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Cyber Sunday was the fifth annual and final Taboo Tuesday/Cyber Sunday professional wrestling
pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...
(PPV)
event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...
produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's
Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
, SmackDown, and
ECW ECW may refer to: Professional wrestling * Extreme Championship Wrestling (originally Eastern Championship Wrestling), a professional wrestling promotion that operated from 1992 to 2001 * The Alliance (professional wrestling) (originally the WCW/E ...
brand divisions. The event took place on October 26, 2008, at the
US Airways Center The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in Phoenix, Arizona. The theme of the event was that fans could vote on certain aspects of every match. While it was the fifth event in this interactive PPV's chronology, it was the third titled Cyber Sunday as the first two events were titled Taboo Tuesday. In
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
, Cyber Sunday was replaced by
Bragging Rights Boasting or bragging is speaking with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one's achievements, possessions, or abilities. Boasting occurs when someone feels a sense of satisfaction or when someone feels that whatever occurred proves thei ...
. Eight professional wrestling matches and one miscellaneous segment were featured on the event's
card Card or The Card may refer to: * Various types of plastic cards: **By type ***Magnetic stripe card *** Chip card *** Digital card **By function ***Payment card ****Credit card **** Debit card ****EC-card ****Identity card ****European Health Insur ...
. The event received 153,000 pay-per-view buys, less than the previous year's event. It was also the first Cyber Sunday PPV broadcast in
high definition High definition or HD may refer to: Visual technologies *HD DVD, discontinued optical disc format *HD Photo, former name for the JPEG XR image file format *HDV, format for recording high-definition video onto magnetic tape * HiDef, 24 frames-pe ...
.


Production


Background

Cyber Sunday WWE Cyber Sunday (originally known as WWE Taboo Tuesday) was an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. Established in 2004, ...
, originally known as Taboo Tuesday, was an annual
pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...
(PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) since
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
. 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 "
interactive Across the many fields concerned with interactivity, including information science, computer science, human-computer interaction, communication, and industrial design, there is little agreement over the meaning of the term "interactivity", but mo ...
pay-per-view." The 2008 event was the third event to be titled Cyber Sunday, but the fifth overall in the Taboo Tuesday/Cyber Sunday chronology. It was held on October 26, 2008, at the
US Airways Center The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in Phoenix, Arizona and featured wrestlers from the
Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
, SmackDown, and
ECW ECW may refer to: Professional wrestling * Extreme Championship Wrestling (originally Eastern Championship Wrestling), a professional wrestling promotion that operated from 1992 to 2001 * The Alliance (professional wrestling) (originally the WCW/E ...
brands.


Storylines

Unlike other WWE events where the stipulations were determined by WWE's creative staff, stipulations for matches were determined by votes from WWE fans conducted on WWE's website and by text messaging. The event was scheduled to feature eight
professional wrestling matches Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
and one miscellaneous segment. Although the stipulations resulted from votes by WWE fans, different wrestlers were involved in pre-existing
script Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of handw ...
ed feuds, plots and storylines, which led to scheduled matches in which WWE fans could vote upon stipulations. Wrestlers were portrayed as either
villains A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character as ...
or fan favorites as they followed a series of tension-building events. All wrestlers were from either the
ECW ECW may refer to: Professional wrestling * Extreme Championship Wrestling (originally Eastern Championship Wrestling), a professional wrestling promotion that operated from 1992 to 2001 * The Alliance (professional wrestling) (originally the WCW/E ...
,
Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
, or SmackDown brands – a storyline division in which WWE assigned its employees to a different television program. The main
feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...
from the Raw brand was over the World Heavyweight Championship. On the October 6, 2008, episode of ''Raw'', general manager
Mike Adamle Michael David Adamle (born October 4, 1949) is a former American football player and sports broadcaster. Adamle was a sports anchor at other Chicago television stations, including WLS-TV from 1982 to 1989 before hosting '' American Gladiators'', ...
announced that World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho would defend his title against
Batista Batista is a Spanish language, Spanish or Portuguese language, Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include: * Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player * Dave Bautista, American actor and professional wrestler, also ...
in a standard wrestling match, also known as a singles match, in which a guest referee would be voted for by WWE fans; the candidates for the position were
Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor who is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand but is currently out of action due to a back injury. H ...
,
Shawn Michaels Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative. Widely regarded as one of ...
, and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Earlier that night, it was also announced that Santino Marella would defend his WWE Intercontinental Championship against a former Intercontinental Champion voted for by the WWE fans; the candidates were
Roddy Piper Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015), better known as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and actor. In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for hi ...
,
Goldust Dustin Patrick Runnels (born April 11, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Dustin Rhodes. He is best known for his multiple tenures with WWE f ...
, or The Honky Tonk Man. The main rivalry from the SmackDown brand was over the WWE Championship. It was announced on the October 10, 2008, episode of ''SmackDown'' that WWE Champion Triple H would defend his title against either Jeff Hardy or Vladimir Kozlov in a singles match, or in a
triple-threat match Triple threat or Triple Threat may refer to: Media and performing arts * Triple threat (entertainer), a performer who excels at acting, singing, and dancing * ''Triple Threat'' (1948 film), a 1948 Hollywood film * ''Triple Threat'' (2019 film), ...
, a standard match involving both Hardy and Kozlov. Later that night it was also announced that The Big Show would face The Undertaker in a fans choice of match, which included a Knockout match, "I Quit" match, or a Last Man Standing match. The only rivalry from the ECW brand was over the
ECW Championship The ECW World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally used in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and later, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the original world title of the ECW ...
. It was announced on the October 14, 2008, episode of ''
ECW ECW may refer to: Professional wrestling * Extreme Championship Wrestling (originally Eastern Championship Wrestling), a professional wrestling promotion that operated from 1992 to 2001 * The Alliance (professional wrestling) (originally the WCW/E ...
'' that ECW Champion Matt Hardy would defend the title against the fans' choice of an opponent, with Mark Henry, Evan Bourne, or Finlay as the options from which to choose.


