WWE Cyber Sunday (October 2008)

Original Airdate: October 26, 2008

From Phoenix, Arizona; Your Hosts are Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler (RAW); Jim Ross and Tazz (Smackdown); Todd Grisham and Matt Striker (ECW)

Opening No Holds Barred Match: Rey Mysterio v Kane: No Holds Barred wins the vote for the stipulation with 39% over Falls Count Anywhere (35%) and Two-out-of-Three Falls (26%). Rey dodges him to send Kane to the outside right away, and then dives after him with a somersault suicida. Mysterio grabs a kendo stick to beat Kane with on the way back inside, but he runs into a big boot, and ends up getting tossed into the post via the bottom rope. Kane adds a baseball slide against the post, and he stretches Rey across the steel for a while, before covering for two. Corner whip and a bodyslam set up a legdrop for two, and a backbreaker is held into a (poorly executed) backbreaker submission, as the match continues just kind of puttering along. Rey slugs his way out of the hold, so Kane big boots him back down for two, and he works a bow-and-arrow. Glad to see he's really making the most of that stipulation people wasted money voting for. And, considering the state of the economy in October 2008, that's kind of especially insulting. Kane works another backbreaker submission, but Rey escapes, and this time manages a wheelbarrow bulldog. Leg-feed enzuigiri sets up the 619, but Kane manages to throw a clothesline to block, and he hooks the leg for two. Kane finally wakes the fuck up and grabs a chair, but Mysterio dropkicks it back into his face, and drops him with an inverted DDT. Chair-assisted senton splash gets two, but Kane blocks a dive off the top for two, and he brings the steps into the ring. He props them up in the corner, but Rey slips out of a snake-eyes into them, and turns the tables with a drop-toehold into the steps. Springboard seated senton gets two, so Rey starts unloading with the chair to set up the 619, followed by a springboard flying splash to finish at 10:22. Pretty boring. Nothing notably good or bad, just kind of there. ½*

ECW Title Match: Matt Hardy v Evan Bourne: Bourne wins the vote with 69% over Finlay (25%) and Mark Henry (6%) - thus proving my theory that no one else wants to see Mark Henry either. Feeling out process to start, with some nice pinfall reversal sequences. Bourne hangs with him, and manages to get control with a series of takedowns, but an attempt at a springboard backfires, and Evan ends up down on the outside. Matt forces him back in for a turnbuckle smash to set up a lariat for two, but Bourne blocks a bulldog by shoving Hardy into the corner, and he grounds the champ in an armscissors. Matt starts to shuffle out, so Bourne shifts to an armbar instead, then hits a standing moonsault for two when Matt starts to escape again. Hell of a moonsault, too. Back to the armbar, but Matt fights free, so Evan throws a roundhouse kick to put him back down. To the top for a dive, but Hardy rolls to the outside, so Bourne tries a springboard instead, but Matt shoves him off the ropes. That allows Hardy a bodyslam on the floor, getting two on the way back in. Hardy with a pair of bodyslams and a 2^nd rope elbowsmash for two, and the champ grabs an abdominal stretch from there. He's got some Razor Ramon vibes going here with his execution. Bourne slugs free, but runs into a clothesline while running the ropes, allowing Hardy to drop him with a crucifix powerbomb - only for Evan to counters with a rana on the way down, thus ruining poor Matt's Razor Ramon tribute performance. Hardy recovers with the Side Effect for two, so he does it a second time, but still only gets two. Another dive off the middle, but this time Bourne is ready with a spinheel kick to block, and he starts unloading strikes. Springboard moonsault press gets two, and a jumping sidekick is worth two. Back to the top with a flying double kneesmash for two, but Hardy counters another roundhouse kick with a schoolboy for two. Tilt-a-whirl slam, but Bourne counters with a modified facebuster on the way down. He goes up to capitalize with a flying shooting star press, but Matt moves - only to have the Twist of Fate countered with a backslide for two. Unfortunately for Evan, it's a last ditch effort, and Hardy lands the Twist to retain at 11:04. Good action here, with the crowd totally into it, and invested in Bourne's chances. ***

Cryme Tyme v John Morrison and Miz: This match is selected with 38% of the vote over Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase/CM Punk and Kofi Kingston for the World Tag Team Title (35%) and Jamie Noble and Mickie James/William Regal and Layla in a mixed tag team match (27%). JTG starts with Morrison for a feeling out process, and it's over to Miz, but he immediately eats a dropkick. Shad Gaspard tags in for an avalanche, and he adds a bodyslam for two. Hard to believe that, of all four guys, Miz went on to be the biggest star. Miz manages to fight JTG off long enough to tag back to John, and they quickly use a tandem backelbow, but Morrison fails to cut the ring in half, and runs into a combo from Tyme. Both he and Miz get dumped to set up Shad press-dropping JTG out onto them, which gets two on John on the way back in. Shad tries to keep it going, but eats a chincrusher, and gets his knee battered while trapped in the heel corner. That allows them to cut the ring in half on Shad while targeting the leg, but Miz can't hold him, and JTG gets the tag. He comes in hot, but runs into trouble fighting a two front war, and ends up taking a spill off the middle rope to the outside. That gets Miz two, and the heels hit JTG with a tandem stomachbreaker. They settle in cutting the ring in half on their new victim, but have a miscommunication while trying a double team, and Shad gets the hot tag back - Roseanne Barr the door. Shad goes for the kill on Morrison, but Miz sneaks in to clip the bad leg, and John is able to roll the dice to capitalize at 10:17. This was fine. **

