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Cyber Sunday Coverage
Batista defeat Undertaker
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Only three days before Halloween, perhaps there was no better time than Cyber Sunday for Batista
to exorcise his most formidable personal demons. At WWE’s interactive pay-per-view Sunday night, The Animal persevered
over Undertaker for the first time ever, and retained his World Heavyweight Championship in arguably the biggest match of
his storied career.
Certainly, with Batista equalizing this already-classic rivalry at one victory apiece, he has silenced those who questioned
whether he could legitimately best the man who can’t be destroyed. After Undertaker defeated him to claim his sixth
World Title at WrestleMania 23 last April, the best Batista could achieve against The Deadman were dual deadlocks, first in
a physically grueling Last Man Standing Match at Backlash, then in May’s remarkable Steel Cage Match on SmackDown.
Perhaps the champion owes a small debt of gratitude to JBL. While campaigning for your Cyber Sunday votes to nominate him
as the match’s guest referee two weeks ago, the SmackDown commentator accused The Animal of fearing Undertaker because
he had never beaten him. Batista practically speared JBL out of his boots, and it was evident that the words had lit a fire
under him. That same fire continued burning the following week, when Batista speared Undertaker himself, directly informing
The Phenom that he did not dread him.
Someone else whom Batista, Undertaker and the arena’s capacity crowd in Washington, D.C. should consider thanking is
you, for electing “Stone Cold” Steve Austin as the special guest referee. Earning a whopping 79 percent of your
votes in the home of democracy itself, Stone Cold stunned – and Stunnered – fellow officiating candidates Mick
Foley and JBL, clearing them from the ring so that the feverishly awaited “Batista-Undertaker IV”could get underway.
Not since King Kong battled Godzilla on the summit of Mt. Fuji had one epic confrontation accounted for so many thunderous
blows. Batista may have been the hometown hero, though the allegiance of the sold-out crowd in attendance was vocally divided
as both Superstars hammered at each other to the point of physical and mental exhaustion.
At every possible juncture throughout this fierce contest, Undertaker utilized his veteran ring experience in his attempts
to recapture the gold he lost last May. Had it been anyone but the current World Heavyweight Champion he faced this night,
he surely would have claimed it. After all, when was the last time you remember a WWE opponent withstand both a bone-shattering
chokeslam and a Last Ride from The Phenom?
The Animal would not be denied, however. And he sure as hell would not relinquish the World Heavyweight Title he reclaimed
from The Great Khali last month at Unforgiven. Even The Deadman’s features betrayed a hint of surprise as Batista inexplicably
withstood his foe’s onslaughts, kicking out of each pin only milliseconds before Austin’s hand officially slapped
down on the canvas a third time.
Undertaker would not fall easily, either. He took just about everything The Animal could unleash – multiple spinebusters,
a spear across the midsection…if there had been a kitchen sink in the ring, then surely Batista would have hurled it
at him. Yet each time Undertaker rose from seemingly certain defeat and countered with an unearthly offensive. And after delivering
what truly appeared to be the Last Ride for the champion, The Phenom motioned that it was time for Batista to rest in peace,
courtesy a Tombstone piledriver.
Miraculously, The Animal would escape Undertaker’s finisher with another spine-shattering counter, then deliver a Batista
Bomb that must have embedded the entire ring several inches into the ground beneath it. Undertaker, with a spirit worthy of
championship status in its own right, barely powered himself out of the pin, but even The Deadman would rise no more as Batista
summoned the strength to plant him to the mat with a second, and final, Batista Bomb.
As Stone Cold counted to three, our fans applauded both Superstars, who lay exhausted in the ring. Batista would rise first,
reclaiming his World Heavyweight Title from Austin and walking off. But as he headed up the ramp, he looked back at the ring
one last time, and saw Undertaker’s deathlike stare almost piercing toward him. The champion acknowledged it, then wearily
raised his hard-earned title once more. Both men had given their bodies, their hearts, their very souls for the right to be
called champion at Cyber Sunday. And for the first time in his life, Batista could make that claim over The Phenom.
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Shawn Micheals defeat Randy Orton(WWE Championship match,Orton DQ'ED,Orton Retains)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Thanks to a convenient low blow by Randy Orton, Shawn Michaels didn’t succeed in getting his
ultimate revenge and taking the Legend Killer’s cherished WWE Championship tonight at Cyber Sunday. But The Showstopper
did become a Grand Slam Champion (of sorts) again, knocking the WWE Champion’s teeth down his throat for the fourth
straight week with Sweet Chin Music.
