By Jonathan Bain, PWTorch Specialist

Editor's Note: Jonathan Bain submitted his column prior to the Cyber Sunday PPV last night.

Welcome to week eleven of Depth Perception! Cyber Sunday, this weekend's pay-per-view offering from WWE, has the potential to be an entertaining show. There are some interesting championship matches, and I think that if Evan Bourne is chosen to face Matt Hardy, there's a chance for them to steal the show. United States champion Shelton Benjamin will be in action on WWE.com just before Cyber Sunday airs facing an opponent chosen by the WWE Universe.

Going off on a complete tangent, though, because I don't have anywhere to write about this in the column, I just want to mention that I'm really enjoying the Great Khali's Kiss Cam segments. I've heard a lot of people complain that they have no interest in seeing Khali turn face, but I've enjoyed him showing off his personality in the past three weeks much more than I've enjoyed anything he's done in the past few years. There's nothing wrong with a little bit of fun every now and then! Anyway, back to Cyber Sunday. I'll be covering results from Cyber Sunday in next week's column but as for now, let's get onto this week's Championship Rankings!

World Heavyweight Champion – Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho cut a good promo early in the night on Raw about the special referee stipulation for his match at Cyber Sunday. I liked him demanding Lillian Garcia announce him as the World Champion, it was a nice touch to show his aggressive heel side to counter the cowardly heel side of him that was portrayed later in the night in the gauntlet match. Batista interrupted Jericho's promo and said if the Champion could beat him at Cyber Sunday then he'd earn some respect but until then he should shut up and stop whining. After Mike Adamle informed Jericho and Batista of their gauntlet match for the main event, Jericho slapped Batista in the face and left. Later in the night, in the gauntlet match, Batista and Jericho had to each face the same three men. Jericho was able to beat the first man in the gauntlet, William Regal. After Batista had weakened Regal, Jericho was able to hit him with the Code Breaker for the pinfall. The second man in the gauntlet was Mark Henry and Jericho had to face him first. Jericho grew frustrated by his inability to deal with Henry's size advantage and so he got disqualified by hitting Henry with the World Championship. The third and final opponent in the gauntlet was Kane, who pinned Jericho after a big boot. Batista was able to beat all three of the opponents. This gauntlet match didn’t make Jericho look like a strong Champion at all and it's very disappointing to see him pinned again this week. Because Jericho was made to look so weak, I can't move him up the Championship Rankings, he's fortunate that there were other Champions who were made to look worse than him this week though.

Challengers:

Batista: Batista interrupted Chris Jericho's promo and told him how to earn his respect. Batista then got slapped in the face by Jericho. Later in the night, Batista pinned William Regal, Mark Henry and Kane in the gauntlet match. Strong showing from Batista, the slap was a nice way to set up some more tension for his match with Jericho on Sunday and The Animal was able to pick up three pinfall victories to head in Cyber Sunday looking great.

Shawn Michaels: HBK wasn’t on Raw this week, which is always a shame. I think a segment between Michaels and Randy Orton would have been good to garner some more interest in the special referee stipulation for Cyber Sunday.

WWE Champion – Triple H

Triple H opened Smackdown with a promo this week, he complained about Vickie Guerrero and made fun of her. Jeff Hardy and Vladimir Kozlov would both interrupt and basically said they'd take The Game's title. Triple H said it doesn’t matter who gets voted in to face him because the result will be the same. With that, he Pedigreed Jeff. Later in the night, Triple H faced The Undertaker in a non-title match in the main event of Smackdown but the match ended in a no contest when The Big Show came out and attacked The Undertaker to cause the DQ. Triple H seemed to be done for after taking The Last Ride but The Undertaker was too exhausted to make the cover. After the bell, Big Show continued his assault on The Undertaker. Triple H tried to stop Show with a Steel Chair but was put down with a chokeslam. Big Show then took out The Undertaker with the Steel Chair before leaving. The Game began to struggle to his feet but Vladimir Kozlov came out to attack him. Triple H tried to defend himself but following his match and the chokeslam from Big Show, he was easily overwhelmed by Kozlov. The show closed with Kozlov standing over Triple H. Triple H Vs. The Undertaker was a great match and the crowd reaction throughout really added to it. Both men were impressive in the match and the exchange of counters towards the end was awesome. I think it was a mistake to have this match on Smackdown instead of saving it for a PPV because it would have got a hell of a lot of buys, but I won't complain because it was a great treat for us fans to be able to see such an entertaining match for free and I'd still pay to see a rematch. Triple H was made to look good and was put over as gutsy for trying to help The Undertaker against Big Show and then for trying to take the fight to Vladimir Kozlov, despite being exhausted from his match and selling Show's chokeslam and Undertaker's Last Ride. Good stuff from the WWE Champion and he would have been top of the Championship Rankings this week if he had won his match and not been attacked by Kozlov. Still a strong week for The Game though.

