So tonight’s Cyber-Sunday, WWE’s “interactive” PPV that will no doubt get canned next year. For those of you who have no idea how a concept this convoluted came to play, let’s dwell in a bit of history, shall we?
Three years ago, WWE had attempted a rather unique Pay-Per-View experiment… no, not the Tuesday PPV – THAT experiment had been done many years ago featuring a paltry rematch between Undertaker and Hulk Hogan. I’m talking about the interactive aspect of a show where fans have some control over what goes on in the match, either by choosing stipulations or choosing challengers to championships. Last year’s show seemed to be enough of a success that they’re trying it again this year. Now, to reiterate what I had said in the Taboo Tuesday 2004 ramblings, this wasn’t the greatest PPV I had seen, but it was something different and unique that broke the monotony of PPVs, all which seemed to booked in the same way.
Others might feel differently, but I thought that the Taboo Tuesday concept was a novel idea and shows that WWE are willing to take chances and try something different when they feel like it. Earlier this year, WWE suspended one of their regular PPVs and replaced it with an ECW one, a show that I can say was pretty entertaining. Not because the wrestling was any good, mind you, but mostly because it was a different offering from what we are commonly used to seeing from McWrestling.
So they tried again with Taboo Tuesday 2005 and the magic wasn’t quite there. I personally haven’t seen the show so I can’t comment on it like I could the first one. Vince, being the genius that he is, decreed that the magic was there, but nobody would want to buy a Tuesday PPV. Of course, that couldn’t be the case in actuality, but Vince is a genius and he’s always right. That’s why he’s a certified billionaire.
The following year, WWE gave up on Taboo Tuesday and changed it to Cyber Sunday. Unlike the previous two entries, some of these choices weren’t ridiculous (the Women’s Title match had STIPULATION choices and not choice of what kind of porn costume they’ll be wearing during the match) so there’ll be some semblance of control over the matches.
So here we are with the fourth iteration and man is the card underwhelming. It’s nice that they tried to make it more interactive by having you choose opponents for two title matches, but then again, that’s been done already.
So here are my predictions for who fans would select and who would win the matches involved. I’d list my picks, but this year I haven’t really bothered with the voting process since it’s become so fucking convoluted, it’s mind-boggling… actually, I’ll list who I would have voted for anyway. This will be pretty barebones on my part – so WWE is spared my lovely bitching for this one time… I’m saving that for the upcoming Survivor Series.
REY MISTERIO VS. FIT FINLAY
My Pick: Rod On A Pole
Predicted Pick: Rod On A Stick
Predicted Winner: Finlay
MATT HARDY VS. MVP
My Stipulation: Wrestling Match
Predicted Pick: MMA Match
Predicted Winner: Matt Hardy
ECW TITLE BOUT
CM PUNK (c) vs. ???
My Pick: The Miz
Predicted Pick: John Morrison
Predicted Winner: CM Punk
UMAGA VS. TRIPLE H
My Stipulation: Street Fight
Predicted Pick: Steel Cage
Predicted Winner: HHH
World Heavyweight Championship Match
BATISTA (champion) VS. UNDERTAKER
My pick for Special Referee: JBL
Predicted Pick: Stone Cold
Predicted Winner: Batista
World Wrestling Entertainment Championship Match
RANDY ORTON VS. ???
My Pick for No. 1 Contender: Jeff Hardy
Predicted Pick: Shawn Michaels
Predicted Winner: Randy Orton
dtm666 