Both Orton and Michaels got their wish when you, the Cyber Sunday electorate, selected HBK for the WWE Championship Match
instead of Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy and Mr. Kennedy. The Showstopper emerged as a frontrunner by knocking out
Orton with Sweet Chin Music in consecutive weeks on Raw.
Make no mistake about it: Orton and HBK both wanted to face each other at Cyber Sunday in the worst way. These two have a
long, storied rivalry that is very personal. Michaels had wanted revenge on Orton since the Legend Killer tried to end his
career by giving him a severe concussion last May at Judgment Day. So, Michaels wanted to hurt Orton most by taking away what
he holds most dear – the WWE Championship he just won last month at No Mercy.
Orton, in turn, wanted to vanquish HBK once and for all. For months, the third-generation Superstar told everyone in WWE that
he had ended Michaels’ career, only to see him reemerge as possibly the greatest threat to his young title reign. In
Orton’s mind, he should have been celebrating the beginning of his “one-man dynasty” – and Michaels
ruined it for him. HBK dampened Orton’s reputation as a Legend Killer, and the WWE Champion felt like he needed to save
face – and send a clear message to all of WWE – by finishing the job he didn’t complete five months ago.
And tonight at Cyber Sunday, Orton nearly succeeded. Sure, he was disqualified when he hit HBK with a low blow while the Showstopper
was preparing to hit him with potentially title-winning Sweet Chin Music. But that didn't matter to the Legend Killer.
While HBK was down, trying to recover, Orton reared back in the corner and prepared to charge with a vicious boot. Orton’s
nostrils flared and our fans in Washington, D.C., gasped and screamed, believing that they were going to see a replay of HBK’s
tragic moment from Judgment Day. But HBK put a stop to Orton’s Legend-Killing show with one swift, not-so-sweet (at
least to Orton) kick to the jaw.
For months, HBK replayed the image of Orton punting him in the head and heard Orton list him as a notch in his Legend-Killing
belt. He had tried to take away Michaels’ livelihood and his ability to enjoy his wife and children; and HBK had to
live with the upsetting vision of his wife weeping over his fallen body as medics wheeled him into an ambulance.
But tonight at Cyber Sunday, as our fans cheered, HBK looked down on a fallen Randy Orton. He didn’t accomplish his
mission – but neither did Orton. And neither Michaels nor Orton will rest until one of them is destroyed, one way or
another.
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MR.Kennedy defeat Jeff Hardy(Not picked for WWE Championship match)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – It would have been understandable if Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy and Mr. Kennedy had felt
a bit of a letdown when you, the voters, did not select them to face Randy Orton in the WWE Championship Match. But the way
these two runner-ups tore into each other tonight in a bonus match at Cyber Sunday, their fire wasn’t extinguished at
all and their rivalry has only heated up.
Both Hardy and Kennedy lobbied aggressively for your vote to be in the WWE Championship Match, arguing that it was each of
their time to get an opportunity at sports-entertainment’s most coveted prize. But they were not just campaigning for
your vote; they were also battling each other for bragging rights. They have waged an increasingly personal war over who is
the brightest, rising star in WWE and perhaps the future of sports-entertainment – and that was evident in their battle
tonight.
The Intercontinental Championship was not up for grabs, but there was plenty of pride on the line between Hardy and Kennedy.
If you ask Mr. Kennedy, he’ll tell you loud and clear that he is the undisputed future of sports-entertainment. Hell,
you don’t even have to ask him – the Green Bay, Wis., native has been telling everyone in WWE that for two years.
Kennedy has also said he beats Jeff Hardy every time he’s in the ring with him – a bit of an exaggeration (OK,
an outright lie) because the Intercontinental Champion pinned him twice in the weeks leading up to Cyber Sunday.
Though he may never admit it, Kennedy was out to even the score against Hardy – and he did. He wanted to make sure that
you regretted choosing Shawn Michaels for the WWE Title Match and giving him only 10 percent of the vote in the WWE Championship
Match at Cyber Sunday. And he wanted to show the world that he is world championship material. But, as had been the case in
the weeks leading up to Cyber Sunday, Jeff Hardy – another Superstar touted by good ol’ J.R. and a potential world
champion – stood in his way.