Challengers:

Jeff Hardy: Jeff interrupted Triple H's promo at the start of Smackdown and told him that there's a great chance he'll be voted in to face him at Cyber Sunday and a phenomenal chance he'll walk out the new WWE Champion. Triple H said whoever gets voted in, it'll still end with him hitting the Pedigree. He then Pedigree'd Jeff. Well, that sucks for Jeff but I'm sure he'll get voted in at Cyber Sunday and have another chance to take the WWE Championship from Triple H.

Vladimir Kozlov: Vladimir Kozlov interrupted Jeff Hardy's promo on Triple H and said the fans won't vote for him at Cyber Sunday because they know he'll leave the WWE Champion. After Triple H's match with The Undertaker and post-match chokeslam at the hands of The Big Show, Vladimir came down to the ring and attacked The Game.

ECW Champion – Matt Hardy

Matt Hardy opened ECW on Tuesday night with a promo in the ring. He went through the three choices of opponents for his title at Cyber Sunday and said he wanted to face Mark Henry. Finlay, Evan Bourne and Mark Henry would all interrupt Matt to campaign for votes. Matt told all three men that winning the vote at Cyber Sunday is all they'll win because he'll retain his title. Good, confident showing from the ECW Champion.

Challengers:

Mark Henry: Mark Henry made an appearance on Raw again this week as part of Mike Adamle's gauntlet match for Chris Jericho and Batista. Henry was the second opponent for Jericho and Batista and defeated Jericho by DQ after being hit with the World Heavyweight Championship. Henry was then pinned by Batista after a spinebuster. Henry has an out for his loss as he had just been hit in the head by the title belt moments before Batista spinebustered him. On ECW, Mark Henry interrupted the show-opening promo and told Matt Hardy that his title run was coming to an end. In the main event, Mark Henry was pinned by Evan Bourne after taking a shillelagh shot from Finlay and shooting star press from Bourne. Not a good week for the World's Strongest Man.

Evan Bourne: Evan Bourne interrupted Matt Hardy and Finlay on ECW and had a brief exchange of words with Finlay before Mark Henry interrupted. In the triple threat match later that night, Evan Bourne got an absolutely huge win as he pinned Mark Henry with a shooting star press to win the triple threat. Great win for Bourne!

Finlay: Finlay and Hornswoggle interrupted Matt Hardy's promo on ECW and Finlay told him that he'll take his title if he gets voted in at Cyber Sunday. In the main event, Finlay failed to win the triple threat match but it was Mark Henry who was pinned. Finlay was made to look pretty good in the match though, so it wasn't too bad a showing for him. He did seem to be in pain throughout the match, so if he wasn’t just selling, I hope he's ok.

Intercontinental Champion – Santino Marella

Santino cut a fun promo on Raw mocking the three choices of opponents for him at Cyber Sunday. Santino was dressed as a mix of all three, "Rodney the Piper", "Goldendust" and "The Honky Donkey Man". Hacksaw Jim Duggan interrupted and took exception to Santino mocking "his generation". Santino made fun of Hacksaw but then Duggan insulted Beth Phoenix and called her Santino's "boyfriend". Santino was offended so he hit Hacksaw with a guitar. Santino's lip got busted open during this segment, presumably from one of the guitar strings snapping and hitting him. Santino's always entertaining but I think this promo was a bit long for the fans in the arena, who seemed to get bored. With that said, I enjoyed Santino's delivery and it was nice to see him display a serious side when hitting Hacksaw with the guitar.

