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WWE CYBER SUNDAY REPORT
December 16, 2007
Pittsburgh, Pa.
By James Caldwell, Torch columnist
No live PPV report tonight. My official report is: Comcast Sucks. But five stars to a blank black screen. It was the only source of entertainment while sitting on hold for 30 minutes to get absolutely nowhere.
Not being able to watch the PPV, I'll add my thoughts on the match finishes and my expectations for each match while reading Wade Keller's ongoing report.
(1) Rey Mysterio beat MVP via count out; MVP retained the U.S. Title. I didn't expect Rey to win the belt. I actually expected him to take a loss, as WWE hasn't built up Rey to the main event level he was at pre-knee surgery earlier this year. This was definitely a hold-over match until Matt Hardy returns to feud with MVP and they figure out where to plug Rey into the Smackdown storylines. Surprising to see them open with a non-finish to the PPV.
(2) Big Daddy V & Mark Henry beat Kane & ECW champion C.M. Punk. If there's one match I could have done without on this PPV, it's this one. They've booked some form of this match on TV and PPV seemingly 800 times the second-half of 2007. Punk taking the loss is no surprise. He's either flat on his back after a post-match beating or taking a loss in nine out of ten televised matches. With Big Daddy V pinning Punk, it sets up another round of Punk vs. Daddy moments on ECW TV.
(3) Shawn Michaels beat Mr. Kennedy. Mike Roe and I talked about whether this would be one of those PPV matches where Michaels takes a meaningful loss to a younger wrestler. Michaels won clean with the superkick, so this wasn't one of those matches. I think if the TV build-up featuring Kennedy was solid and made for great TV, then this could have been one of those matches. But, Kennedy's segments the past two weeks on Raw were sub par, giving Michaels an out to say this isn't the time to have a meaningful PPV loss to Kennedy.
(4) Jeff Hardy beat Triple H. If there's one match I absolutely wanted to see tonight, it was this one. Until doing the PPV preview with Mike Roe, I was 99.9 percent sure Hunter was going to win, but after talking it out, it made 100 percent sense for Jeff Hardy to win this match. The winner of this match gets a title shot at the Royal Rumble, where the title matches really don't have to sell the PPV because the Rumble match sells itself. Orton vs. Hardy (if Orton retains tonight) is one of those matches that gives Hardy a chance to get a PPV title match when he otherwise wouldn't be asked to main event. I go back to Brock Lesnar vs. Hardcore Holly for the Smackdown title in 2004. So, Hardy gets his first big PPV title match when WWE doesn't have to depend on him to sell a PPV. Plus, it gives Hunter a chance to be the big man in the Rumble, possibly win the Rumble, and face whoever is champion after the Rumble out of Hardy, Orton, Jericho, Edge, Batista, or Undertaker for the top match at WrestleMania.
WWE.com's story on the match focuses on Hardy pulling a monumental upset of Hunter, like an unranked team knocking off a top five college football team this college football season. I think Hardy deserved a little more credit going into the match, but it's difficult to find a signature singles victory over a top heavyweight on his career resume, so it makes sense. The second-half of the .com story looks at whether Hunter has lost his edge to be champion. It looks like the next few weeks of TV leading to the Rumble will focus on Hunter regaining his focus before running wild in the Rumble match.
(5) Finlay beat Great Khali with help from Hornswoggle. Khali had plenty of offense, but just looking at the finish, they appear to have given up on protecting Khali for now. Maybe some people bought into Batista's quotes about being sick to his stomach when Khali was champion. I'm certainly not a Khali apologist, but it doesn't make sense to waste away a super heavyweight that they invested so much time into protecting prior to the past few months. He's looked silly in this ongoing Hornswoggle and Finlay program, and losing here doesn't help. On the flip side, I do like Finlay getting a win if they push him in a legit feud where he can wrestle with a younger heel and create good TV.
(6) Chris Jericho beat Randy Orton via DQ; Orton retained the WWE Title. Another non-finish to a title match means we must be getting a clean finish to the Hvt. Title match. They can't have three non-finishes to the Big Three title matches on this card. As for JBL interfering with Jericho, it sets up a good, meaningful return feud for JBL. It must also set up Funaki as Smackdown's numba one color analyst. Seriously, it also sets up Jericho for a probable move to Smackdown where the roster is thin on babyfaces after Taker and Batista, with Matt Hardy still out with an injury. Raw is pretty loaded with babyfaces right now, so I like Jericho moving to Smackdown to more evenly distribute the top talent across the two brands and add more star power to Friday nights. Jericho wasn't getting great reactions on Raw, so being the big fish in a small pond on Smackdown should increase Jericho's star power for the company.
(7) Beth Phoenix beat Mickie James to retain the Women's Title. It reads like a disappointing buffer match, which doesn't surprise me. Beth is being booked to beat the other divas pretty clean, leaving the cupboard bare in the Women's Division until Candice Michelle comes back, I guess. Unless Trish or Lita is making a comeback, I don't see anyone left with any credibility for Beth to feud against.
(8) Edge beat Batista and Undertaker to capture the World Hvt Title. Two fake Edges running around? Sounds like something WCW would have booked in 2000. After two non-finishes to the other big title matches, I thought they would keep this relatively clean, but it reads like a silly, disappointing finish to get the belt back on Edge. I did not expect Edge to win the belt, as WWE usually doesn't book a heel winning a PPV main event to make sure fans go home happy. If Batista gets his re-match at the Rumble, it sets up a possible Taker vs. Hunter showdown in the Rumble match, like Taker vs. Michaels last year.
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