WWE Intercontinental Title Match: Santino Marella v Honky Tonk Man: Honky is the selected challenger with 35% of the vote, narrowly edging out Roddy Piper (34%) and Goldust (31%). Honky's barely aged in the twenty years since he was Intercontinental champion. He dominates Santino in the early going, but gets tripped by Beth Phoenix while running the ropes, and the referee actually calls a DQ at 1:05. Well, of all people, Honky really can't complain much here. Santino flips out on Beth over it afterwards, which I don't get at all. I mean, yeah, he obviously could have beaten Honky, but who cares. You kept your title, and it's not like Honky's gonna get a rematch anyway. Whatever. Anyway, that draws Goldust and Piper out as well, and we get a three-on-one beat down of Santino, since whatever. DUD

Last Man Standing Match: Undertaker v Big Show: The stipulation gets 49% of the vote over I Quit (42%) and Knockout (9%). Undertaker goes to town on him with right hands to start, but Show is able to weather the storm, and dump him to the outside. Show follows, but Undertaker is ready with more fists, so Show sends him into the barricade to calm his dead ass down. Undertaker responds by grabbing a chair to fight him off with, and he hits a pair of avalanches on the way back in. He comes off the ropes for a follow-up, but Show knocks him down with a shoulderblock to block the charge, and adds a headbutt. Show uses a legdrop to try for the win, but Undertaker beats the count, so Show sends him back to the outside. He leans him up against the post for a chair shot, but Undertaker ducks, and Show hits steel. That allows Undertaker to grab the chair, and he jams it into Show's throat, but Show is up by eight. Undertaker keeps coming with a guillotine legdrop, and he unloads with a flurry of fists and kicks on the way back in, but an attempt at an Irish whip is countered with a short-clothesline. Undertaker beats the count, so Show drills him with a headbutt to set up a beating on the ropes, but Undertaker wants him to hit harder. Show obliges with a pair of headbutts in the corner, but Undertaker won't go down. He slugs back at Show with furious anger, but an attempt at a chokeslam is reversed, only for Undertaker to counter to a DDT on the way down. Didn't look great, but it worked. Show beats the count and exposes a turnbuckle, but Undertaker reverses him into it, and uses a clothesline to put both down for a count. Undertaker is up first, but Show beats it as well, and 'Taker ends up running into the exposed buckle while trying a charge. That sends him crashing to the outside, and Show is quick to follow - introducing Undertaker into the steps out there. He starts prepping an announce table, and bashes Undertaker in the face with one of the monitors, between bouts of throwing office furniture around. He grabs a chair, but Undertaker punches it back into his face, and he climbs onto the barricade for a dive - only for Show to chokeslam him through the announce table! Undertaker beats the count, but then immediately collapses again, so Show drills him with another headbutt to try and get his point across. Back in, Show is sick of him, and starts unloading shots to the kidney, while telling him to go down. Undertaker fights back with a DDT, but Show beats the count, so Undertaker tries the ropewalk forearm - only to get caught in the Chokeslam! No movement at all until five, but he manages to gut it out to his feet... only to immediately get nailed with a knockout punch from Show! He sits up at eight, and actually manages to beat the count, so Show grabs another chair, and tees off. That puts Undertaker down, but Show isn't satisfied, and goes to add more punishment - only to get trapped in a triangle choke! He taps, but that doesn't mean anything in this type of match, so Undertaker keeps him locked in the hold until he's docile. Unfortunately for Undertaker, he's still badly battered as well, and he has to fight to prevent a double knockout - managing to do so right at nine at 19:24! This was (dare I say it) GOOD! Like, actually good! I was expecting nothing going in, and practically groaned at the stipulation, but they told a great story here, and it worked. *** ¼

