Random Network Reviews: WWE Cyber Sunday 2007

WWE Cyber Sunday 2007
October 28th, 2007 | Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. | Attendance: 10.097

Formerly Taboo Tuesday, Cyber Sunday worked in the sense that it played perfectly into the popularity of online voting. In an era where American Idol was one of the most watched shows in the world, people just loved casting their votes and having their voices heard. For the first time since becoming the company’s top star, John Cena was on the shelf for a significant amount of time. He had to forfeit his WWE Title of over a year and now Randy Orton stood atop the Raw brand. On the Smackdown side, the lengthy Batista/Undertaker feud was about to add another chapter. This was the second Cyber Sunday Pay-Per-View.

Since the show is from DC, the opening video package centers around patriotism and voting. Michael Cole and JBL handle Smackdown commentary, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler work Raw matches and Joey Styles and Tazz take ECW.

Stretcher Match: Rey Mysterio def. Finlay in 9:47
The fans select this stipulation over No DQ and Shillelagh on a Pole. Rey comes out firing but Finlay is too tough. He slides Rey face first onto the stretcher but is unable to get him across the required line. Finlay stays in control, wearing down Rey inside. Rey snaps off a headscissors to kick off a rally. Though they didn’t get the “on a pole” match, Finlay climbs up to get the shillelagh. Rey retrieves it first but Finlay knocks him down and uses it on Rey’s knee. Finlay also uses the stretcher as a weapon. Rey uses the crowd’s “619” chants to fuel his comeback. He hits a 619 on the apron and then somersaults onto Finlay on the stretcher. He nearly wins but the stretcher gets caught on a cable. Finlay is up and goes for the shillelagh again. Rey ducks and flapjacks him onto the stretcher before pushing it past the line. Fine opener. Finlay as the abuser and Rey as the underdog works well. **¾

We get an update on a busted up Matt Hardy who is unable to compete tonight. His buddy and tag partner, MVP, agrees with the medics. Since Matt can’t wrestle, MVP will be defending his US Title against either Mark Henry, the Great Khali or Kane.

Fans can vote for the best Halloween costume among the Divas. In this segment, we see Maria dressed as a cat (just skimpy clothes with ears and a tail), and Victoria as Yokozuna, complete with Kenny Dykstra as Mr. Fuji.

ECW Championship: CM Punk (c) def. The Miz in 8:52
Miz getting voted as the opponent (over John Morrison and Big Daddy V) came as a surprise. Morrison had been a focal point of ECW, V was getting a push and Miz was kind of just there. Some dull back and forth starts this out. Miz avoids a superplex and hits the awesome clothesline for two. Punk tries a springboard cross body but Miz wasn’t ready to sell it. They awkwardly collide yet we get an instant replay of the botch. The crowd is so disinterested, they chant “Y2J” during a Miz rest hold. Punk hits a big hip toss to start a flurry of offense. Miz counters the GTS into a rollup but then has the Reality Check countered in the GTS, giving Punk the win. Both guys had better days ahead. This was rough. Sloppy, with a dead crowd. *½

Mickie James is dressed as an Indian warrior princess, while Torrie Wilson is a Washington Redskin. There’s a joke in there somewhere.

The fans choose Shawn Michaels to face Randy Orton for the WWE Title. The losers, Mr. Kennedy and Jeff Hardy, meet in a singles match. This was obvious because there was a revenge storyline between HBK and Orton.

Non-Title Match: Mr. Kennedy def. WWE Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy in 9:06
I get the idea behind booking this but it makes the match feel like a lame consolation prize. Jeff doesn’t bring his title with him. They trade offense and the crowd sits on their hands. It’s not a good idea to work headlocks when the previous match nearly put the fans to sleep. They pick things up with a Hardy dive and a Kennedy DDT. They fight up top and Hardy nails a super rana. Jeff gets a near fall on Whisper in the Wind. He misses the Hardyac Arrest dropkick and Kennedy just covers him to win. A lackluster match with a very flat finish. Credit to Jeff for bumping hard on the missed dropkick though.*¾

More costumes from the Divas. Michelle McCool is Eve from the Garden of Eden, while Melina is a showgirl. Neither woman brings it.

Mick Foley is set for an interview but JBL interrupts to show a video. It gives reasons to vote for JBL to referee the main event and not to vote for Steve Austin or Foley.

WWE United States Championship: Kane def. MVP (c) via countout in 6:41
Kane beats Mark Henry and Khali in a landslide. MVP is hesitant to mix it up. He knows Kane form a feud towards the end of 2006. MVP takes a beating but finds an opening by clipping Kane’s knee. That doesn’t last long though and Kane is back in control. He wrenches MVP’s body across the ring post before going back inside. Dumbass Kane waits for MVP, who allows himself to get counted out. Kane stands there like a buffoon. Bad all around. Dumb, boring and lazy. ½*

The Save_Us.222 video airs.

