WWE Cyber Sunday 2007 Review

WWE Cyber Sunday
October 28th 2007

-Democracy has come to the WWE Universe. Tonight, fans will vote for match participants and stipulations.

-From Washington D.C. Our hosts are Michael Cole and JBL for Smackdown, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler for Raw, and Joey Styles and Tazz for ECW. Todd Grisham is on the stage to announce the results to each poll.

Stretcher match:
Rey Mysterio vs. Finlay
Finlay looks pleased about the stretcher stipulation. Rey matches Finlay’s brawling in the early going. Finlay baseball slides Rey onto the stretcher, bringing the fight to ringside. Finlay can’t keep Rey on the stretcher so he works on wearing him down.

Rey goes on the offensive with a hurricanrana. They both eye the shillelagh on the poll (one of the losing stipulations) which sets up a sunset flip power bomb by Rey! Rey grabs the weapon but Finlay takes it and punishes him. Finlay drives the stretcher into Rey. Mysterio returns the favor and hit’s a modified 619! Rey nails a back senton onto the stretcher, but some loose cables prevent him from winning. The padding comes off, Finlay gets dropped on it, and the stretcher rolls past the white line. Rey wins at 9:42! This was a very entertaining, and at times creative, brawl. Also, I like stretcher matches, ***.
Winner: Rey Mysterio

-Matt Hardy may not be able to compete tonight due to being badly cut open on Smackdown. Earlier tonight, MVP checked in on his rival and partner, Hardy. MVP advises him not to wrestle which is such a shame because MVP really (but not really) wanted to compete tonight. Hardy tells him that Vickie Guerrero said MVP will be wrestling tonight after all, and the fans will vote on his opponent.

-JBL is wearing a referee shirt. He is campaigning to be the guest referee for the main event tonight (against Mick Foley and Steve Austin).

-There’s also a divas costume contest tonight. Maria is a stripper cat. Victoria is a sumo wrestler (slash, Yokozuna). Ron Simmons strolls in for a “…damn!”

ECW Championship:
CM Punk © vs. The Miz

This Miz won the poll to challenge CM Punk over John Morrison and Big Daddy V. This was considered to be a big upset at the time. They kick off with some chain wrestling. Punk lights Miz up with some stiff shots. Slingshot suplex by Punk. Miz blocks a superplex when he trips Punk in the turnbuckles, hurting he ankle in the process. Miz takes control but chooses not to focus on the ankle. Punk goes for the flying cross body and hits Miz in the head. It’s played up to be a great counter by Miz, but it looked like a horrible botch to me. The crowd chants “Y2J” as Miz continues his attack. Punk hip tosses Miz off the top! Springboard clothesline by Punk! Punk blocks the Reality Check and nails GTS for the win at 8:50. They had a good game plan, but Miz was not ready to be in this position yet. Punk worked hard to keep it together, *¾.
Winner and still ECW Champion: CM Punk

-The Halloween contest continues. Mickie James is a slutty Indian warrior princess. Torrie Wilson sucks up to the crowd as a Washington Redskins football player. I’m amazed that Wilson was still employed by this point.

-Video package highlighting Randy Orton’s WWE title win, Shawn Michaels’ surprise return, and the rise of Jeff Hardy and Mr. Kennedy. The fans can choose to vote for Hardy, Kennedy, or Michaels to challenge Orton tonight.

-Raw General Manager William Regal joins Todd Grisham on the stage to announce the WWE title challenger. Regal adds that the two superstars who aren’t chosen will face each other next. Shawn Michaels wins with 59% of the vote.

Mr. Kennedy vs. Jeff Hardy
They start chain wrestling. Kennedy uses the ropes to hit a suplex and take control. Hardy drop-kicks Kennedy off the apron and connects with a dive. Kennedy later throws Hardy to the floor. A boot to the head establishes Kennedy’s dominance (mainly rest holds). Hardy comes back with a top rope hurricanrana. Hardy overwhelms with some clotheslines. Twist of Fate is blocked so Hardy improvises with the Whisper of the Wind. Mule kick by Hardy but Kennedy viciously counters the drop-kick. Kennedy pins Hardy at 9:05. Slow formula match, but the work was solid, **.
Winner: Mr. Kennedy

-Michael Cole is having so much fun! Just ask him! Cole and JBL play up MVP’s United States title defense against Kane, Mark Henry, or The Great Khali.