Event

Before the event aired live on
pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...
,
Shelton Benjamin Shelton James Benjamin (born July 9, 1975) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under his real name. He is also known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Pro Wres ...
defended the WWE United States Championship against a superstar of the fans' choice in a match that was streamed exclusively on WWE.com. The candidates to be voted in were R-Truth, Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) and
Festus Festus may refer to: People Ancient world *Porcius Festus, Roman governor of Judea from approximately 58 to 62 AD *Sextus Pompeius Festus (later 2nd century), Roman grammarian *Festus (died 305), martyr along with Proculus of Pozzuoli *Festus (h ...
. R-Truth won the poll by 59% over MVP and Festus, and hence faced Benjamin for the title. The match went back and forth, but ultimately Benjamin performed the Paydirt on R-Truth and pinned him to retain his title. In the first match, Kane faced Rey Mysterio in a No Holds Barred Match. The fans voted the No Holds Barred match stipulation over a Falls Count Anywhere match and a 2-Out-Of-Three Falls Match. Early on in the match, Mysterio used his quickness and agility against Kane, along with some weapons like a
Kendo stick A is a Japanese sword typically made of bamboo used for practice and competition in ''kendo''. ''Shinai'' are also used in other martial arts, but may be styled differently from ''kendo shinai'', and represented with different characters. T ...
and a STOP sign. Soon, Kane overpowered Mysterio and dominated the later part of the match. Near the end, Mysterio drop-toe held Kane and drove him face-first into the steel ring-steps kept in the corner of the ring. Then he hit Kane with a
steel chair A folding chair is a type of folding furniture, a light, portable chair that folds flat or to a smaller size, and can be stored in a stack, in a row, or on a cart. It can be combined with a folding table. Uses Folding chairs are generally used f ...
multiple times, before delivering a 619 and springboard
splash Splash or Splash! or The Splash may refer to: Common meanings * Splash (fluid mechanics), sudden disturbances on the surface of water Entertainment * ''Splash'' (film), a 1984 fantasy film starring Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah ** ''Splash, Too'' ...
and pinning him to win the match. In the next match, Matt Hardy defended the
ECW Championship The ECW World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally used in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and later, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the original world title of the ECW ...
against Evan Bourne, who the fans voted as the challenger over Mark Henry and Finlay. Early in the match, Bourne surprised Hardy with his agility, but Hardy eventually got control of the match. Nevertheless, Bourne execute several high-flying moves on Hardy, like a standing moonsault, a
hurricanrana Professional wrestling throws are the application of professional wrestling techniques that involve lifting the opponent up and throwing or slamming them down. They are sometimes also called "power" maneuvers, as they are meant to emphasize a wrest ...
countering Hardy's Splash Mountain Bomb, and a
diving knee drop Aerial techniques, also known as "high-flying moves" are maneuvers in professional wrestling using the ring's posts and ropes as aids, in many cases to demonstrate the speed and agility of smaller, nimble and acrobatically inclined wrestlers prefer ...
from the top rope. In the end, Bourne missed the Air Bourne, and hence capitalizing, Hardy delivered a Twist of Fate to Bourne and pinned him to retain his title. The third match aired was a tag team match with John Morrison and The Miz taking on Cryme Tyme (Shad Gaspard and JTG). This tag team match was chosen over an
intergender tag team match Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder ma ...
having William Regal and Layla taking on Jamie Noble and
Mickie James Mickie Laree James (born August 31, 1979) Additional January 6, 2017. is an American professional wrestler and country singer. She is currently signed to Impact Wrestling. She has also had tenures in WWE and the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA ...
, and a World Tag Team Championship match between the champions Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase and the team of
CM Punk Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by the ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler, sports commentator, actor, and retired mixed martial artist currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Best known for ...
and Kofi Kingston. The match featured numerous tag team moves from both the teams. At one point, Shad threw JTG over the ropes onto Morrison and Miz outside the ring. Back in the ring, Morrison and Miz controlled the latter part of the match. In the end, Miz, who was not the legal man in the ring, kicked Shad's knee behind the referee's back and Morrison delivered the
Moonlight Drive "Moonlight Drive" is a song by American rock band the Doors, released in 1967 on their second album '' Strange Days''. It was edited to a 2:16 length for the 45 rpm single B-side of " Love Me Two Times". Though a conventional blues arrangement, t ...
to Shad for the pinfall. In the fourth match, Santino Marella (with Beth Phoenix) faced The Honky Tonk Man for the Intercontinental Championship. The fans voted Honky Tonk Man as Marella's opponent over
