Cyber Sunday (2007)

Cyber Sunday
Cyber Sunday
	Promotional poster featuringCandice Michelle
Promotion	World Wrestling Entertainment
Brand(s)	Raw; SmackDown!; ECW
Date	October 28, 2007
City	Washington, D.C.
Venue	Verizon Center
Attendance	10,094
Buy rate	194,000
Tagline(s)	Log on. Take over.
Pay-per-view chronology
←Previous; No Mercy	Next→; Survivor Series
Cyber Sunday/Taboo Tuesdaychronology
←Previous; 2006	Next→; 2008

The 2007Cyber Sundaywas the fourth annualTaboo Tuesday/Cyber Sunday professional wrestling pay-per-view(PPV)eventproduced byWorld Wrestling Entertainment(WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion'sRaw,SmackDown!,andECW brand divisions.The event took place on October 28, 2007, at theVerizon CenterinWashington, D.C.The most important feature of Cyber Sunday was the ability for fans to vote online through WWE.com on certain aspects of every match. While it was the fourth event in this interactive PPV's chronology, it was only the second titled Cyber Sunday as the first two events were titled Taboo Tuesday.

The main match on the SmackDown! brand wasBatistaversusThe Undertakerfor theWorld Heavyweight Championship,which Batista won by pinfall after executing aBatista Bomb.Thespecial guest referee,which was eitherStone Cold Steve Austin,John "Bradshaw" Layfield,orMick Foley.The predominant match on the Raw brand was for theWWE ChampionshipbetweenRandy Ortonand the fans' choice of eitherShawn Michaels,Jeff Hardy,orMr. Kennedy.The voting for the event started on October 9, 2007, and ended during the event.

Most of the existingfeudscontinued after the event. Notably,Shawn Michaelswould continue to feud withRandy Ortonover theWWE Championship,which led to a match atSurvivor Seriesfor the championship, which Orton won. After losing to Batista, Undertaker challenged Batista to aHell in a Cellmatch at Survivor Series for the World Heavyweight Championship, which Batista won afterEdgeinterfered. Edge then became a part of the feud and it became aTriple Threat matchatArmageddonfor the World Heavyweight Championship, which Edge won. After beating Umaga in aStreet Fight,Triple H faced off against Umaga in aSurvivor Series match.Triple H's team won the match and their feud ended.

The event had 194,000 buys, down from theCyber Sunday 2006figure of 228,000 buys.

Production[edit]

Background[edit]

Cyber Sunday,originally known as Taboo Tuesday, was an annualpay-per-view(PPV) event produced byWorld Wrestling Entertainment(WWE) since2004.A unique feature of the event was the ability for fans to vote on certain aspects of every match. Because of this, the event was billed as an "interactivepay-per-view. "^[3]^[4]The 2007 event was the second event to be titled Cyber Sunday, but the fourth overall in the Taboo Tuesday/Cyber Sunday chronology. It was scheduled to be held on October 28, 2007, at theVerizon CenterinWashington, D.C.^[5]While the previous three years' events were produced exclusively for theRaw brand,the 2007 event featured wrestlers from the Raw,SmackDown!,andECWbrands, as followingWrestleMania 23earlier in April, WWE discontinued brand-exclusive PPVs. It was also the last Cyber Sunday PPV in 4:3 format until January 2008 when all WWE shows went inhigh definition.^[6]

Storylines[edit]

The mainfeudheading into Cyber Sunday on theRawbrand was betweenRandy OrtonandShawn Michaels,with the two battling over theWWE Championship.This feud began in May when Michaels facedEdgein Edge's last match on Raw, which Michaels won the match bypinfallafterSweet Chin Music.After the match, Orton came out and attacked Michaels, which was preceded by a punt to the head. AtJudgment Day,Orton attacked Michaels before their scheduled match, where Orton defeated him via referee stoppage. After the match, Orton again attacked Michaels, putting him out of action for several months.^[7]Their feud restarted on the October 8, 2007 episode ofRaw,the night after Orton won the WWE Championship. Michaels returned during Orton's appreciation ceremony and hit him with Sweet Chin Music, when Orton was going to hit Michaels with the WWE Championship belt.^[8]Afterwards, a match was made for Cyber Sunday where Orton would defend the WWE Championship against the fans' choice of either Michaels,Jeff Hardy,orMr. Kennedy.^[9]The next week onRaw,Orton faced his three possible opponents in individual matches. Kennedy interfered and attacked Hardy in his match with Orton. Hardy attacked Kennedy in his match, and Kennedy assaulted Michaels in his match, leading to Hardy making the save. Despite this, Michaels hit Orton with Sweet Chin Music to end the show.^[10]On October 22, onRaw,Hardy and Michaels defeated Kennedy and Orton in a tag team match. After the match, Michaels hit Orton with Sweet Chin Music for the third week in a row, when Orton went to deliver Hardy anRKO.^[11]