-More divas in costumes. Michelle McCool is Eve from the garden of Eden. She takes a big bite of an apple. Melina is a Vegas showgirl.

-Mick Foley is arguing with cardboard cutouts of Batista and The Undertaker. JBL grabs a mic and insults Foley. He introduces a “fair and balanced” political advertisement. The video puts over JBL’s in-ring success and smears Steve Austin and Mick Foley. Foley responds by calling JBL a fat head (now that’s just uncalled for). Vote Foley!

-Vickie Guerrero joins Todd Grisham to announce MVP’s opponent. Kane easily beats Mark Henry and The Great Khali with 67% of the vote. For once, a Libertarian candidate won an election!

United States Championship:
MVP © vs. Kane
MVP tries to outmaneuver Kane but gets caught by Kane’s power moves. MVP knocks Kane off the top rope. MVP begins to target Kane’s recently injured ribs.

Kane angrily goes after MVP’s ribs as well. Kane pulls MVP rib-first into the ring post but breaks the hold on the four count. MVP sells the ribs at ringside and gets himself counted out at 6:38. This was more like a Smackdown match to set up a pay-per-view rematch, *.
Winner by count-out: Kane

-Save_Us is coming to the WWE!

-Layla is a bad cop. Kelly Kelly is a gangsta. That is all.

-WWE Champion Randy Orton cuts a promo backstage. He reminds us of all the horrible things he’s done to Shawn Michaels in the past. Therefore, if anything bad happens to Michaels tonight, it’s the fans fault for putting him in the match.

WWE Championship:
Randy Orton © vs. Shawn Michaels

HBK builds some steam so Orton retreats. HBK nails a dive to the floor. Orton begins targeting the head. Michaels fights back by targeting the arm. Orton stomps the face to escape an arm lock. Orton becomes aggressive but HBK goes back to work on his arm. Orton escapes but gets tossed to the floor. Orton counters with a back suplex onto the guard rail! Michaels is vulnerable as Orton works over his back. Michaels dodges a drop-kick and counters a suplex. Orton hits the inverted backbreaker. Michaels desperately blocks a superplex but misses the flying elbow drop! Michaels counters the RKO with a backslide pin attempt. HBK tries again and connects with the flying elbow! Orton blocks the Sweet Chin Music with a blatant low blow! The ref disqualifies Orton at 15:45! This was a great example of having a mat-based match without being boring. This was quite lively and the non-finish works as it further establishes Orton’s villainy, ***½.
Winner by DQ: Shawn Michaels

-Michaels is trying to recover as Orton considers what to do next. Orton sets up the death punt but eats Sweet Chin Music! Gee, I bet these two will wrestle again. Perhaps next month? On another $40 pay-per-view? Bingo!

Street Fight:
Triple H vs. Umaga

The street fight stipulation won with 57% of the vote, over a cage or first blood match. Triple H meets Umaga on the ramp for a brawl. Triple H spears Umaga through the (well padded) set. They battle through the crowd and finally into the ring. HHH delivers a trash can shot but soon eats a Samoan drop. Umaga takes control, working over the kidney area. Umaga can’t get the pin, so he chases the referee away and grabs a chair. Triple H counters the chair with a low blow! DDT onto the chair by The Game. Triple H is unable to hit the Pedigree and eats the spinning uranage. Umaga charges across the announce tables and splashes Triple H through a table! Umaga climbs to the top and misses a diving head butt! Triple H fetches his trusty old sledgehammer (the sultan of swat, according to J.R.). Umaga blocks the hammer but misses the Samoan spike. Triple H connects with the hammer and the Pedigree finishes it at 17:19. This was a decent brawl, rounded out by some dead stretches and one awesome table spot. A **½ is in order.
Winner: Triple H

-I know you’re all dying to know who won the diva costume contest. J.R. hilariously goes off script, saying he wants to “cancel the whole thing.“ Mickie James, the slutty Indian, wins with 27% of the vote.

-Right as the special guest referee is to be announced, JBL storms into the ring with a microphone and voices his confidence that he won the vote. Mick Foley comes out to argue. However, Steve Austin wins with 79% of the vote. JBL attacks Foley and they brawl. Austin comes out and nails Foley with a stunner. JBL attacks but Austin fights back and delivers a second stunner. That was kind of fun, I’d rather see this than Austin beating up members of the active roster as per usual.

