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By Wade Keller, Torch editor

KELLER'S WWE CYBER SUNDAY PPV REPORT
OCTOBER 28, 2007
WASHINGTON D.C. - MCI CENTER
LIVE ON PAY-PER-VIEW

-The PPV opened with a video feature touting the voting-theme during "election season" in the nation's capital. "Tonight, the power is in your hands," says the narrator. "Tonight is your night. Tonight is Cyber Sunday."

-Pyro fired on the stage as the Cyber Sunday theme song played and Michael Cole introduced the show as the camera panned the crowd holding up security-approved signs.

1 -- FIT FINLAY vs. REY MYSTERIO

Before the match, Todd Grisham described each of the potential stipulations: stretcher, shillelagh on a pole, or no DQ match. Stretcher won by 40 percent, with 36 percent goign for no DQ and 24 percent for pole match. Finlay took control early. He threw Rey through the ropes and onto the stretcher at ringside. Rey got off of it before Finlay could roll it up the ramp. Finlay dominated for another couple minutes. Rey made a comeback at 4:00, but after an attempt to throw Finlay onto the stretcher, Finlay regained control. He looked up at the shillelagh on the pole. When he made a move toward it, Rey hit him from behind. Rey almost grabbed the shillelagh, but Finlay blocked him. Rey ended up sunset powerbombing Finlay off the top rope to the mat. Rey then went for the shillelagh. He grabbed it, but Finlay immediately knocked him off the top rope to the floor. Then he used the weapon on Rey's left knee. Finlay knocked Rey onto the stretcher at 8:00 and began rolling it. Rey fought off of it. Finlay rammed Rey in the gut with the stretcher. Rey fired back with the same move a minute later, then hit a 619 modified from the floor. He followed with a flip senton onoto Finlay, then he rolled the stretcher up the ramp. The TV table got caught on the wheel and stopped the rolling just as Rey was about to win. It looked incidental. Finlay rolled off the stretcher, pulled off the padding, and rammed Rey's head into it. When Finlay swung the shillelagh, Rey avoided it and threw Finlay onto the stretcher and immediately shoved it past the line on the ramp to win.

WINNER: Rey Mysterio in 10:00.

STAR RATING: **1/4 -- Fine match. Solid opener.

-Clips aired of Matt Hardy getting badly cut on the last Smackdown and backstage footage of him receiving 16 stitches. Cole said there is speculation regarding Hardy not being medically cleared. They went backstage to a bruised, battered, and dejected Hardy. MVP sat next to him and said he agrees with the decision to hold him out of the match because the cut could get infected. Hardy said he heard Vickie Guerrero has decided that MVP will still defend his U.S. Title against Kane, Mark Henry, and Great Khali. Ah, yes, Smackdown's stand-by roster depth pays off.

-Cole and JBL announced voting during the show to decide who would face MVP. JBL lobbied for more votes for referee. No sign of Steve Austin or Mick Foley on PPV yet being in the building.

-A vignette aired with Maria asking for votes in the costume contest. She was dressed as a kitten. Victoria was dressed as a sumo wrestler with Kenny Dykstra dressed as Mr. Fuji behind her. They asked for votes. Ron Simmons walked up to them and said, "Damn!"

-Joey Styles and Tazz took over commentary. C.M. Punk came out to his full ring intro. The three potential challengers were shown backstage as Todd Grisham announced the results: The Miz won with 39 percent followed by John Morrison at 33 percent and Big Daddy V at 28 percent. They should have added "anyone from ROH" or "none of the above" as options to get some real feedback. It's not that Morrison or event Miz are that bad, but it's just too familiar given ECW's small roster.

2 -- C.M. PUNK vs. THE MIZ

Tazz talked up Miz's toughness in the ring. "He can bring the fight to you, and he has no confidence problem," said Tazz. Styles said that's true, and he has an impressive win-loss record since joining ECW. Lots of mat struggles in the early minutes with in control first, then Miz afterward. Punk came back with some hard double Wahoo chops, then his kneelifts, a running bulldog, and a springboard flying clothesline for a two count. Miz countered the Go To Sleep, then rolled up Punk with a yank on his tights. Punk rolled through and gave Miz a quick GTS for the win.

WINNER: Punk in 9:00 to retain the ECW Hvt. Title.

STAR RATING: *3/4

-Mickie James was dressed as an Indian and Torrie Wilson wore a Washington Redskins jersey.

-Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler made their first appearance of the PPV. They went into a video recap of the hype for Randy Orton's title defense and potential opponents.

-William Regal joined Todd Grisham on the stage. He said the two who are not chosen to face Orton will face off in the next match. Grisham announced the potential challengers one at a time. Michaels got a nice ovation. Hardy got a nice reaction, but not overwhelming. Kennedy got mostly boos. Michaels and Hardy were both selling nervousness. Michaels won with 59 percent over Hardy with 31 percent and Kennedy at 10 percent. Count me as skeptical of that vast difference - two-to-one almost - for Michaels over Hardy.

3 -- MR. KENNEDY vs. JEFF HARDY

Ross congratulated Regal for making this match-up of the two wrestlers not picked by fans. Lawler congratulated the WWE audience for choosing Michaels to face Orton. The opening minutes consisted of headlocks, hammerlocks, and more headlocks. At 3:00 Hardy slidekicked Kennedy to ringside, then dove off the top turnbuckle onto Kennedy on the floor. Lawler said neither wrestler in this match mentally prepared to wrestle one another, but were instead focused on Orton, so they are both entering without a strategy. Kennedy took control at 5:00. He kicked Hardy with a running boot as Hardy lay draped over the second rope. At 7:00 Hardy came back with a head scissors on Kennedy off the ropes in the corner. He followed with two hard clotheslines and a chop. Ross said it might be the hardest clothesline he's seen Hardy deliver ever. Lawler compared it to JBL's in his wrestling days. Hardy went for a Twist of Fate, but Kennedy blocked it. Hardy immediately hit a Whisper in the Wind for a two count. Hardy missed with the double kick in the corner, landed hard on his head, and Kennedy covered him for a quick three count.

WINNER: Kennedy in 10:00.

STAR RATING: ** -- Good match. Better paced than the previous match, but it didn't feel like either wrestler felt it was a showcase match for them. Some slight timing issues a couple times, but solid action. Not sure about having Hardy job given the sense that he has some momentum right now. While WWE needs strong heels, especially if Kennedy is due to feud with Chris Jericho, but Kennedy can get his heat back as a heel with a good promo. If Jericho is a Raw babyface, Hardy ought to be traded to Smackdown and become the top babyface over there. A Hardy-Edge feud would probably be the best option for that brand right now.

-Cole talked up how fun Cyber Sunday was because "it's like being G.M. for the night." Michelle McCool was dresses as an apple tree or something - green dress with leaves while chomping on an apple. Oh, she's Eve from the Garden of Eden. She looks like she could use a few more apples to bulk up. Melina was dressed as a Vegas showgirl.

-They finally showed Mick Foley. He was talking to murals of Batista and Undertaker on a wall backstage as pratice for later. JBL interrupted an attempt to interview Foley. He said thefans are going to vote for him. He introduced a "fair and balanced" video promoting him - the one that aired on Smackdown on Friday. Foley rebutted the video immediately. Foley asked what kind of referee goes out and says he's going to screw both guys in the match. He noted it sounds biologically impossible and disgusting. Foley said he can count to three, so he's qualified. Then he said, "Vote Foley" and did that lame "Yeahhh!" thumbs up thing he does.

-Vickie Guerrero joined Grisham as he ran down the three potential challengers for MVP. Voting went to Kane at 67 percent, followed by Khali at 24 percent and Henry at 9 percent. It says something that nearly three times as many people would rather see Khali wrestle than Henry. What a bad threesome in terms of match-potential, though. When Kane is the best worker and most athletic of three choices, it's a bad ballot.

4 -- MVP vs. KANE - U.S. Title match

JBL gave Hardy a hard time for leaving his team captain out there to have to face someone like Kane on short notice. Cole defended Hardy. Kane dominated early including a big boot in the opening minute. Kane went to the top rope, but MVP knocked him off balance. Kane clutched his ribs, which Big Daddy V and Henry injured last week. MVP seized that weakness and focused on it with kicks. Kane came back at 4:00 and dominated for several minutes, including yanking MVP into the ringpost ribs-first leading to a countout. Cole claimed MVP threw the match to save his title, while JBL called it a valiant effort by MVP.

WINNER: Kane via countout in 7:00.

STAR RATING: 3/4* -- This finish made sense as it first MVP's character to "save his title" by overselling a rib injury, while it helps protect Kane who, to have any credibility, can't be losing to MVP clean at this point until they're ready to really elevate MVP to a full-fledged near top-tier player (at which point, losing clean to him won't do damage to the wrestler jobbing).