WWE Title Match: Triple H v Jeff Hardy: Jeff wins the vote with 57% over Vladimir Kozlov (5%) or a Triple Threat featuring both (38%). Feeling out process to start, with both guys evenly matched. Finally, HHH takes a cheap shot in the corner to try and grab control, but a charge in the corner misses. That allows Jeff to go up for the Whisper in the Wind, but Hunter is ready, and shoves him off the top, down into the barricade. Hardy beats the count, so HHH puts the boots to him, and chucks his ass into the post a couple of times for two. Hunter keeps after the shoulder with an armbar, but Jeff fights free, only to have the leg-feed corkscrew kick dodged for two. HHH goes back to the arm, and a kneeling facebuster hits, but Jeff fires back with a sling blade. He manages to add a legdrop to the groin and a seated dropkick for two, and a gourdbuster is worth two. Slingshot kick in the corner, but HHH is ready with a spinebuster for two. Jeff tries the Whisper, but HHH catches him in a crippler crossface, and Jeff is forced to fight for the ropes. He gets close, so HHH lets off, drags him away, and slaps the hold back on at center ring! With the ropes out of reach, Hardy is forced to find a counter, eventually managing to roll HHH into a cradle for two. He's done after that though, allowing an angry Hunter to put the boots to him, and dump him to the outside. Whip into the steps gets reversed, however, and Jeff springboards off of the steps with a leg lariat against the barricade. Hardy with the Whisper on the way back in, and he adds a second one for good measure, now that HHH is dazed. Only gets two, so he uses the slingshot kick for two, but HHH blocks the Twist. Pedigree, but Hardy counters to a somersault cradle for two, so HHH tries to save things with a sleeper, but Jeff drops him into the corner for a quick escape. Twist hits for two, and he's even able to add the Swanton Bomb, but decides not to cover. Back up for a second one, but HHH lifts his knees to block, and hey, that's why they call it a 'high risk maneuver.' Pedigree, but Jeff blocks, and knocks the champion to the outside with the leg-feed corkscrew kick. Hardy dives after him with a plancha, and quickly rolls Hunter back in for another Swanton, but HHH pops up, pulls him off the top, and drops him with a Pedigree at 15:38. Another good match between these two, with lots of fun sequences designed to show how well they know each other. *** ¼

Main Event: World Heavyweight Title Match: Chris Jericho v Batista: Steve Austin is the special guest referee with 74% of the vote, over Shawn Michaels (22%) and Randy Orton (4%). Guess no matter how good a feud they built with Chris/Shawn, Steve Austin is still a bigger draw just by showing up. Jericho stupidly slaps Batista across the face at the bell, and immediately pays for it in the corner. Instant karma! He decides to walk out on the match and take the countout loss, but referee Austin declares that if Jericho is counted out (or gets disqualified) he's losing the title, too. Where's Honky now? Chris heads back in to Batista's waiting arms, and takes a cross corner whip, before Batista returns the favor with a slap of his own. Vertical suplex gets two, so Batista unloads in the corner, and chucks him with a hiptoss. Jericho dumps him to the outside to buy time, and manages to blast him with a baseball slide out there, but Batista swats away a springboard dropkick attempt. Chris manages to trip him up on the way back in, however, and he ties his challenger in the ropes for some abuse to the leg to take control. Jericho works the leg to keep Batista horizontal, and he tries a cobra clutch to put it away, but Batista muscles to a vertical base, and drops into the corner to break free. Unfortunately, his attempt at a charge is too slow, and Jericho is easily able to dodge. He uses a sunset flip into a Walls of Jericho attempt, but Batista manages to block, so Chris simply whacks the knee instead. That looked awkward. Batista fights back with a pair of corner whips into the front-powerslam, but the knee is slowing him down, and Chris is able to counter the Batista Bomb into the Walls. Batista inches towards the ropes, so Chris decides to put all the pressure on the bad leg with a half-crab instead, but the challenger makes the ropes anyway. Austin physically forces a break, and Batista manages a scrapbuster for two as Jericho protests. Jericho tries a bodypress, but Batista catches him, and it's Bomb time, but Chris hides in the ropes. He dives off the top, but Batista is ready with a clothesline for two, only to miss the spear. That results in Jericho pulling him to the top rope for a superplex, but Batista shoves him down to the mat, and dives with a flying shoulderblock for two. Spinebuster, but Chris manages to counter with a DDT for two on the way down. Batista tries another charge, but Jericho sidesteps, and the challenger goes barreling into Austin instead. That allows Chris the Codebreaker, but there's no referee. Cue Shawn Michaels to take over, complete with an ridiculously slow count for two. That was great, especially Shawn's facial expressions throughout. Jericho, understandably, loses his shit, and the distraction is enough to allow Batista to recover with the spear! Shawn hits the deck to make a fast count, but here's John Bradshaw Layfield to pull Michaels out of the ring to prevent him from doing so! That draws Batista's ire, distracting him enough for Jericho to clip the leg, and he goes out to grab the title belt. Meanwhile, Austin is near recovered, so Orton shows up to take him out again, and he lets Chris tee off with the title belt... for two. Austin recovers to drop Orton with a Stunner, so Chris gets in Steve's face, and Batista capitalizes with a spinebuster. Batista Bomb, and Austin gives him a fair three count at 17:08. Crazy amounts of overbooking at the end, but it was pretty good anyway. ** ¾

BUExperience: Solid little pay per view, with three good matches on top, and nothing offensive underneath.

**