WWE Cyber Sunday (originally known as WWE Taboo Tuesday) was an annual
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
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
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
(WWE), a
professional wrestling promotion
A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling that has little relationship to the rules of the amateur olympic form. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails man ...
based in
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
. Established in 2004, the event was originally called Taboo Tuesday as it was held on Tuesdays. In 2006, the event was moved to the more traditional Sunday night for PPVs and was renamed to Cyber Sunday. The theme of the event was the ability for fans to vote on certain aspects of every match, using their personal computers and
text messaging
Text messaging, or texting, is the act of composing and sending electronic messages, typically consisting of alphabetic and numeric characters, between two or more users of mobile devices, desktops/laptops, or another type of compatible compute ...
via mobile phones. The voting typically began in the middle of an episode of ''
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 ...
'' a few weeks beforehand and ended during the pay-per-view, often moments before the match was slated to begin. 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."
During the event's first two years as Taboo Tuesday, it was held exclusively for 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 ...
brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
. The 2006 event, which was the first held as Cyber Sunday, was also Raw-exclusive. Following
WrestleMania 23
WrestleMania 23 was the 23rd annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW brand divisions. The event ...
in 2007, however, brand-exclusive PPVs were discontinued, thus the events in 2007 and 2008 featured the Raw,
SmackDown
''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...
, 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. 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 ...
in 2009.
History
In 2004,
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
(WWE) established a new
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 titled Taboo Tuesday. The
inaugural event was held on October 19 that year, and as its name implies, it was held on a Tuesday. It was the first regularly-scheduled pay-per-view held by the company on a Tuesday since 1991's
This Tuesday in Texas
This Tuesday in Texas was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place on December 3, 1991, at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas. The event was an attempt by ...
, the first regularly-scheduled non-Sunday pay-per-view since the
1994 Survivor Series, and the first non-Sunday pay-per-view of any kind since
In Your House 8: Beware of Dog 2 in 1996.
To coincide with the
brand extension
Brand extension or brand stretching is a marketing strategy in which a firm marketing a product with a well-developed image uses the same brand name in a different product category. The new product is called a spin-off.
Organizations use this ...
, in which the promotion divided its roster into brands where wrestlers were exclusively assigned to perform, the inaugural event was held exclusively for 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 ...
brand. Taboo Tuesday returned in
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
, but was pushed back to early November and was also Raw-exclusive.
[ In 2006, which was again Raw-exclusive and held in November, the show was moved to a more traditional Sunday night slot—alleviating problems with the taping schedule of '' SmackDown!'', usually held on Tuesdays. As a result, the event was renamed to ]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, ...
.[ Following ]WrestleMania 23
WrestleMania 23 was the 23rd annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW brand divisions. The event ...
in April 2007, WWE discontinued brand-exclusive PPVs, thus the 2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
and 2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
events, which were both held in October, featured wrestlers from the Raw, SmackDown
''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...
, 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.[ In 2009, the event's pay-per-view slot was replaced by Annihilation then later renamed to ]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 ...
.
Concept
The most distinctive feature of the event was the ability for fans to vote on certain aspects of every match, using their personal computers and text messaging
Text messaging, or texting, is the act of composing and sending electronic messages, typically consisting of alphabetic and numeric characters, between two or more users of mobile devices, desktops/laptops, or another type of compatible compute ...
via mobile phones. The voting typically began in the middle of an episode of ''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 ...
'' a few weeks beforehand and ended during the pay-per-view, often moments before the match was slated to begin. 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."[ For the first four events, voting was made online through WWE.com, with the official tagline for the PPV being "''Log On. Take Over."''][ In 2008, however, this was replaced by votes through text messaging, but this was only available to United States mobile carriers. However, the match between ]The Undertaker
Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by the ring name The Undertaker, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway spent the vast majority ...
and Big Show
Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as an in-ring performer, and as a commentator for its web television show, '' AEW Dark: Elevation,'' under ...
was made universal, as fans were allowed to vote for the match stipulation on WWE.com.[ After Cyber Sunday was discontinued, 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.]
Events
References
External links
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wwe Cyber Sunday
Recurring events established in 2004
Recurring events disestablished in 2008