-The SaveUs video aired. It said "Upon Us" and "X29" (Oct. 29) - tomorrow on Raw, presumably.

-A Survivor Series vignette aired hyping the return of Edge holding a chainsaw with him saying he is a little bitter.

-Leyla was dressed as a cop. Kelly Kelly dressed as a pink pimp.

-Randy Orton told fans to be careful what they wish for because they just might get it. He said he wanted to remind the fans of what has happened to Michaels in the past courtesy of himself. A video aired of Orton beating up Michaels. After the video played, he said the people have to live with their choice.

Randy Orton [artist Jess Hickman (c) PWTorch]

5 -- RANDY ORTON vs. SHAWN MICHAELS - WWE Title match

This match taking place this soon is indictable of Orton winning, not Michaels, since Vince McMahon prefers to end PPVs on a "happy note" whenever possible, or a copout finish since Vince McMahon prefers to end a show with a clean finish. Lawler said that video Orton prepared may fire up Michaels. Orton bailed out to ringside after an early flurry by Michaels. Michaels flip dove onto Orton at ringside immediately, then returned to the ring to cheers from the crowd. Orton applied a front chancery and put a lot of body torque into it. Michaels leveraged out and threw Orton shoulder-first into the ringpost. Michaels went to the mat and began working over Orton's left arm. Lawler asked the question no wrestling announcer is supposed to, which is why Orton was working over Michaels's left arm if his right arm is dominant (wrestlers always work over the left side of the body so right-handed wrestlers can make a more believable comeback using their right arm and leg). When Orton threw a barrage of rights at Michaels, Lawler brought it up again and said Michaels should have worked over that right arm instead. Michaels cinched on a side headlock at 7:00. Orton made a comeback a minute later, but Michaels threw Orton to the floor. When Michaels went to ringside, Orton gave him a back suplex onto the security wall. Ross brought up Michaels's back problems that sidelined him for years. Orton entered the ring and went for a quick cover. Michaels immediately kicked out. Orton applied a body scissors/chinlock combo. At 10:00 Michaels went for a back suplex, but Orton blocked it and then went for a back suplex of his own. Michaels spun around and landed on Orton for a sudden near fall. Orton and Michaels fought on the top turnbuckle in the corner. Michaels shoved Orton to the mat and then went for a top rope elbow. Orton moved. Orton then got up and set up an RKO. Michaels slipped out and applied a backslide for a believable near fall at 14:00. Michaels chopped Orton, Orton punched Michaels. They went back and forth. Michaels rebounded off the ropes with a flying forearm and both men went down hard. The ref counted both men down, but Michaels kipped up before ten. He gave Orton a reverse atomic drop and a bodyslam, then set up a top rope elbow and this time nailed it. He played to the crowd, working them to a frenzy. Then he signalled for the Sweet Chin Music. As he moved in for the kick, Orton ducked and punched Michaels between the legs. The ref immediately called for the DQ. Lawler said it was absolutely intention. The crowd obviously wasn't crazy about the finish. Afterward, Orton set up the Legend Killer Punt. Ross said that would end Michaels's career for good. When Orton went for it, Michaels popped up and superkicked him instead. Michaels's music played as he hobbld around the ring. Flat post-match celebration. The kissing-your-sister babyface DQ win in a title match, reminiscent of that Summerslam Lex Luger countout win over Yokozuna 15 years ago.

WINNER: Michaels via DQ in 16:00 so Orton retaind the WWE Title.

STAR RATING: *** -- Good match with a copout finish. Was it worse because MVP saved his title in the previous match with an alleged intentional countout, or was that a set-up to show how heel champs can take advantage of pro wrestling's absurd rules about title changes? In any case, yet another match that WWE sold a PPV on but didn't actually deliver a satisfying finish.

-A plug aired for WrestleMania 24 tickets going on sale this Saturday at 10 a.m. ET.

-Brooke was dressed up as Tarzan's Jane. Jillian was dressed as Britney. She dropped one of two baby dolls, then dropped the other one. Lawler said that was the best Britney Spears impersonation ever. Ross said it's the worst Halloween Costume Contest he's ever seen. Lawler disagreed strongly. Ross offered Lawler his glasses. Lawler laughed and asked if it will "make 'em look bigger."