As in their previous matches, tonight’s was a physical, hard-hitting clash pitting Hardy’s unorthodox, death-defying
style against Kennedy’s ground-and-pound attack. Hardy eked out a victory in their clash on Raw a few weeks back, but
tonight, Kennedy managed to get his hand raised.
The roots of Hardy and Kennedy’s rivalry may go as far back as WrestleMania 23, when both were involved in the Money
in the Bank Ladder Match, which the former U.S. Champion won. Injury and an opportunistic Edge prevented Kennedy from cashing
in his world championship opportunity, and he has been frothing at the mouth for a golden chance since.
Tonight at Cyber Sunday, Kennedy may have taken a step toward that goal. But he also has taken a giant step toward a potential
golden opportunity with Jeff Hardy with the Intercontinental Championship on the line. As Kennedy would say, the future is
now, and his name is MRRRR. KENNEDDDDYYY!!! … Kennedy!!!!
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Triple H defeats Umaga(Street Fight)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – After weeks of bloody mind games, The Game came ready to play in the nation’s capital and proved
his mettle with metal against Umaga.
Fifty-nine percent of the WWE Fan Nation chose to have Triple H and Umaga battle in a Street Fight instead of a First Blood
Match or Steel Cage Match, and The Cerebral Assassin showed his ingenuity, endurance and appetite for destruction as he and
his trusty sledgehammer powered past the McMahon-backed monster. A sledgehammer, a steel chair and even the crowd barriers
were all at the disposal of the 11-time World Champion, and they helped to slow the Samoan Bulldozer’s momentum.
The match was on from the moment Umaga showed his face. Triple H attacked the savage, fighting him across and through the
computer keyboard-like entrance set. The contest even spilled into the crowd, who had voted for the Street Fight over the
past few weeks on WWE.com.
At times, Triple H seemed overpowered by Umaga, as the former Intercontinental Champion tossed him around like a rag doll
and crushed his ribs with a breath-sapping bear hug. The end seemed near for The Game as the Samoan Bulldozer used the three
announcers’ desks as a runway and delivered a running head butt, sending them both crashing through the ECW announcers’
desk.
But after dodging a splash from the monster, The Game pulled out his sledgehammer and was able to connect with Umaga’s
cranium. A Pedigree to the stunned beast led to a three-count for an exhausted Triple H.
As The Game celebrated with the Washington, D.C., crowd, he raised his sledgehammer high, knowing that he had brought down
the hammer, so to speak, on this vicious and personal rivalry.
“He’s one big tough bad-ass Samoan," Triple H told WWE.com after the match. "One thing I promised people tonight
was, no matter what the match type was, it was going to be a war, and it was. I got my hand raised, but neither one of us
won. This match took something out of both of us, and I’m sure it’s not the end of [our rivalry.]”
But it brought The Game glee to him to think that perhaps somewhere in the nation’s capital, the Chairman of WWE was
cursing under his breath.
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CM Punk defeat The Miz(CM Punk Retains)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Miz may not be far off when he says the women love him and the men respect him enough to fear
him, as he racked in the votes to challenge CM Punk for the ECW Championship. Unfortunately for the self-proclaimed “chick
magnet,” that did not translate into a win as the Straightedge Superstar retained the gold against him at Cyber Sunday.
The man who insists on giving out reality checks found himself dreaming after Punk hit him with the GTS and then covered him
for the three-count.
"I'm glad it was The Miz," Punk said. It's not because he thinks The Miz was the easiest of his three possible opponents,
at all. "I just hate that hat he wears. And I've been waiting to kick him in the face for a long time."
The ECW Champion went into his Cyber Sunday contest having to prepare for three different men, not knowing if he would face
Big Daddy V, former champion John Morrison or The Miz. The incumbent prevailed, though, in his second affair defending the
title.
The Miz has been busy leading up to Sunday’s pay-per-view. It’s no secret that he has been distracted by Kelly
Kelly’s desire to date Balls Mahoney. Meanwhile, he has been campaigning to participate on Sunday. In all that has been
on his plate, perhaps he just didn’t have enough time to prepare for a match. Instead of having the gold as an extra
escort to the ring, The Miz is stuck with a missed opportunity and his first solo loss since joining the Land of the Extreme.
"Miz," said CM Punk, "it was a pleasure."
