The 2006 Cyber Sunday was the third annual 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 exclusively 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 ...

brand division. It took place on November 5, 2006, at the

U.S. Bank Arena Heritage Bank Center is an indoor arena located in downtown Cincinnati, next to the Great American Ball Park. It was completed in September 1975 and named Riverfront Coliseum because of its placement next to Riverfront Stadium. In 1997, the fac ...

in Cincinnati, Ohio with 7,000 fans attending. The event was previously known as Taboo Tuesday in

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 ...

and

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 ...

. For 2006, the event was moved to the more traditional Sunday night for PPVs and was renamed as Cyber Sunday. It was also the final Taboo Tuesday/Cyber Sunday to be brand-exclusive as following WrestleMania 23 the following year, brand-exclusive PPVs were discontinued. This event had the unique feature of being an interactive PPV. Fans could vote, via WWE's official website, for selective characteristics in the scheduled matches, including opponents, stipulations, match types, etc. The voting for the event started on October 16, 2006, and ended during the event. The main event was the "Champion of Champions" match, between WWE's three top champions. The three champions in the match were WWE Champion John Cena,

World Heavyweight Champion At boxing's beginning, the heavyweight division had no weight limit, and historically the weight class has gone with vague or no definition. During the 19th century many heavyweights were 170 pounds (12 st 2 lb, 77 kg) or less, tho ...

King Booker, and

ECW World Champion 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 ...

Big Show. The fans could vote for who would defend their championship in this match; the fans voted for Booker T, who won the match by

pinning Pinning may refer to: * Pinning, the effect of certain weapons that cause their targets to be pinned down * Pinning ceremony (nursing), a symbolic welcoming of new graduates into the nursing profession * Pinning force, a force acting on a pinned ob ...

Cena following interference from Kevin Federline. The predominant match on the

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 ...

was D-Generation X ( Triple H and

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 ...

) versus Rated-RKO ( Edge and

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 ...

). Rated-RKO won the match after Orton pinned Triple H following an RKO onto 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 ...

. The featured matches on the undercard were Jeff Hardy versus Carlito for the WWE Intercontinental Championship and Lita versus

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 ...

in a Diva Lumberjack match for the WWE Women's Championship.

Production

Background

Taboo Tuesday was an annual

(PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) since

. It was the first regularly-scheduled pay-per-view by WWE on a Tuesday since 1991's This Tuesday in Texas, 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. The event was also produced exclusively for wrestlers of the

brand. 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." In 2006, WWE moved the event to a more traditional Sunday night for PPVs, and thus renamed the event as Cyber Sunday. It was held on November 5, 2006, at the

in Cincinnati, Ohio. While it was the first event to be titled Cyber Sunday, it was the third overall in the Taboo Tuesday/Cyber Sunday chronology. Like the previous two years' events, it was also a Raw-exclusive PPV.

Storylines

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 ...

heading into Cyber Sunday was between WWE Champion John Cena,

King Booker, and

Big Show, the top champion of each of the three brands. This feud began on the October 9 edition of ''

'', where they came face to face, arguing about who was the most dominant champion in WWE. WWE Chairman Vince McMahon interrupted, and booked a triple threat "Champion of Champions" match at Cyber Sunday between the three of them. This also gave each show's General Manager an opportunity to choose opponents for each other's champion that night. This resulted in Big Show defeating Jeff Hardy and Booker defeating Rob Van Dam; however, the match between Cena and The Undertaker was interrupted by Booker, Big Show, and The Undertaker's storyline rival,

Mr. Kennedy Kenneth Anderson (born March 6, 1976) is an American professional wrestler. Anderson is known for his tenure with WWE from 2005 to 2009 under the ring name Mr. Kennedy, and his work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as Mr. Anderson from 2010 to 2 ...

. At the same time, Cena began a minor feud with Kevin Federline. Federline, as the on-screen close friend of Johnny Nitro and Melina's, appeared on ''Raw'' to promote his album, " Playing With Fire". Cena rapped about Federline, but Nitro came out to Federline's defense and was thrown out of the ring by Cena. Cena was then interrupted by his two Cyber Sunday opponents and McMahon, who announced that a championship would be on the line at Cyber Sunday. Cena performed the FU on Federline, after being insulted. The feud between the champions continued on the October 20 edition of ''

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 ...

'', when Big Show and Cena were at ringside during Booker's title defense 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 ...

. Batista

speared A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastene ...