The main feud on theSmackDown!brand was betweenBatistaandThe Undertaker,with the two feuding over theWorld Heavyweight Championship.Their feud began atWrestleMania 23when The Undertaker won the title from Batista.^[12]It ended when The Undertaker faced Batista in asteel cage match.The match became a draw, when both Undertaker and Batista's feet both hit the ground at the same time. After the match, the returningMark Henrycame out and attacked The Undertaker. Edge then came out and cashed in hisMoney in the Bankcontract that he won from Mr. Kennedy the same week onRawand defeated the Undertaker to win the World Heavyweight Championship, which then ended the feud between The Undertaker and Batista. Undertaker was sidelined due to the injury, but was booked to return atUnforgiven.Soon after returning at Unforgiven in September,^[13]their feud restarted.^[14]A match between the two was made for Cyber Sunday with aspecial guest refereeselected by the fans betweenStone Cold Steve Austin,John "Bradshaw" Layfield(JBL), andMick Foley.^[15]Neither Foley or Austin appeared before Cyber Sunday, while JBL began campaigning with banners, T-shirts, and buttons.^[16]

The main feud on the ECW brand involvedCM Punkand hisECW Championship.Punk had just retained his title againstBig Daddy VatNo Mercy,the previous pay-per-view.^[17]John Morrison,whom Punk defeated for the title, returned on the October 9 episode ofECW,after a brief absence, and defeated Punk in a non-title match.^[18]The Cyber Sunday match was then made to be CM Punk defending the ECW Championship against the fans' choice between Big Daddy V, Morrison, andThe Miz.^[19]The next week onECW,Punk, along withKane,defeated his three possible opponents in a 3-on-2handicap match.Morrison and The Miz (who were a tag team) turned on each other, and they faced each other in a match later in the show, which was interrupted by Big Daddy V.^[20]On the October 23 episode ofECW,Big Daddy V faced Kane, and Punk teamed withBalls Mahoneyto face The Miz and Morrison in a tag team match, which they won due to a miscommunication between The Miz and Morrison.^[21]

The feuds betweenTriple HandUmaga,Rey MysterioandFinlay,andMatt HardyandMontel Vontavious Porteralso continued, resulting in their matches at Cyber Sunday.^[22]^[23]^[24]Fans could vote for the match type of these three matches. Hardy, however, suffered a head injury on the October 26 episode ofSmackDown!.^[25]

Event[edit]

**Other on-screen personnel**
Role:	Name:
Englishcommentators	Jim Ross(Raw)
	Jerry Lawler(Raw)
	Michael Cole(SmackDown!)
	John "Bradshaw" Layfield(SmackDown!)
	Joey Styles(ECW)
	Tazz(ECW)
Spanish commentators	Carlos Cabrera
Spanish commentators	Hugo Savinovich
Backstageinterviewers	Anastacia Rose
Backstageinterviewers	Todd Grisham
Ring announcer	Lilian Garcia(Raw)
	Justin Roberts(SmackDown!)
	Tony Chimel(ECW)
Referees	Charles Robinson
	Mickie Henson
	Mike Chioda
	Marty Elias
	Mike Posey
	Chad Patton

Before the event went live on pay-per-view,Jesse and FestusdefeatedDeuce 'n Dominoin adark match.^[26]Throughout the event, theWWE Divaswere shown inHalloween costumesin a contest where the winner would be determined by the fans.^[27]

Preliminary matches[edit]

The first match that aired was between Rey Mysterio and Finlay, voted by the fans to be aStretcher match.Finlay managed to retrieve hisshillelaghand attacked Mysterio's legs. Mysterio fought back and performed the619on Finlay, sending him onto the stretcher. Mysterio then performed asentonand pushed Finlay over the line for the win.^[27]^[28]

It was announced that Matt Hardy was not medically cleared to compete (due to an injury suffered on a previous episode ofSmackDown!), and a match was announced with Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) defending hisWWE United States Championshipagainst the fans' choice betweenKane,The Great Khali,andMark Henry.^[29]The second match was for the ECW Championship between CM Punk and The Miz, the winner of the voting. The match was back and forth for the first half of the match. The Miz gained the advantage after forcing Punk to fall from the second rope. Punk came back afterhip tossingThe Miz from the top rope. Punk won the match after aGTS.^[27]^[30]