-Grisham revealed that the Triple H vs. Umaga stip voting results: Street Fight won with 57 percent of the cote, followed by cage at 26 percent and First Blood at 17 percent. Count me as skeptical of that margin of victory over the cage stip. Seems more like Hunter and Umaga wanted the advantage of being able to coast a little with the stand-and-brawl format the street fight affords them without overexposing the cage match format.

6 - TRIPLE H vs. UMAGA - Street Fight

Hunter was introduced first. When Umaga came out, Hunter charged at him and they battled on the ramp. They drew boos when they fought behind the entrance set, but soon Hunter tackled Umaga through the set back onto the stage (which was painted to look like a keyboard). They brawled through the crowd for a minute, then back to ringside. Lawler said a lot of fans who voted for the street fight got to see it up close and person for a minute there. They fought into the ring at 2:00. Hunter hit Umaga with a trash can, denting it. Umaga ducked a second trash can swing by Hunter and gave him a sudden Samoan drop. He beat on Hunter methodically for several minutes. At 8:00 he hit him with a running butt splash in the corner. Hunter came back with a DDT onto a chair at 10:00. Umaga kicked out at two. Hunter set up a Pedigree a minute later, but Umaga powered out of that. When Umaga charged, Hunter caught him with a boot. They fought to ringside at 12:00 and brawled around the announce desks. Umaga ran across two announce tables and splashed Hunter through the third announce table at ringside. They replayed it from several angles. It was a great visual. Umaga went for a diving headbutt off the top rope in the ring, but Hunter moved. Then Hunter rolled to the floor and pulled out his equalizer, the sledge hammer. Umaga ducked and punched Hunter in the gut. Then he went for the Samoan Spike, but Hunter ducked and fired back with a ran of the sledgehammer to Umaga's face, then hit the Pedigree for the win.

WINNER: Triple H in 18:00.

STAR RATING: ***1/2 -- Good, satisfying street fight grudge match. They kept the pace moving and believable, with some memorable big spots, especially the running splash through the announce table.

-A plug aired for the WWE Magazine 500th issue.

-Grisham revealed that Mickie James won the Halloween Costume Contest with 21 percent of the vote, followed by Kelly Kellywith 17, Torrie with 15, Melina with 12, Maria with 12, and everyone else under 10 percent. Michelle finished last. They showed everyone reacting backstage as Mickie celebrated.

Steve Austin [artist Grant Gould (c) PWTorch]

-Grisham announced that 13,189,061 votes were cast worldwide for Cyber Sunday. There was a decent pop for Steve Austin, almost no reaction for Mick Foley, and boos for JBL. As Grisham was about to announce the decision, JBL insisted they stop the drum roll. Mick Foley came out and confronted JBL after he entered the ring and began talking about being back in a main event match again. Grisham revealed the results of the voting: Steve Austin won with 79 percent, followed by Foley with 11 percent and JBL with 10 percent. JBL thrwe a fit in the ring. Foley wasn't happy, either. JBL punched Foley. Foley fought back. Austin's music then played and out he walked wearing his new t-shirt ("Been There, Destroyed That" it says on the front, with his skull logo on the back. Austin gave Foley a Stone Cold Stunner, but then took a clothesline from JBL. JBL pummelled Austin in the corner. Austin kicked JBL as he set up a Clothesline from Hell, then gave JBL a Stone Cold Stunner. Cole declared, "You've put Stone Cold in charge tonight!" Austin celebrated as his music played. Then Undertaker's ring intro cut him off.