Challengers:

Roddy Piper, Goldust or Honky Tonk Man: Fans will decide who faces Santino at Cyber Sunday.

United States Champion – Shelton Benjamin

The Gold Standard will be a part of Cyber Sunday but his match will be streamed live on WWE.com just before the PPV starts. The choices of opponent for him are R-Truth, MVP or Festus. As for Shelton's appearance on Smackdown, he teamed with MVP to take on R-Truth and Kung Fu Naki but was on the losing side when MVP was pinned by Kung Fu Naki with a Karate Kick. I can't actually believe MVP was pinned by Funaki, surely his punishment over the Wellness incident is almost over...For Shelton, he could have done with a win here but at least he wasn't pinned. Shelton was thrown to the outside by R-Truth moments before MVP was pinned. On Sunday, Shelton has the chance to get some momentum going, I would imagine R-Truth will be voted in, unless I've greatly underestimated the popularity of Festus. I am disappointed that Shelton's match didn’t make the main card though, it's a shame.

Challengers:

R-Truth: R-Truth and Kung Fu Naki defeated MVP and Shelton Benjamin on Smackdown this week. R-Truth didn't pick up the pinfall for his team but another win over Shelton Benjamin is a nice bragging right for him. Truth will likely be voted in to face Shelton on WWE.com before Cyber Sunday and it will be interesting to see whether The Gold Standard can finally beat R-Truth.

World Tag Team Champions – Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase

Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase were scheduled to face Cryme Tyme on Raw but along with Manu, attacked Cryme Tyme before the bell and left them beaten in the ring. They weren’t given a lot of time but it was a good, intense showing from the Champions and Manu, nice work.

Challengers:

CM Punk and Kofi Kingston: CM Punk and Kofi Kingston were defeated by The Miz and John Morrison on Raw when Miz got a blind tag to roll Punk up for the victory. Punk had hit Morrison with the GTS but unbeknownst to him, Morrison was no longer the legal man. This is a big loss for Kofi and Punk just six days before Cyber Synday. I'm not sure if it will affect their chances of being voted to face DiBiase and Rhodes at the PPV but it does kind of take the shine off of that match a little bit. They should have been made to look strong here but they go into Sunday weakened.

John Morrison and The Miz: A big win on Raw for Morrison and Miz, their performances on Monday nights have been good in recent weeks and picking up a win over CM Punk and Kofi Kingston is a big deal and it gives them something to brag about in the coming weeks. I don't think we'll get to see them wrestle Cryme Tyme at Cyber Sunday but I'd like to be proven wrong as I'm a big fan of John Morrison and The Miz and a PPV appearance would be good for them as their profiles continue to be raised. On ECW, Morrison and Miz were interviewed by Lena Yada about their potential match with Cryme Tyme at Cyber Sunday. After their interview, The Miz lost to Shad by DQ after Morrison interfered.

Cryme Tyme: JTG and Shad were in the ring ready to face Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes but were attacked by the World Tag Team Champions and Manu and left laid out. Bad night for Cryme Tyme on Raw but they might be able to get some revenge next week. The next night on ECW, Shad defeated The Miz by DQ.

WWE Tag Team Champions – Carlito and Primo

Carlito and Primo defeated the team of Chavo Guerrero and Bam Neely in a non-title match on Smackdown when Carlito hit the Back Stabber on Bam for the pinfall. Bam and Chavo argued in the match and when Chavo slapped Bam, it gave Carlito the chance to capitalise on the distraction and pick up the win for his team. Backstage, Primo was flirting with Brie Bella after his match but Carlito came along and ruined his chances, leading to a brief comedic argument. Fun segment, I really like the chemistry between the two brothers. Later in the show, they approached Brie again but she was offended this time. Primo said he thought he was in love! The Great Khali then told Primo that he "had no game". Again, fun stuff. The WWE Tag Team Champions keep their momentum going and get another good win on Smackdown and they also got to show off their personalities backstage. They're doing a good job as Champions and even introduced a few fun double team moves this week. Really good week from these guys.

