wrestling / Columns
Hidden Highlights 02.20.12: HBK Sing-Along, Cena Remembering Safety, 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’d like to thank everyone for all the positive reception to the first column. Like all television shows, the first few episodes tend to be a feeling out period, I know some of you took issue with my planned 3 highlights per show, and I agree with you guys. The more shows I have to cover (for example, this week we have a PPV as well), the less highlights I’ll include. At the same time, the more reader submissions I get, the less writing I end up doing. I’d love for this column to get to a point where it’s completely reader-generated, but that’s going to take some time. So bear with me for a few weeks while we iron out the kinks.
And again, if you would like to make a new banner for the column (some of you appreciate my MS Paint skills, and some of you hated them), then shoot me an email. Lord knows there has to be readers out there with more skill than me.
And with all the housekeeping out of the way, let’s get down to business.
1. Zema Ion is a professional. – I’m going to be honest with you. I had work so I was only able to watch the first part of this ppv. However, I had to give Zema Ion credit for how he reacted to the Jesse Sorensen thing. First, I want to wish Sorensen a healthy recovery. If he needs to take a year off to heal completely, then by all means he needs to. I just hope Sorensen doesn’t feel the need to rush back from this.
Now on to Ion, and the big reason why I could never be a professional wrestler. If something like that happened while I was in the ring, I would most-likely go the Owen Hart route and break character in an attempt to stop the match. Ion, to his credit, stayed in heel mode, despite the fact that he probably wanted to check on him. Ion stayed true to heel form, which I have to say kudos to.
4. Cole has some kind of switch. – One of the more satisfying things about Cole has been about his treatment of Daniel Bryan (and I know people are going to hate me saying this, but hear me out). Yes, he started out by mercilessly riding Bryan as not being good enough, but that has surprisingly stayed the same throughout Bryan’s change from face to heel. Notice how Bryan is the only heel that Cole doesn’t get behind, and will continue to deride him.
Now on to this week’s Raw, which featured Daniel Bryan sitting at ringside to watch Big Show vs Randy Orton. Bryan decides to sit right next to Cole, which prompts Cole to start singing Bryan’s praises. I love the idea that Cole is willing to rag on people, but if they just sit next to him, it’s enough to keep him in check. Want further proof? As soon as Bryan interferes with the match, Cole goes back to his “DANIEL BRYAN IS A WEASEL AND A CHEAT AND I DO NOT RESPECT HIM” shtick.
3. HBK can you be serious for one second? – I missed Shawn. He is easily my favorite wrestler of all time (Chris Jericho is a close second). So watching Michaels come out this Monday was great for me. But at this point, HBK really just can’t take things seriously. I have to assume that Shawn didn’t think the camera would be on him during HHH’s entrance, because he decided to air-guitar and sing-along with HHH’s theme. DX-reunion-era Shawn Michaels was a little kid at times, so watching him revert to his childlike ways was a nice touch.
Honestly there were more in that promo but I want to give you guys some stuff to do.
2. Winners get last names. – Tamina has been Tamina for the longest time, maybe even since she debuted. Sure, they’ve acknowledged that she’s the Superfly’s daughter multiple times, but there’s a fine line between saying she’s a Snuka and letting her use that Snuka last name. Monday marked the official change, as Tamina was instead billed as Tamina Snuka. And you people think I don’t notice the little things.
1. Safety first. – Poor John Cena almost got into a fight with his last remaining friend in the world, and then got to watch him get wheeled off the stage by Kane. Here’s the multiple highlights here: first, instead of just running to check on Zack, he goes to the ringside medical trainer and pulls him out of his seat, because that guy is probably the closes to the situation. Then, when he gives a quick check of Zack, he throws up the X signal, which we’ve come to learn is the universal sign for “this guy is messed up for real this time.” Sure, it was probably a worked X, but Cena did a great job there of seeming to be interested in the well-being of his friend.
SECRET HIDDEN HIGHLIGHT: OTUNGA RESPECTS KAYFABE – I had to find a place to put this, because it is just too good. It is a picture of David Otunga backstage at the Grammys with his fiancée Jennifer Hudson.