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Kane defeat MVP(Countout,MVP Retains Title)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As announced during Cyber Sunday, WWE officials did not medically clear Matt Hardy to compete against
United States Champion MVP. So instead of seeing the WWE Tag Team Champions do battle, you the fans, got to choose whether
Kane, The Great Khali or Mark Henry would battle Porter for his title. Sixty-seven percent of you voted in the Big Red Monster,
and while he may have won the match, his count-out victory means that the gold stays around MVP’s waist.
MVP seemed happy when he found out that he wouldn’t have to battle his tag team partner in the nation’s capital;
however, that joy quickly turned sour when Hardy told him of his alternate plans. When it was announced that Kane –
who garnered two-thirds of your votes – was his opponent, MVP’s night seemingly went from bad to worse.
Both men focused their offensive efforts on their opponent’s ribs – a smart strategy for MVP, who knew that Kane’s
ribs had been injured by Big Daddy V earlier in the week. After the Big Red Monster used the ring post as a weapon to further
assault the champion’s ribs, MVP may have used another piece of smart strategy to end his suffering as quickly as possible.
As referee Charles Robinson continued his 10-count, the Ballin’ Superstar seemed to have a couple of opportunities to
roll back into the ring. But instead of re-entering the squared circle, MVP fell back to the floor. Robinson completed his
count, giving Kane the victory; however, because titles cannot change hands on a count-out, MVP remains the United States
Champion.
So while MVP – or his tag team partner, for that matter – might not be doing much ballin’ after Cyber Sunday,
come Halloween night, he’ll still have two 15-pound golden accessories draped around the ample shoulders of whatever
costume he chooses to wear.
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Rey-Rey defeat Finlay
October 28, 2007
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The rivalry between Rey Mysterio and Finlay wheeled its way to yet another chapter when you, our
fans, voted for the two Superstars to face off in a Stretcher Match at Cyber Sunday.
The rules to the Stretcher Match are clear: Incapacitate your opponent to the point that you can place him on the stretcher
and wheel him over the white line. Sunday night, Mysterio was able to do just that, putting Finlay on the gurney and pushing
him over the white line to pick up the victory.
With the shillelagh hanging above the ring during the contest, and with no rules preventing him, Finlay retrieved his ever-trusted
weapon and hoped to put an end to the high-flying Rey Mysterio. But the resilient Mysterio withstood the tricks of the Irishman
to put Finlay on the stretcher and secure the win.
"I had never been in a Stretcher Match and didn't know what to expect," said Mysterio, "but I was prepared for whatever the
fans chose."
With the victory, Mysterio gained the retribution he had been seeking since he was viciously attacked at the hands of Finlay
at No Mercy earlier this month. During that contest, the Irishman feigned injury and was being taken out of the arena on a
stretcher when he jumped up and assaulted Mysterio.
This past Friday on SmackDown, the Cyber Sunday opponents and bitter rivals were forced to team together to take on WWE Tag
Team Champions Matt Hardy & MVP. As Mysterio looked in control, Finlay took advantage of a distracted referee and hit his
partner with the shillelagh to give the win to the tag champs.
At Cyber Sunday, Rey Mysterio laid it all on the line to pick up the win over Finlay, while the Irishman was just laid out.
Vote Results:
Stretcher Match:40%
NO DQ:36%
Shill on a pole match:26%
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Costume Drama
October 28, 2007
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Proving much more of a treat than a trick, the gorgeous ladies of WWE squared off against one another
at Cyber Sunday, vying for your votes in a Divas Halloween Contest.
The roundup of decorated Divas included: Maria as a pussycat, Victoria as a Sumo wrestler, Mickie James as an Indian princess,
Torrie Wilson as a Washington Redskins football player, Michelle McCool as Eve from the Garden of Eden, Melina as a Las Vegas
showgirl, Layla as a bad cop, Kelly Kelly as a gangster, Brooke as a jungle girl and Jillian Hall as a tone-deaf Britney Spears
(or is that redundant?). (PHOTOS)
But there could be only one winner. Capturing 21 percent of the Cyber Sunday vote, Mickie James won the sartorial showdown.
Monday night on Raw, in a match that could test the strength of a ring full of costume shoulder straps, beauties from all
three brands will compete in a Divas Halloween Battle Royal. The victor could earn a leg up when the time comes to challenge
the Glamazon, Beth Phoenix, for the Women’s Championship. But at the very least, the Divas will provide an early Halloween
treat.
TOP 3 VOTING'S
Winner:Mickie James 21%
Kelly Kelly, 17%
Torrie Wilson, 15%
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