with 'MY SIGN IS A HIDDEN HIGHLIGHT' on it! Mission accomplished! ^_^
JP: No, I totally did miss it! I was kind of tuned out for Thorn’s entrance!!! And I just deleted my recording. Geez, now I have to get a fresh one. SCREEN SHOT!!!!!????!!!!! What about you, George R.?
On ECW there was a "My Sign is my Hidden Highlight" sign by the wrestlers entrance. I could see it when Sabu came out for his match as well as when CM Punk came out.
JP: This is getting frustrating. Does TIVO have an undelete function? Who could have done that? What’s that DJ?
Hope you liked the sign on ECW (My Sign is a Hidden Highlight). Yeah, that's me! Anyway, I figured I'd wait til after it aired before sending in some Hidden Highlights, after the show! I'll even do it in the three style context you guys do it in. These are from the September 12 Smackdown (aired 9/15) and ECW (aired 9/19) tapings.
3) Showing brand loyalty
After the show I got to meet Vito, Bobby Lashley and Ashley Masaro (sp?). As we know, WWE wants Vito to wear a dress outside of the arena to stay in character and he had a dress with blue stars on it on. Lashley was dressed business casual, but had on a blue button down shirt. And finally, Ashley had red streaks in her hair on RAW, but on Smackdown, she has blue streaks! Gotta love showing the brand colors! Also in showing brand loyalty, when the lights came up at the end of the night, Tazz walked down the center aisle through the "Smackdown" curtain. But Joey Styles went through the exiting crowd to the ECW entrance. Despite both leading to the back, Joey went through the one that symbolized him, ECW.
2) Recognizing the crowd
Both hidden and obvious on this one. When Booker T came out for ECW and a fan touched his robe, he pulled away with a look of disgust. But when my friends and I were bowing to the King, he gave us a little nod and went on his way to the ring. Good to see a heel still take time to recognize those who "Hail the King". Second, when RVD was being helped to the back by the refs (the camera was off at this point) my friend Paul started chanting 420 at Rob, only for RVD to reach out a hand and fist pump my pal! Yes, it was breaking kayfabe, but acknowledging the fan base is an great thing.
1) After all these years, he's still a fan
The dark match main event of the evening was King Booker and Finlay vs Lashley and Batista. Despite a fun tag match, I was focused on Joey Styles. While Tazz was gathering up papers and getting ready to leave for the night, but Joey was watching the match intently. The highlight was when Lashley hit the spear on Booker and Joey reacted like much of the crowd with a "Oooh! That hurts!" look on his face. He even counted to three with the ref! It just goes to show that Joey Styles love wrestling and no matter what, he is a fan.
I'll send you guys a pic of the sign tomorrow night! Hope you saw it and keep up the good work!
JP:</b> That was all fantastic except for one problem: YOU DIDN’T SEND THE PIC!!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAA~~~~~!!!!!!!
JT: Wait, so is he saying that the sign actually got on TV? I’m checking this as soon as I get home! Thanks for the letters people!
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 jpjthidden@yahoo.com with your thoughts! Send them by Friday 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!
JP: WAIT!! STOP THE PROGRAM! I’VE GOT IT!!!
That sign is a Hidden Highlight!!!</b></font>
JP: After reading all these letters and obtaining… a fresh copy of ECW on SciFi, I can confirm that there was a sign! Let’s go to the video tape:
JP: Keep up the good work people! And by people, I mean DJ. I expect to be able to capture one of these every week!
JT: OH MY G…oodness! It FINALLY happened. I even went back and watched ECW and when I did I saw that sign like 927 times. Great job DJ, and come on people! We have work to do! Let’s get that sign on TV! Big… BIG kudos to DJ for being the first to get it on. You have just sealed your place in Hidden Highlight History sir. You’re the first member of the Triple H Club not involving Triple H. Nice work man, and thanks, we really to appreciate it.
JP: My only disappointment was that you were bowing during the King Booker segment instead of holding up the sign. But I gotta say, bowing for King Booker is a good excuse. Now everyone start being more like DJ and get those “My Sign is a Hidden Highlight” banners on TV!
That Other Section
This week, JP and JT have something for That Other Section.
JP: If you didn’t read what this is about, then click that link because it will explain all.
THE GREAT POSITIVITY DEBATE 3 TOURNAMENT: SETTING UP THE FINALS
JP: It’s hard to live in a world of positivity, and the Great Positivity Debate is a demonstration of that. In a typical debate, the writers are trying to make the most valid point for their side. In TGPD, the writers are trying to make the most valid positive point as a test of their writing skills and imagination. You the readers are the ultimate judges and decide who moves on and who hits the bricks. As a reminder, here were the rules for the semi-finals:
We will list six topics.
Each side may have only one response to each topic.
The response to the topic can be no more than 500 words.
The response to the topic must be the most positive thing that side can think up.
The positive response must be something that side believes in (honor code in effect).
The first two topics will be answered first by one side, and then the two shall switch answering order.
At the end, you the readers will vote who is the winner.
Neither of these two competitors are fighting for who is more positive. Instead, they are fighting over who has more writing skill in the confines of positivity.
Last week, Steve Cook took on Jeff Small in a furious battle of …. And with 39.6% of the vote, the winner was:
Steve Cook
It was a close battle to the finish, where everything up for vote had around a third of the check marks at one time or another (including not voting for either of these two second rate news reporters… ouch! [BTW, I didn’t call you second rate, Cook, 24.5% of the people did]). But in the end, it seems that the news reporters dominated this contest. Maybe I shouldn’t have invited so many? Oh well…
Because of that win, here are the updated brackets:
As a reminder, opening round matches consist of four questions, semi-finals six questions, and the finals eight. The winner of the tournament goes on to face JT and I in THE GREAT POSITIVITY DEBATE 3: THE SEQUEL NOBODY ASKED FOR!
Since there is no competition this week, I’ll kick it over to JT. JT?
JT: You know, Steve Cook cut himself quite a little promo in his column this week. Of course, that’s merely what I was told. I don’t read Steve Cook because he sucks ass when he gets behind the keyboard. Seriously though, some props go to Cook because I made my way into 411 through him, and had that not have happened, we wouldn’t have HH. Thanks, Cook. Ass. Now write something worth reading so I can stop skipping your column.
JP: All right! It’s put up or shut up time as next week Steve Cook takes on Stephen Randle in the finals of the GREAT POSITIYITY DEBATE TOURNAMENT!!! Good luck, gentleman.
Exit, stage left!
JT: Big ups to JP for covering the PPV again! Hopefully, by the time you read this, my Lions will have finally won their first game of the season! Have a good week my little salamanders. Oh, and go read Marsico. I promise you’ll laugh. Detroit.
JP: But my PPV streak comes to an end as JT will have No Surrender for you next week. Good Times just doesn’t cover them yet. Now TNA, if you want me to work on blast areas, let me know. I’ll see what I can do.
Thank you for joining us for THE 56th 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 again next time in the reader approved most positive article in all of the IWC: Hidden Highlights! Until then!