Roddy Piper Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015), better known as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and actor. In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for hi ...
and
Goldust Dustin Patrick Runnels (born April 11, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Dustin Rhodes. He is best known for his multiple tenures with WWE f ...
. Before the match began, Honky Tonk Man danced to his theme music and asked Marella to do the same, but he delivered a cheap shot to Honky Tonk Man to officially start the match. However, the match ended soon when Beth Phoenix tripped Honky Tonk Man as he prepared to hit Marella with his fist, and hence, the match ended in Honky Tonk Man's favor as he won by disqualification. Nevertheless, Marella remained Intercontinental Champion as the title does not change hands by disqualification. After the match, Piper and Goldust made their way down to the ring confronting Marella. In the ring, Goldust executed the Final Cut on Marella, Piper executed a punch combination followed by an eye poke, and Honky Tonk Man delivered the Shake, Rattle and Roll to Marella. The fifth match was Last Man Standing between The Undertaker and The Big Show. The fans voted for Last Man Standing match stipulation over a
Knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...
match and an "I Quit" match. In the beginning, Big Show threw Undertaker out of the ring, and after some time, Undertaker hit Big Show with a steel chair. The match continued with Big Show dominating Undertaker and striking him with punches. The match featured many other
spots Spot or SPOT may refer to: Places * Spot, North Carolina, a community in the United States * The Spot, New South Wales, a locality in Sydney, Australia * South Pole Traverse, sometimes called the South Pole Overland Traverse People * Spot (produ ...
, like Undertaker
thrusting Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton's third law. When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction, the accelerated mass will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction to be applied to that sys ...
Big Show's throat against a ringpost with a steel chair; Undertaker delivering a leg drop to Big Show on the ring apron, and then later countering Big Show's Chokeslam into a DDT; and, then Big Show hitting Undertaker with a TV monitor and even chokeslamming him from the
Barricade Barricade (from the French ''barrique'' - 'barrel') is any object or structure that creates a barrier or obstacle to control, block passage or force the flow of traffic in the desired direction. Adopted as a military term, a barricade denot ...
through an announcer's table. In the end, Big Show executed a chokeslam, followed by a knockout punch to the face and then attacking Undertaker with a steel chair, but Undertaker got to his feet each time before the ten count. Finally, Undertaker locked in Hell's Gate on Big Show causing Show to lose consciousness and allowing Undertaker to win the match. Throughout the night, a costume contest was held featuring the Divas. The winner was announced in the ring before the WWE Championship match. Mickie James, dressed as Lara Croft, won the contest. The next match was a WWE Championship match where the fans voted who Triple H's opponent, Jeff Hardy, who won the poll over Vladimir Kozlov. During the start of the match both Hardy and Triple H countered each other's moves, then it was evenly matched. Hardy then executed the Swanton Bomb, then went up to the top rope for a second Swanton Bomb, but was unsuccessful. As Hardy was attempting the move, Triple H got up and countered the move into a Pedigree, pinned Hardy for the win, and retained his WWE title. In the main event, Chris Jericho defended his World Heavyweight Championship against
Batista Batista is a Spanish language, Spanish or Portuguese language, Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include: * Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player * Dave Bautista, American actor and professional wrestler, also ...
. The fans voted Stone Cold Steve Austin to be the special guest referee. Upon hearing the voting results, Jericho attempted to walk away from the match and get counted out, but Austin explained that if Jericho got counted out or disqualified, then he would lose the title. So Jericho ran back in and proceeded with the match. It went back and forth between the two until Batista collided with Austin, allowing Jericho to take advantage of Batista.
Shawn Michaels Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative. Widely regarded as one of ...
came down to the ring and counted Jericho's attempted pinfall, which Batista kicked out at two. Michaels was about to execute a
sweet chin music Strikes are offensive moves in professional wrestling, that can sometimes be used to set up an opponent for a hold or for a throw. There are a wide variety of strikes in pro wrestling, and many are known by several different names. Professional w ...
on Jericho, but instead faked Jericho out. John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) came down to the ring and attacked Michaels. Then
Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor who is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand but is currently out of action due to a back injury. H ...
came out and was appearing to take over as the special referee, but Austin got up and executed a Stunner on Orton. The match ended with Batista pinning Jericho after a Batista Bomb to become the new World Heavyweight Champion. After the match, Austin and Batista celebrated as they drank beer.