Booker onto Big Show, who, in response, assaulted Batista, ending the match via disqualification. Cena then joined the brawl, and ''SmackDown!'' General Manager Theodore Long announced a tag team match for the next week. On the next ''Raw'', Cena defeated Nitro after an FU, but was assaulted afterwards by his Cyber Sunday opponents, who turned on each other shortly after to start a brawl between the four to end the show. Batista and Cena were successful in the tag team match, after Big Show abandoned Booker. The next week, on ''Raw'', a preview of Cyber Sunday's interactivity was displayed when fans voted for Cena's opponent for the night, between Big Show, Booker, and Jonathan Coachman. Coachman won in the voting, but was easily defeated by Cena. The main feud on the undercard was between D-Generation X ( Triple H and

) and Rated-RKO ( Edge and

). The feud began to develop on the October 9 edition of ''Raw'', when Edge convinced Orton that Triple H was the reason for their unsuccess. Orton lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Triple H in 2004, and Edge lost a title match due to interference from DX the previous week. This led to Edge and Orton joining forces. On the next edition of ''Raw'', Edge praised Mr. McMahon's booking skills and suggested that he and Orton have a match with DX at Cyber Sunday where fans could choose a special guest referee. Mr. McMahon liked the idea, and decided for the options to be Coachman, Eric Bischoff, and himself. The following week, Orton pinned Triple H in a match after hitting Triple H in the head with a

. Coachman had been the special guest referee, but Michaels superkicked him after he tried to count the pinfall, after Edge had interfered. On October 30, McMahon, Coachman, and Bischoff were guests on Edge's talkshow,

The Cutting Edge ''The Cutting Edge'' is a 1992 American sports-romantic comedy film directed by Paul Michael Glaser and written by Tony Gilroy. The plot is about a wealthy, spoiled figure skater (played by Moira Kelly) who is paired with an injury-sidelined ice ...

, and McMahon booked a match between Orton and Triple H for later that night, with Edge as the guest referee. Before the match could start, however, Triple H performed a

Pedigree Pedigree may refer to: Breeding * Pedigree chart, a document to record ancestry, used by genealogists in study of human family lines, and in selective breeding of other animals ** Pedigree, a human genealogy (ancestry chart) ** Pedigree (animal ...

on Edge, meaning he couldn't officiate. Edge recovered and interfered, meaning the match ended in a no-contest. Edge and Orton attacked Triple H with steel chairs, until Triple H got his

sledgehammer A sledgehammer is a tool with a large, flat, often metal head, attached to a long handle. The long handle combined with a heavy head allows the sledgehammer to gather momentum during a swing and apply a large force compared to hammers designed t ...

and retaliated.

Event

Before the event went live on

Super Crazy Francisco Islas Rueda (born December 3, 1973), better known by his ring name Super Crazy, is a Mexican ''luchador'' (or professional wrestler). In Mexico, Islas has worked for Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) and made appearances f ...

defeated

Rob Conway Robert Thomas Conway Jr. (born November 28, 1974), is an American professional wrestler. He is known for his work with World Wrestling Entertainment, where he performed under his real name and as Robért Conway. Post-WWE, he is also known for hi ...

in a non-televised match. The first match saw Umaga face Kane, who had won the vote with 49%. The match moved to the outside, where Umaga missed a Samoan Spike, hitting the ringpost. Kane executed two Corner Clotheslines but Umaga countered with a

Samoan Drop Samoan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Samoan Islands, an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean ** Something of, from, or related to Samoa, a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands ** Something of, from, ...

. Kane performed a Back Suplex and attempted a Diving Clothesline but Umaga retaliated with a Clothesline and executed a Samoan Spike for the win. The second match was the

Texas Tornado 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 m ...

between Cryme Tyme, the Highlanders, Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch and Charlie Haas and Viscera. The match began with the Highlanders and Cade and Murdoch brawling outside the ring and Cryme Tyme and Haas and Viscera brawling in the ring. The Highlanders gained the advantage, performing stereo Planchas. Haas and Viscera took control until Viscera accidentally hit Haas. Cade and Murdoch performed Sweet and Sour on Robbie of the Highlanders, but were thrown out of the ring by Cryme Tyme, who pinned Robbie for the win. The next match was the Intercontinental Championship match between Jeff Hardy, and Carlito, who earned 62% of the vote. After a handshake, both men attempted quick pinning combinations. Carlito countered a

Swanton Bomb 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 ...

by raising his knees. Carlito performed a Springboard Corkscrew Senton for a near-fall. Hardy was able to perform Whisper in the Wind. Hardy climbed to the top rope, and when Carlito attempted to stop him, he was pushed and fell to the floor. Hardy performed the Swanton Bomb to retain the title. The fourth match was between Rated-RKO ( Edge and

) and D-Generation X (

and Triple H) with Eric Bischoff, who won the vote with 60%, as special guest referee. Michaels took control of Edge and tagged in Triple H. Orton and Edge gained control over Michaels after they pulled him into the ringpost. While Bischoff was preventing Triple H from entering the ring, Rated-RKO continued to double team Michaels and Orton performed a Backbreaker. Edge attempted to perform a Spear on Michaels but hit Bischoff instead. Referee Chad Patton entered the ring to replace Bischoff, and after a Spear and RKO to Triple H, Orton pinned him for a near-fall. Orton attempted another RKO on Triple H but Michaels interrupted and superkicked him. Bischoff prevented Patton from counting the pin, and Michaels tried to pursue him but Edge hit him with a

chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

. Orton performed an RKO onto a chair on Triple H for the win. The next match was the final of the tournament for the WWE Women's Championship between Lita and

. The match was the first ever

Lumberjill match 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 ...