The voting results for the WWE Championship match were then revealed, with Shawn Michaels winning.^[27]A bonus match was made between the two losers in the voting, Jeff Hardy and Mr. Kennedy. Hardy gained the advantage afterdropkickingKennedy off the apron to ringside. Kennedy came back after throwing Hardy out of the ring. Hardy regained control with atop rope Hurricanrana.Kennedy won the match via pinfall after Hardy missed arope-aided corner dropkick.^[27]^[31]

The fourth match was between MVP and Kane for the United States Championship. Kane quickly gained control, but MVP had the advantage after attacking Kane's injured ribs. Kane came back, and targeted MVP's ribs. Kane dominated until MVP rolled outside the ring and was counted out. Kane won the match, and MVP retained his title as a title could not change hands on a countout.^[27]^[32]

Main event matches[edit]

The WWE Championship match between Randy Orton and Shawn Michaels followed. After starting back and forth, Michaels took advantage by targeting Orton's left arm. Orton regained the advantage after aBelly to back suplexto Michaels onto the barricade, and subsequent attacks to the back. Near the end of the match, Michaels regained the upper hand, but as he was attempting "Sweet Chin Music",Orton delivered alow blowto Michaels. Michaels won the match by disqualification, but Orton retained his title. After the match, Orton attempted a running punt to the fallen Michaels, but before he could, Michaels got up, and performed Sweet Chin Music on Orton.^[27]^[33]

The sixth match was between Triple H and Umaga, voted by the fans to be aStreet Fight,where the match could take place anywhere in the arena, and any weapon could be used. The match began in the entrance area and involved Umaga getting speared through the stage setting. The match moved into the audience before returning to the ring. Several weapons were used, and UmagasplashedTriple H through an announce table. The match ended when Triple H hit Umaga with asledgehammerand performed aPedigreeto score the victory via pinfall.^[27]^[34]Mickie Jameswas then announced to be the winner of the Divas Halloween costume contest.^[27]^[35]

The main event saw Batista defend the World Heavyweight Championship against The Undertaker, with Stone Cold Steve Austin as thespecial guest referee.^[36]Both John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) and Mick Foley came into the ring and fought before Austin came down and delivered aStone Cold Stunnerto both men. Both Batista and The Undertaker had the match in their advantage. Batista performed a series ofpowerslamsandthrowson the Undertaker. Undertaker, however,chokeslammedBatista, but only got a two count. Undertaker then followed up with aLast Ridebut for a kickout at two. Undertaker then went for aTombstone Piledriver,but Batista reversed the move into aSpinebuster,but got a two-count. Batista then executed aBatista Bombon The Undertaker, but Undertaker kicked out. Batista then executed another Batista Bomb and pinned The Undertaker to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.^[27]^[37]

Aftermath[edit]

The feud between Randy Orton and Shawn Michaels continued the following night onRaw,when Michaels demanded a title rematch due to how the match ended. Their rematch was made for the following pay-per-view,Survivor Series.^[38]As in added stipulation the title match, Michaels was banned from using the "Sweet Chin Music" by orders ofRaw General Manager William Regal.In the same stipulation, if Orton caused a disqualification of any sort, he would lose the WWE Championship.^[39]Using the special stipulations of the match, Orton pinned Michaels after an "RKO" (ajumping cutter) to retain the title. After Survivor Series their feud ended.^[40]^[41]

The feud between Batista and The Undertaker also continued, with both agreeing to compete in aHell in a Cellmatch at Survivor Series on the November 2 episode ofSmackDown!.Near the end of the match at Survivor Series, The Undertaker looked to have Batista defeated, butEdgereturned and joined the feud by attacking The Undertaker and letting Batista retain the World Heavyweight Championship.^[40]^[42]^[43]

The feud between Triple H and Umaga continued after Cyber Sunday with the two choosing four other men to make a five-on-fiveelimination tag team matchat Survivor Series.^[40]^[44]Matt Hardy, who was chosen to be on Triple H's team suffered an injury caused by Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) on the November 16 episode ofSmackDown!,^[45]which made the match at Survivor Series a four-on-five elimination tag team match. Triple H's team won the match after Jeff Hardy pinned Umaga.^[46]

This was the last Cyber Sunday PPV to air in 4:3 format until January 2008 when all WWE shows went inhigh definition.

Results[edit]

No.

Results^[27]

Stipulations

Times^[1]

1^D

Jesse and FestusdefeatedDeuce 'n Domino(withCherry)^[26]

Tag team match