Reception

''
Canadian Online Explorer Canoe.com is an English-language Canadian portal site and website network, and is a subsidiary of Postmedia Network. The phrase Canadian Online Explorer appears in the header; the name is also evidently a play on words on canoe (or ''canoë'' in ...
s professional wrestling section rated the entire event an 8 out of 10 stars and said that this PPV lived up to its hype. This rating was higher than the previous Cyber Sunday which was rated a 7.5 out of 10 stars.


Aftermath

It was announced on the 800th episode celebration of ''Raw'' that the World Heavyweight Championship would be defended at Survivor Series against John Cena. Later that night, Chris Jericho defeated Batista to win back the title, resulting in a Jericho versus Cena match at Survivor Series. At Survivor Series, Cena defeated Jericho to win the World Heavyweight Championship. The feud between Triple H, Jeff Hardy and Vladimir Kozlov continued. On the November 7 episode of ''SmackDown'', Kozlov defeated the Undertaker via disqualification to win a title match against Triple H at Survivor Series. Hardy asked Vickie Guerrero for another chance at the title, which she refused. Then on the November 14 episode of ''SmackDown'', Hardy defeated Undertaker in an Extreme Rules Match, which led to Guerrero announcing that if Hardy could beat Triple H the next week, the match at Survivor Series would be a triple threat match between Triple H, Kozlov and Hardy. The next week, Hardy defeated Triple H to gain entry into the match. On the morning of Survivor Series, however, the storyline called for Hardy to be found unconscious in his hotel. The WWE Championship was changed to a standard singles match between Kozlov and Triple H, but during the match, Guerrero announced that, as promised, there would be a triple threat match. The angle allowed the returning Edge to make his previously unannounced return in the match and win the WWE Championship. The 2008 Cyber Sunday would be the final event in the interactive PPV's chronology. In 2009, the event was discontinued and replaced by
Bragging Rights Boasting or bragging is speaking with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one's achievements, possessions, or abilities. Boasting occurs when someone feels a sense of satisfaction or when someone feels that whatever occurred proves thei ...
. After Cyber Sunday's discontinuation, the fan interaction aspects of the pay-per-view were incorporated into ''Raw'' as ''WWEActive'' (originally ''RawActive'') for some ''Raw'' episodes, which was eventually dropped altogether.


Results


Voting results


Footnotes

* – Before the event was broadcast
live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music *Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of albums ...
on pay-per-view, this match was shown live via a
webcast A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, web ...
on WWE.com, WWE's official website. * – A regulation in WWE is that championships cannot be won by disqualification; even though the champion lost the match, he retains the title.


References


External links


The official website of WWE Cyber Sunday
{{WWEPPV, Cyber Sunday 2008 in Arizona Events in Phoenix, Arizona Professional wrestling in Phoenix, Arizona 2008 WWE pay-per-view events October 2008 events in the United States