Next, we see Layla as a police officer and Kelly Kelly as a “gangster”, but she looks more like a pimp. Her rack is unbelievable here.

WWE Championship: Shawn Michaels def. Randy Orton (c) via disqualification in 15:53
Before the match, Randy Orton gave a short promo in the back telling the fans that they made their choice and it won’t be good for HBK. Shawn focuses on Orton’s shoulder. Orton goes to his favorite hold, the front face lock, to slow things. Shawn gets free by sending Orton shoulder first into the ring post. The continued arm work is great. It takes a back suplex on the guardrail for Orton to turn the tide, with JR bringing up HBK’s history of back problems. Orton wears him down until Shawn counters another back suplex into a cross body for two. Orton’s inverted backbreaker is a favorite move of mine and he gets a near fall with it here. Orton signals for the RKO but Shawn counters into a backslide for two. The crowd went nuts for it. Shawn hits the flying forearm and it’s kip up time. FIVE MOVES OF DOOM! Shawn goes for Sweet Chin Music but Orton ducks and punches him low for the DQ. I think the finish was the right call to set up a rematch, but coming after a countout, it wasn’t a good idea. I thought the limb work was well done. It was what I expected from Shawn and you could have put almost anyone in Orton’s spot and gotten the same result. ***¼

Post-match, Orton wants to punt Shawn again. It’s how he put him on the shelf in the first place. Shawn hits Sweet Chin Music from out of nowhere to stop it.

Back to the Divas. Brooke is a jungle girl, while Jillian is Britney Spears. She holds two fake babies and drops one, saying “Oops, I did it again.” Jim Ross straight up calls it the worst costume contest he’s ever seen.

Street Fight: Triple H def. Umaga in 17:23
The fans choose Street Fight over First Blood and Steel Cage. Umaga is one of those heels that got booked like a monster at times, but was never a real threat to the top stars. They start by brawling in the aisle and by the stage. Hunter thinks his name is Rhyno when he spears Umaga through the stage. I feel like that should be a bigger spot. It was used too early and to little effect here. They make their way back to the ring where HHH uses a trash can to knock Umaga down. Umaga retaliates with a Samoan drop and bear hug. Thanks to the rest hold, Umaga has the energy for a belly to belly suplex and the ass attack. HHH comes back with a DDT on a chair for two. Umaga stops his rally with a brutal swinging side slam. He then murders HHH by running across two announce tables and splashing him through the third. I thought he missed that each time in history. Once inside, Umaga misses another splash so Triple H gets his sledgehammer. HHH ducks the Samoan Spike and does his sledgehammer strike where he holds the hammer so it looks like shit. A Pedigree later and Hunter wins. I liked this as a fun brawl. I think it was missing some heat since everybody knew HHH was winning. The fans mostly reacted to the big spots. HHH’s selling was on point, while Umaga more than did his part. ***½

Mickie James wins the costume contest.

JBL interrupts things before we find out who won the special referee vote. He basically says that he knows the fans want him. Mick Foley interrupts him and waits in the ring. Steve Austin gets 79%, Foley gets 11% and JBL gets 10%. Wow. JBL and Foley brawl until Austin shows up and hands out Stunners.

World Heavyweight Championship: Batista (c) def. The Undertaker in 17:26
We start with a lengthy video package highlighting their three previous matches in 2007. They instantly show how well they know one another when Undertaker sidesteps a quick spear attempt. I loved that because Batista has been unable to best Taker, so he tried something different. Batista makes another mistake and Undertaker gets in control. He wears the champion down until crotching himself in the corner when he misses a big boot. Batista works him over outside and Undertaker crotches himself in the corner again in the same fashion. Batista has Taker scouted well throughout. He eats Snake Eyes but stops the big boot follow up with a clothesline. In an awesome moment, Batista catches Undertaker in mid-old school with a spinebuster. He covers but Taker locks him in a triangle choke. Batista powers out and then kicks out of a chokeslam. Batista slips out of the Tombstone and hits a spear for a close near fall. He goes for ten punches in the corner only for Undertaker to walk out with him into the Last Ride! Both men are down, so the late cover gets two. Spinebuster by Batista continues the string of near falls. The Batista Bomb isn’t even enough and everyone is baffled. Finally, a second Batista Bomb keeps the challenger down and Batista earns his first win over Undertaker. Excellent psychology here. This felt like a war where Batista had to dig deep, try new things and find a way to finally overcome the guy he couldn’t defeat. I liked this more than their Mania match. A rare clean loss for Undertaker. ****

5.5

The final score: review Not So Good

The 411

An improvement over the first Cyber Sunday event and the old Taboo Tuesday shows. I’d rank it as the best of these voting shows. It suffered from the same issues as the other ones (obvious voting and some lackluster performances). However, the final three matches deliver. Though the finish to HBK/Orton was disappointing, the match itself was strong. Umaga/HHH was a good old fashioned brawl and then the main event was awesome. A strong finish saved this show and makes it a mild thumbs up.