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October 26, 2008

Cyber Sunday preview

Since some of the match-ups and all of the stipulations are not known until the last minute, Cyber Sunday is the toughest WWE pay-per-view to predict. But I’ll give it a shot.

World heavyweight champion Chris Jericho vs. Batista: Fans will choose whether the guest referee is Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels or Randy Orton. Orton has no shot. Michaels makes the most sense from a story line standpoint, but there is no way that Austin isn’t winning. As for the match, at some point the creative team is going to run out of ways to screw Batista in title matches, but it probably won’t be tonight. It’s possible that Austin could cost Jericho the title, but I think Jericho will once again find a way to walk out with the belt – and then Austin will hit a stunner on him after the match.

WWE title match: Fans will choose whether Triple H defends against Jeff Hardy, Vladimir Kozlov, or both in a triple threat match. No matter how hard Kozlov has been pushed on television, I just don’t see him winning the voting. I suppose there is a chance the triple threat could win, but the smart money is on Hardy, and that’s who I’m going with. I think Hardy will be in control for most of the match but come up just short at the end once again. Here’s my scenario: Hardy hits a Swanton and gets a three count, sending the crowd into a frenzy. But then the referee discovers that Triple H had his foot on the rope. While the referee explains this to Hardy, Triple gets up (behind Hardy’s back), hits the Pedigree and retains the title. Suddenly, Vickie Guerrero rolls out in her wheelchair onto the stage. She says that since Triple H mocked her on Smackdown Friday, she is going to teach him a lesson by ordering him to defend the title against Kozlov – right now. Kozlov then goes over clean and becomes the new champion.

The Big Show vs. The Undertaker: Fans will choose whether it’s a last man standing match, knockout match or I quit match. Even though Big Show has knocked out Undertaker a few times, I don’t think the fans will vote for the knockout. I’m guessing the I quit match gets the nod. There’s no chance of The Undertaker submitting, so it’s going to have to be Big Show who utters the two words. For Show not to lose his heat and to keep the feud going, I don’t think a simple submission hold will do him in. I think we’ll see a violent finish similar to the famous Magnum T.A.-Tully Blanchard I quit match in 1985, when Magnum forced Blanchard to quit by driving a splintered piece of a chair into his forehead.

ECW title match: Fans will choose whether Matt Hardy defends against Evan Bourne, Finlay or Mark Henry: It would be a major surprise if Bourne doesn’t win the voting, and a Hardy-Bourne match could steal the show if they are given sufficient time. Hardy will retain, as it’s too early to put the belt on Bourne.

Kane vs. Rey Mysterio: Fans will choose whether it’s a falls-count-anywhere match, no holds barred match or two-out-of-three falls match. Falls-count-anywhere is the likely choice. Mysterio will make it interesting, but Kane will win.

Intercontinental title match: Fans will choose whether Santino Marella defends against The Honky Tonk Man, Goldust or Roddy Piper. Piper is the biggest star of the three challengers, but I’d be shocked if The Honky Tonk Man doesn’t win after all those weeks of the Honk-O-Meter on Raw. Because of HTM’s limitations, this will be kept short. Marella will win, but HTM gets his heat back after the match by smashing a guitar over Marella’s head. A lot of people think Charlie Haas will get involved in some way, and I could see that happening.

Tag-team match: Fans will choose whether it’s William Regal/Layla versus Jamie Knoble/Mickie James, John Morrison/The Miz versus Cryme Tyme or Ted DiBiase Jr./Cody Rhodes versus CM Punk/Kofi Kingston. You can forget about the mixed tag winning. Because of Punk’s popularity, I’m tempted to pick his match, but I’m going with Morrison and Miz against Cryme Tyme. Believe it or not, Miz does have a loyal following. Remember, he won the voting to receive a shot at then-ECW champion Punk at last year’s show. Morrison and Miz will beat Cryme Tyme.

Divas Halloween costume contest: Mickie James, who won the contest last year, is the most over of any of the divas, so I would expect her to repeat. Of course, there is always the chance that the diva who shows the most skin could win, perhaps someone like Kelly Kelly.

Note: There will be a U.S. title match on wwe.com 15 minutes prior to the start of the pay-per-view. Fans will choose whether Shelton Benjamin defends against Festus, MVP or R-Truth. MVP’s losing streak will continue, as he will finish a distant third. Festus has a cult following, but fans have taken to R-Truth and I think he’ll win. I wouldn’t be surprised if R-Truth won the title, as it would be a great way for WWE to promote the idea that fans shouldn’t miss the pre-show wwe.com exclusive matches. However, I think R-Truth should chase the title for a while before winning it, so I’m going with Benjamin to retain, but not necessarily by pinfall.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 4:55 AM | | Comments (8)
        

Comments

It's criminal to see Punk, Morrison and MVP on such redundant spots on the card - I think if Punk and Kingston get picked it will be a definite message that fans want to see him higher up the card once again.

Im really not interested in the HHH-Hardy program unless one turns heel. You need two charismatic stars to sell a face vs face program and right now Hardy just can't do the business on the mic.

Also I'd love to see Kennedy get involved in the title picture when he returns.

the only reason miz got voted into the ecw title match was that the fans wanted to see cm punk retain and the miz was the easiest opponent

I agree with most of the picks but I see the Santino match going down as a DQ with all three Goldust, Piper, Honky Donky Man triple teaming him.. With Beth making the save

Your scenario for the Triple H/ Hardy match makes sense, since as we know that for Triple H to lose the belt, something extreme will have to happen (let's remember Triple H had to wrestle 3 matches in one night to lose the belt last time, so only having 2 matches might not be enough). I would almost prefer a triple threat match tonight, if only to keep Hardy relevant in the title picture- if he loses to Triple H one on one in two straight PPVs, it may knock him out of the title hunt for awhile.

Thank you very much for posting this and I really agree with everything you said and it honestly IS too early for Evan Bourne to win a title and plus Matt Hardy has more experience and is alot better than Evan Bourne. Now dont get me wrong I love Evan Bourne to death, but lets face it, It will be an amazing an unforgettable match but in the end we all know Hardy will come out on top. And thanks again because I did not know about the U.S title match!

I was hoping Jericho would keep the title but all day long on USA they have been promoting Raw and Batista .. since 3PM I knew Batista would walk out with the belt .. someone screwed up big time of those promos .. why not "tune into Raw to see who walks out with the title Jericho or Batista" .. way to go USA

Wow, I love your predictions. I haven't seen this event yet but if it all goes down the way you say it will, it would be quite a kick*** show. You should totally be a creative writer for a pro wrestling promotion [unless you already are xP ]

keep it up :)

Brian, I really don't think you can blame USA for those promos. I imagine they air what they're given. I'd guess WWE messed up.

Again.

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About Kevin Eck
The Baltimore Sun's Kevin Eck blogs about professional wrestling.
E-mail Kevin.
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