World Heavyweight Championship:
Batista © vs. The Undertaker
Steve Austin is the guest referee. Undertaker sidesteps a spear and nails a big boot. Undertaker begins targeting the arm. Batista fights back with head shots. Batista barely saves himself from a triangle choke. Taker misses a running knee to the back, giving Batista an opportunity for control. The action goes back and forth, with both men trading offense. Taker continually targets the Batista’s left arm. Batista counters “old school” with a spinebuster! Undertaker responds with the triangle choke! Chokeslam by Undertaker! Batista blocks the Tombstone and hits the spear. Undertaker counters the Batista bomb. Batista hits the sorriest looking drop toe hold I’ve ever seen and makes the common mistake of climbing the turnbuckle to give Undertaker a Last Ride opportunity. Spinebuster by Batista! Undertaker kicks out of the Batista Bomb! A second Batista Bomb finishes it at 17:21. This was a pretty good main event, as it had a big match feel and bell to bell action, ***.
Winner and still World Heavyweight Champion: Batista

-Austin hands Batista the World title and leaves without dishing any more stunners. Undertaker looks grumpy about losing cleanly as a weary Batista celebrates on the stage.

Final Thoughts: Cyber Sunday 2007 is a completely middle of the road pay-per-view. The voting stipulations did not detract from the event as it had at times in the past when this show was known as Taboo Tuesday. If you are a big fan of the Michaels/Orton and Undertaker/Batista feuds, you will enjoy this. However, both feuds have better matches on other shows.

Thumbs in the middle. Again.

WWE Unforgiven 2007 Review

WWE Unforgiven
September 16, 2007

-This show has been heavily affected by a recent string of Wellness Policy violations and the umpteenth return of The Undertaker. A cryptic opening video package features a whispering child warning Undertaker’s enemies to be terrified. -Live from Memphis, TN. Our hosts for the evening are Joey Styles and Tazz for ECW, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler for Raw, and Michael Cole and John Bradshaw Layfield for Smackdown.

ECW Championship:
CM Punk © vs. Elijah Burke
Burke doesn’t get a televised entrance. Make your own joke about the prestige of the ECW title. It’s worth noting that Punk is ECW Champion because John Morrison is suspended for violating the Wellness Policy. The match begins slowly, with both men feeling one another out. Side Russian legsweep by Punk gets the first near fall. Punk pleases the crowd with some stiff shots. Burke sits Punk in the corner and slams his head to the mat. Burke goes to work on Punk’s back.

Punk mule kicks out of a hold for a comeback. Springboard clothesline by Punk gets 2. Burke trips Punk onto his back at ringside, retaking control in the process. Punk spends an eternity stuck in a Boston Crab before getting the ropes. Burke hits some German suplexes! Burke continues the back work. Punk catches a roll-up out of nowhere and retains at 11:51. I suppose they were trying to position CM Punk as an underdog champion with that weak finish. Otherwise, this was slower than I would have expected, but Burke busted out some cool moves, **½.
Winner and still ECW Champion: CM Punk

WWE Tag Team Championship:
MVP and Matt Hardy © vs. Deuce n’ Domino (with Cherry)
Hardy and MVP are wacky tag team champions who hate each other, since they are also feuding for MVP’s United States Championship. Hardy and MVP argue over who starts the match. Hardy starts but MVP tags himself in right away. MVP is just as concerned with trash talking Hardy as he is in wrestling Deuce and Domino. Hardy and MVP continually mock each other while in control. Deuce and Domino manage to finally isolate Hardy for a period. Domino knocks MVP off the apron, which frustrates MVP into taking a hike. MVP has a change of heart and returns as Hardy takes down both Deuce and Domino. MVP gets a hot tag and cleans house on Deuce. MVP dispatches Domino and gets the ballin’ elbow drop, but Hardy tags himself in. Hardy uses MVP to bat Domino off the apron and hits the Twist of Fate on Deuce for the victory at 9:17. Dull match, but it became much more interesting towards the end. Deuce and Domino were also complete afterthoughts here, **.
Winners and still WWE Tag Team Champions: Matt Hardy and MVP

-Pretaped interview with Rey Mysterio. Rey puts over how badly The Great Khali hurt him before. Rey addresses his critics who say he has no chance of surviving the triple threat match with Batista and Khali by pointing out they said the same thing heading into Wrestlemania 22.