JUST LOOK AT THIS GUY. HE BROUGHT HIS GOD DAMN THERMOS TO THE GRAMMYS. Everyone needs to hop on the Otunga bandwagon this instant.
2. Austin Aries does not care for your number one contender. – No, I don’t expect Zema Ion’s #1 Contender’s status to continue, but watching how Austin Aries treated his new challenger was pretty great. Ion came out first, but it was all Aries in that entrance, as he brushed past Ion, and completely ignored him in the ring as well. Aries is the cockiest of the cocky heel champs.
1. Sneaky, sneaky Madison. – The thing I loved about the Knockout’s Battle Royal was Madison’s little promo right before the match started. It was pretty bland, but the best part was Madison stating “Any one of the women in this ring can win.” Yes, this included Madison, but I like that it then made sense for Madison to enter at the end and win. Also, kind of a more negative Hidden Highlight for Christy Hemme, who announced ODB as being eliminated as she was falling to the floor. I hope that eventually Hemme figures out this whole announcing thing, but that was pretty bad.
3. John Laurinaitis: still great. – I know a bunch of people got on me last week for not including true Hidden Highlights, but that’s the thing. Hidden Highlights was more about shining a spotlight and being positive than it ever was about noticing that Daniel Bryan has till the count of 5 to break a hold (sidenote: why haven’t we seen this yet?). So I’m going to keep feeling the need to mention how wonderful Laurinaitis is being because it’s true. In describing some of the lower-card wrestlers that would potentially be able to enter the battle royal (which is one of three ways in which anything gets resolved on Smackdown), Laurinaitis decided to poke fun at himself by describing the potential wrestlers as “some no-name talent with no charisma and no name-recognition”. Bonus props to Otunga for his Harvard athletic suit, which has to be one of 5 in existence.
2. GUYS I JUST SAW JACKSON DOING SOMETHING SMART! – Does Ezekiel Jackson get any love? Hell, the only reason I remembered him before this Friday is because he seems to dominate the Smackdown side of my WWE Universe mode in WWE ’12. But Jackson did show up twice tonight, first to lose to Jinder Mahal, and second for the battle royal. But props to Jackson here, as he is shown still holding his back as he walks down to the ring. The Usos couldn’t manage to sell that they had lost earlier, but Jackson had the wherewithal to realize that it looks better if he’s still hurting from his previous match.
1. McGillicuty is not fond of Otunga. – I always hate when former tag partners fail to acknowledge each other in battle royals, so watching McGillicuty, who I guess is back from whatever injury he had or something, yelling at Otunga as he came to the ring was a nice touch. Another nice touch was Heath Slater standing there with the same amount of disgust as McGillicuty, a nice callback to Nexus.
Reader Highlights
We actually have one that made the cut. And by one, I mean I had one person say something that was an actual hidden highlight. But I’m including one other highlight from the submissions to let you readers decide whether it was a highlight or not.
First, from scipio2009, we have this highlight about how nobody cares about Curt Hawkins.
-Going back to the episode of Raw, when Laurinaitis was put on notice, about losing his job. As he’s walking to the ring, he says hi to several folks backstage, even stopping to do the totally phony “how are the kids doing” banter. Curt Hawkins comes into the screen and Laurinaitis barely acknowledges his existence, not recalling if he even shook his hand, before heading on his way.
HH: the treatment of Hawkins
Here’s ‘Johnny Ace’, heading into a situation, with his job on the line, and he can’t even fake interest in Hawkins, a guy who’s done near nothing in WWE.
Not bad, but it was the best submission by miles. You also got this highlight by Random Thoughts, although I’m not sure this counts. Readers?
ROH—-C & C VS Richards/O’Reily.
Towards the end of that AWESOME match, one of the C’s was knocked outside the ring and was starting to get up when Davey ran down the edge of the ring and when he went to kick Coleman(?)in the face, Coleman literally lifted himself high enough to where his whole body was horizontal then fell with legs and arms sticking up while falling hard on the floor.
In other words, he sold the SHIT out of that kick.
***
And with that, the second 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.