(the female version of a lumberjack match), which gained 46% of the vote. The match begun with both Divas throwing the other outside the ring to try to gain an advantage. Lita dominated the early proceedings, applying a sleeper hold until James countered with a cross-arm breaker. Lita executed a DDT to win the title. In the sixth match, The Spirit Squad defended the World Tag Team Championship against

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...

and

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 ...

, who won the voting with 46%.

Sgt. Slaughter Robert Rudolph Remus (born August 27, 1948), best known by his ring name Sgt. Slaughter, is a voice actor and retired American professional wrestler who is currently signed to WWE in the ambassador program. From the late 1970s to the early 198 ...

and

Dusty Rhodes Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. (October 11, 1945 – June 11, 2015), better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American professional wrestler, booker, and trainer who most notably worked for the National Wrestling Alliance, Jim Crocket ...

accompanied Flair and Piper to ringside. Kenny and Mikey were the two Spirit Squad members to defend the title. Flair tagged in Piper, who the Spirit Squad dominated. After Mikey missed a

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'' ...

, Piper tagged in Flair. Flair applied the Figure Four Leglock on Mikey but Kenny broke the hold with a Guillotine leg drop on Flair. Flair made Mikey submit to the Figure Four Leglock to win the title for his team. After the match, Flair, Piper, Slaughter, and Rhodes celebrated in the ring after stopping the Spirit Squad from attacking Flair and Piper. The main event was the "Champion of Champions" match between the WWE Champion John Cena,

King Booker and the

Big Show. The fans voted for the World Heavyweight Championship to be defended. At the start of the match, Booker tried to team with Cena but was prevented by Big Show, who began to dominate. Booker and Cena combined to clothesline Big Show over the top rope and they fought. Cena tried an FU but Booker countered with a DDT. Big Show performed a chokeslam on Booker. He attempted a chokeslam through a broadcast table on Cena but Cena countered and threw him into the ringpost. Cena performed an FU on Queen Sharmell when she attempted to hit him with a title belt. Cena applied the STFU on Booker, but while the referee was tending to Sharmell, Kevin Federline hit Cena with the title belt. Booker hit Cena with the title belt and pinned Cena to retain the title.

Aftermath

After his involvement in the main event, Kevin Federline challenged John Cena to a match on the January 1 edition of ''Raw'', a match he won due to interference of Umaga who was in a midst of a

with Cena. Shortly after this match, Cena defeated Umaga at

New Year's Revolution WWE New Year's Revolution was a professional wrestling event produced by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. The event was created in 2005 and its name was a play on the Western tradition of New Year's resolutions, bei ...

with a roll-up, ending Umaga's one year undefeated streak. Then at the Royal Rumble Cena defeated Umaga again in a Last Man Standing match. After the Royal Rumble Cena and Umaga's feud ended.

and

dropped the World Tag Team Championship two weeks later, to Rated-RKO after Piper was told he had cancer. The Spirit Squad continued their feud with Flair, and were defeated by him, and fellow "legends" at Survivor Series. The night after Survivor Series, the Spirit Squad were defeated in their last match on ''Raw'', and the stable disbanded. Kenny was the only member to stay on WWE television. D-Generation X and Rated-RKO continued feuding, and at Survivor Series, Team DX won with a clean sweep of Team Rated-RKO. The feud continued until New Year's Revolution, where the match between them for the World Tag Team Championship ended in a No Contest after Triple H delivered a

Spinebuster 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 ...

on Orton and tore his quadriceps which was the main cause for the end of the DX return storyline. After she won her fourth WWE Women's Championship, Lita continued her feud with

, with Lita winning two and losing one of three non-title handicap matches against James on ''Raw'' where James had, respectively, one hand tied behind her back, her feet tied together and blindfolded, with James able to win the second of those matches after DX squirted mustard in Lita's face. After Lita announced her retirement after Survivor Series, she lost the title to James at Survivor Series on November 26. The next night on ''

'', Johnny Nitro defeated Jeff Hardy in a No Disqualification Match to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship after having been disqualified in a subsequent match moments before. The next week, however, Hardy defeated Nitro to win his third WWE Intercontinental Championship. Hardy and Nitro continued to feud, and they both reunited with their former tag team partners, Hardy with his brother, Matt, and Nitro reformed MNM with Joey Mercury. The Hardys defeated MNM at the Royal Rumble, and Hardy beat Nitro in a steel cage match at New Year's Revolution to retain his Intercontinental Championship. The 2006 Cyber Sunday would be the final event in the interactive PPVs chronology to be Raw-exclusive, as following WrestleMania 23 in April 2007, WWE discontinued brand-exclusive PPVs.

Results

Voting results

WWE Women's Championship Tournament

* Melina defeated Wilson in a

. * Maria defeated Candice, Victoria and Wilson in Bra and Panties Match. * The final match between Lita and James was a

References

External links

Cyber Sunday website
{{WWEPPV, Cyber Sunday 2006 in Ohio Events in Cincinnati

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

Professional wrestling in Cincinnati 2006 WWE pay-per-view events November 2006 events in the United States WWE Raw