Triple H vs. Carlito
This match stipulates no disqualifications… for Carlito. The match kicks off with an aggressive brawl. Carlito tries to use a chair, but gets driven into the barricade. HHH continues to work the back. The referee catches Triple H cheating during an abdominal stretch, giving Carlito a chance to clear an announce table. Carlito uses the ring bell to take control. Carlito chokes with some wire. Triple H blocks Carlito’s apple spitting but eats numerous trash can shots. Carlito sets a can in the ropes but Triple H retakes control. Carlito throws powdering into The Game’s eyes. Carlito charges with a chair, but a blind Triple H nails a spine buster. The referee takes a chair away from HHH and misses the low blow on Carlito. Pedigree finishes Carlito at 10:39. Not a bad story driven match, though the booking made it absolutely clear that Carlito was not in Triple H’s league without the unfair rules, **¾.
Winner: Triple H

-Maria interviews Batista backstage. Batista has a triple threat match tonight against his friend, Rey, and the champion, Khali, and it’s going to be every man for himself. -Whoa, we are treated to a hype video for the Beth Phoenix/Candice Michelle feud! You don’t see that too often in WWE women’s wrestling.

Women’s Championship:
Candice Michelle © vs. Beth Phoenix
Beth overpowers Candice in the early going. Candice grabs the wrist and outmaneuvers Beth. Phoenix is mad and responds with a backbreaker. Beth wears down Candice with a series of violent attacks. Candice fights back with some clever leg work, but Beth retakes control quickly. Overhead backbreaker by Beth! Neckbreaker counter by Candice! Beth drives Candice into the turnbuckles and delivers a press slam! Candice counters again with a roll-up for the win at 7:05. Candice wins by the skin of her teeth, as the match did a great job in establishing just how brutal Beth Phoenix can be. Sadly, the crowd was dead and the match dragged at times, but by WWE divas standards, this was very good, **.
Winner and still Women’s Champion: Candice Michelle

-Todd Grisham interviews Ranjin Singh and World Heavyweight Champion Great Khali backstage. Singh interprets that Khali is laughing about what Rey and Batista had to say about him. Singh puts a Mysterio mask on a cantaloupe and has Khali crush it. Khali also destroys a watermelon that represents Batista’s bigger head. This was pretty funny, too bad Khali is about to lose the belt, eh?

World Heavyweight Championship:
The Great Khali © (with Ranjin Singh) vs. Batista vs. Rey Mysterio

Batista and Mysterio both go after Khali but the champion fights them both off. Rey surprises Batista with a roll-up, prompting them to fight while Khali recovers. Seated senton on Batista by Rey, but Khali drops Mysterio with a big boot. Batista blocks the vice grip but eats a tomahawk chop. Khali locks the vice grip on Batista but Rey breaks it up with a chair shot. Khali takes Batista out at ringside before dismantling Rey in the ring. Batista saves Rey from the vice grip! Khali is tied up in the ropes and Batista unloads on him. Rey blocks the Batista Bomb and hits 619! 619 on Khali and the West Coast Pop! Batista power bombs Rey onto Khali! Spinebuster on Khali and Batista wins the title at 7:59. This was smartly booked to cover for the weaknesses of the participants, was short enough, and the finishing sequence was spectacular, **½.
Winner and new World Heavyweight Champion: Batista

-Get the fast-forward button ready, it’s time for a video recap of Vince McMahon discovering that his illegitimate son is none other than Hornswoggle! -Backstage, Triple H congratulates Batista for his title win. Triple H reminds Batista that defending the title will be the real challenge.

World Tag Team Championship:
Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch © vs. Paul London and Brian Kendrick
Kendrick starts against Cade. Kendrick uses his speed but Cade uses his size and strength advantage. Murdoch tags and almost gets pinned with an inside cradle. London and Kendrick make quick tags and focus on Murdoch’s wrist. London and Kendrick dump Cade and Murdoch to the floor and dive onto them! Kendrick misses a flying cross body and finds himself isolated. Cade power slams Kendrick off the top rope but London breaks the cover. Murdoch continues the isolation of Kendrick. London makes the hot tag and cleans house on Cade and Murdoch. Double stomp onto Murdoch’s neck only gets a 2 count! Cade misses an elbow drop, London capitalizes. Kendrick nails a cross body on Murdoch for 2! Kendrick kicks out of Murdoch’s kick to the head! Murdoch blocks Sliced Bread #2 and pins Kendrick at 11:47. Good formula tag, ***.
Winners and still World Tag Team Champions: Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch

-J.R. and Lawler gush over how great The Condemned, starring Stone Cold Steve Austin, was.