Challengers:

Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder: Hawkins and Ryder weren’t in action on Smackdown this week, which means they were spared from taking another job. Their pursuit of the WWE Tag Team Championships might be over for now.

Chavo Guerrero and Bam Neely: Chavo and Bam were unable to function as a team and argued throughout the match. Chavo slapped Bam, which distracted the big man long enough for Carlito to hit him with the Back Stabber for the pinfall. Interesting angle here, we'll see where this leads.

Women's Champion – Beth Phoenix

Beth Phoenix accompanied Santino for his promo and was once again insulted, this time by Hacksaw Jim Duggan, who called her Santino's "boyfriend". Santino took offence and hit Hacksaw with a guitar. Beth left with Santino. Disappointing that Beth didn’t get to wrestle for the second week running and I had said last week that I hoped she'd have a bigger part on the show this week. Hopefully next Monday on Raw she'll be able to do something more than just stand next to Santino for a promo.

Challengers:

Kelly Kelly: I really liked how Raw started with the Diva's tag team match this week, I thought it was a pretty good match and it was a nice change of pace from having a long talking segment opening the show. Kelly picked up the win for her team after pinning Jillian Hall. Good for Kelly, I'd like to see her challenge Beth Phoenix soon for the Women's Championship.

Candice Michelle: Candice Michelle was on the winning side when teaming with Kelly Kelly on Raw to face Katie Lea and Jillian Hall. It seems Candice is taking a backseat to Kelly for the moment.

Diva's Champion – Michelle McCool

Michelle McCool will once again be ranked bottom of the Championship Rankings this week as she suffered a pinfall loss to Maryse in a tag match on Smackdown. Michelle teamed with Maria to face Maryse and Natalya Neidhart but Maryse was able to roll up the Diva's Champion when Jesse and Festus distracted Maria on the apron as Michelle went for a tag. Backstage, Michelle was angry at Maria for being distracted in their match. Maria said she was concerned for Festus as he was upset but Michelle said she didn’t care. The heelish side of Michelle continues to be shown on Smackdown. Nice angle to build towards the eventual Maria Vs. Michelle McCool match, I'm looking forward to their rivalry becoming personal in the next few weeks.

Challengers:

Maria: Maria was on the losing side on Smackdown in a tag team match. Maria was distracted by Jesse and Festus and didn’t see her tag partner, Michelle McCool, trying to tag her in against Maryse and Natalya Neidhart. Backstage, Maria was looking for Festus to make sure he was ok when Michelle McCool confronted her to complain about her costing them their match. Maria said she just wanted to find Festus, who moments later ran past chasing a mariachi band. Good progression in the Jesse-Festus-Maria angle and also Maria's rivalry with Michelle McCool.

Maryse: Maryse once again pinned the Diva's Champion when she rolled her up in the tag match on Smackdown. Maria is the number one contender to Michelle McCool's title but Maryse is keeping herself in the picture with victories over McCool.

Natalya Neidhart: Was on the winning side on Smackdown thanks to Maryse rolling up Michelle McCool.

Brie Bella: The lovely Brie Bella was shown backstage flirting with Carlito and Primo. Then later in the show, 'Brie' was shown being approached by Primo again but this time she wasn’t interested at all. Good continuation of the twin storyline.

Championship Rankings Week Eleven

Rank 1. WWE Tag Team Champions Carlito and Primo (No Change)
Rank 2. WWE Champion Triple H (No Change)
Rank 3. World Tag Team Champions Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes (Up 2 Positions)
Rank 4. ECW Champion Matt Hardy (Up 2 Positions)
Rank 5. Intercontinental Champion Santino Marella (Down 2 Positions)
Rank 6. Women's Champion Beth Phoenix (Down 2 Positions)
Rank 7. World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho (No Change)
Rank 8. United States Champion Shelton Benjamin (No Change)
Rank 9. Diva's Champion Michelle McCool (No Change)

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