7 -- BATISTA vs. UNDERTAKER - World Hvt. Title match

The match began at 30 minutes into the third hour of the PPV, so there was plenty of time for an epic match if they chose. Undertaker side-stepped an initial charge by Batista. They locked up center ring. Batista applied a headlock. Lawler joined Cole on commentary because JBL was KO'd by Austin. Taker hit an early big boot for a two count by Austin. At 3:00 Taker caught a charging Batista with an elbow to the face, then scored a two count. Taker dropped Batista into a triangle choke with his legs. Batista grabbed the bottom rope to force a break. Taker kicked Batista in the head. At 5:00 Batista came back, brawled at ringside with Taker, and then re-entered the ring where Taker fired back with a high-flying clothesline for a two count. Batista set up a superplex, but Taker blocked it, punched out of it, and knocked Batista to the mat. Taker then went for a cover and scored a two count. Taker went for a running big boot in the corner, but Batista moved and Taker tumbled to the floor. At 9:00 Taker ran along the ring apron and hit a guillotine legdrop across Batista's chest. Back in the ring, Taker went for an immediately cover for another two count. Lawler said Batista had "Krispy Kreem" eyes since they had a glazed over look. At 11:00 Batista whipped Taker hard into the ropes. Taker moved and Batista flew into the ringpost shoulder-first. Taker walked the top rope, but when he came off with a forearm, Batista caught him and slammed him hard to the mat for a two count. Taker escaped the pin attempt by leveraging Batista into a Triangle Choke. Great spot, something we've never seen before in WWE. The crowd didn't pop for it because they didn't really see what happened, but that's a spot that can really be built up into something to anticipate. Batista leveraged Taker's shoulders to the mat, Austin began to count, so Taker released the hold. Taker got up and set up a chokeslam. He grabbed Batista's throat, but Batista elbowed out before Taker lifted him. Seconds later Taker ducked a Batista clothesline and tried again for a chokeslam and this time he execcuted it. Cole declared, "Undertaker's going to win the title" just as Taker went for the cover, giving away that there'd be a kickout by Batista. Batista did kick out at 14:00. Batista fired back with a desperation spear leading to a near fall. Cole told Lawler, "Aren't you glad you sat in on this match?" (They should have reunited Tazz and Cole for old time's sake, especially since Tazz got almost no PPV time tonight otherwise.) Batista rammed Taker face-first into the middle turnbuckle with a drop toe hold as Taker charged him at 15:00. Cole declared it the ninth inning with everything on the line. Batista punched Taker in the corner. Taker lifted Batista and gave him a Last Ride. He was slow to make the cover, then scored a very near fall that popped the crowd. Batista fired back with a spinebuster for a near fall that also popped the crowd. Austin held up two fingers as Cole raved about the emotional roller coaster going on. Taker sat up. Batista got bug-eyed at that sight. Batista hit the Batista Bomb for a very near fall. Batista looked slack-jawed shocked up at Austin. Batista got to his feet and yelled, then waited for Taker to stand. He then set up another Batista Bomb. He hit the second bomb and scored the pin. Clean win for Batista.

WINNER: Batista in 18:00.

STAR RATING: **** - Very good match. Batista and Taker have strong chemistry for sure and it was on display again. The clean finish was really needed after the Orton-Michaels finish. It's also good that the Smackdown World Title got the main event slot for once.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Check back to PWTorch.com not just on PPV nights, but every day for new amped up news updates and PWTorch exclusive features on our newly redesigned website. Also make note of our "quick glance" Top News Stories box between our Spotlight Box and Main Listing that features our most-read news stories from the past several days so you can quickly and easily find out the biggest breaking stories in pro wrestling at any time.

We welcome your 1-10 score and comments on this show for a "PPV Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. To contribute your thoughts on Cyber Sunday, click here.

As always after PPVs, the Torch Roundtable Reviews will be sent out via email to Torch VIP ESub members and posted exclusively at the ad-free VIP version of PWTorch.com. There will also be VIP Audio Analysis of the event featuring Torch staff roundtable discussions.

KELLER'S STAR RATING QUALIFICATION KEY:

DUD: Not just below-average, but without redeeming qualities either due to incompetence, inexperience, lack of effort, or mistakes. A bad finish to a below-average match can also rate a DUD.

ONE STAR: Below average match, but passable.

TWO STARS: Average everyday match, usually between five and ten minutes, with nothing memorable about it, but nothing wrong with it. A shorter match can also earn two stars if it was better than average for five minutes, but didn't last long enough to justify a three star rating.

THREE STARS: Very good match, but lacking something to take it to the next level. It might be a match between two average wrestlers that overachieved or a match between two excellent wrestlers that underperformed. Contains some element that makes it stand out from a typical average match and it effectively fulfilled it purpose in the context of the rest of the show.

FOUR STARS: Excellent match, entering match of the year territory. Everything fell into place. Several elements of the match were dramatic or emotional enough to get the crowd into the action. In almost every case, a match needs to have a satisfying finish to rate four stars or higher. A poor finish can take what is otherwise a four-star match and drop below. It's tough to reach four stars unless a match goes past 15 minutes.

FIVE STARS: A rare masterpiece where the match transcends what is usually considered a great match. To rate five stars, there can't be one fault to the match - not a poor finish, or a poor start, or some missed moves, or inconsistent selling, or corny ref bumps, or tired cliched spots, or a dead crowd, or lack of emotions expressed by the wrestlers. Each segment of the match has to fit into the larger story of the match. It's tough for a match to reach five stars unless it lasts at least 20 minutes.

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