WWE Championship:
John Cena © vs. Randy Orton
Cena was approaching the one year mark during his third WWE title reign here, the longest since Hulk Hogan in the 80’s. John Cena Sr., a recent victim of Orton’s, is sitting at ringside. Cena does his best angry face and tackles Orton.

Orton takes quite a bit of punishment before catching Cena in the ropes with an uppercut and DDT. Cena rebounds with another tackle but Orton locks in the headlock. Cena breaks the hold and gets carried away pummeling Orton in the corner. The referee calls for the DQ at 7:21! The sudden finish hurts, but this wasn’t exactly shaping up to be a classic to begin with, *½.
Winner by DQ: Randy Orton

-A frustrated Randy Orton pulls Cena Sr. over the barricade. Cena makes the save and locks Orton into the STF, prompting Cena Sr. to nail Orton with the death punt! I suppose this was all meant to set up another round of Orton/Cena at No Mercy, but Cena would go down with an injury weeks later. -Jonathan Coachman confronts Cena Sr. backstage. Coach accuses him of knowing that Cena couldn’t win. Coach promises that Orton will receive a Last Man Standing rematch. Cena storms in and gets into Coach’s face, telling him not to mess with his family again.

The Undertaker vs. Mark Henry
This is the second time that Henry gets to main event a pay-per-view due to WWE making sure that a return by The Undertaker seems important. Henry was given storyline credit for putting Undertaker on the shelf back in the spring. Undertaker’s entrance is quite a production, complete with lightning, burning Taker symbols, and pyro. No druids though, which is something of a letdown.

Taker punks Henry in the early going and initiates a brawl. Superplex by Henry! Taker fights back, directing Henry to ringside. Low blow by Henry, who takes control. Taker sits up after a pair of slams and goes on the offense. Chokeslam by Undertaker gets 2. Henry blocks the Last Ride and locks in the Bear Hug. Undertaker counters Henry in the corner with an improvised Last Ride for the win at 11:24! The match wasn’t actively bad, just sort of generally dull. The crowd was dead through most of it too, only popping for Taker’s signature spots, *¼.
Winner: The Undertaker

Final Thoughts: Overall, this was not an impressive show by any stretch of the imagination. The main event fell flat and would have been better suited to main event Friday Night Smackdown. There was also nothing must-see on the undercard, as the match of the night was the *** affair between Cade/Murdoch and London/Kendrick. However, I find myself not feeling a whole lot of rage towards what might come across as a waste of time. The short match lengths really helped here, as the show kept a brisk pace and did not become boring. Still, I cannot recommend Unforgiven 2007 on the grounds that “it didn’t really suck.” Recommendation to avoid.

MVP = decent U.S. Champion

Montel Vontavious Porter was the U.S. Champion the last time I did a long entry that addressed all the champions in the WWE. He is the only title holder to still be in possession of his title since then. He won the belt against Chris Benoit at Judgment Day in May 2007, and now in March 2008 he's surpassed the 300 day mark and is the fourth longest reigning U.S. Champion of all time. That sounds impressive doesn't it? Too bad his reign has stalled at times. As a performer and character, MVP is great. He's developed into a capable in-ring worker and he's consistently over with live crowds. The problem with his reign is the same problem that plagues most of the championships in the WWE these days, the bookers don't give him anything to do. MVP had a good thing going with a feud against Matt Hardy, but that got sidetracked due to repeated incident's (MVP's heart condition, Matt's numerous injuries). But now it feels like they are just waiting things out, not wanting to really do anything with MVP or the title until Hardy is back and ready to finish out their program. MVP went almost three months without defending the title on Smackdown once (between his Armageddon title defense against Rey Mysterio and his recent Smackdown defense against Batista). That just seems sad. In between, he faced Ric Flair in a non-title match at the Royal Rumble, competed in an elimination chamber match at No Way Out, and is scheduled to participate in Money in the Bank at Wrestlemania. The title is a complete afterthought. This isn't his fault, so I can't possibly bash his work as champion, but it's depressing to see another long title reign that only seems to be lasting due to the lack of championship activity.