Why did he even do that? He was lucky that he kept(barely) his thumb

Tonight is the night that WWE let’s YOU, the FANS decide the matches! Yippee! I bet everyone is pissing their pants with excitement over Cyber Sunday.

Well, not really. I see two matches on the following card I’d like to watch:

• WWE Championship: Triple H(c) v. Vladamir Kozlov; OR Jeff Hardy; OR Vladamir Kozlov and Jeff Hardy
• Undertaker v. Big Show: Last Man Standing match; OR I Quit match; OR Knockout match
• World Heavyweight Championship: Batista v. Chris Jericho(c) with special guest ref Randy Orton; OR Shawn Michaels; OR Stone Cold Steve Austin
• Kane v. Rey Mysterio: Falls Count Anywhere Match; OR No Holds Barred Match; OR Best 2-of-3 Falls Match
• ECW Championship Match: Matt Hardy(c) v. Finlay; OR Mark Henry; OR Evan Bourne
• Intercontinental Championship Match: Santino Marella(c) v. Honky Tonk Man; OR Rowdy Roddy Piper; OR Goldust
• Pick the Tag Team Match: World Tag Team Championship: Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase v. CM Punk and Kofi Kingston; OR John Morrison and The Miz v. Cryme Tyme; OR William Regal and Layla v. Jamie Noble and Mickie James
• Divas Halloween Costume Contest

So yeah, that’s the card. WWE will also stream a match before the show on their web site where you can pick Shelton Benjamin’s opponent: MVP, R Truth or Festus.

Of course, the two matches I’d be interested in are Undertaker v. Big Show and, surprisingly, Kane v. Rey Mysterio. I’d like to see an I Quit match between Taker and Show; I’m not really sure what the difference is between a Last Man Standing match or a Knockout match. I’d like to see Kane and Rey Mysterio simply because I’m hoping for falls count anywhere–Rey Rey is pretty entertaining in those types of matches.

Here’s the requisite “Will you watch the show” poll:

OK. I have to be hallucinating.  As if the WWE didn’t make enough money off of their loyal fans, now they want us to PAY to vote for Cyber Sunday? Seriously? Has Vince McMahon been hit in the head with one-too-many chairs while filming Gillette razor ads?

If I understand this correctly, you have to text your choice to some random number to vote. Of course, you can’t just vote for every match at once. Say there are seven matches on this show like there were on No Mercy: you’d have to pay $7 total just to vote one time for each match/stipulation! What do you want to bet this show has more matches compared to recent WWE PPVs?

What a ridiculous money grab this is. It’s not like you’re even voting on stipulations for good matches. This is Cyber Sunday. It generally sucks ass as a PPV, if my memory serves me. In fact, the only match that stands out to me over the tenure of this whole shindig actually dates back to Taboo Tuesday 2005: Ric Flair v. Triple H in a cage match.

Also, there’s another nice little money-maker for the WWE built-in to all this. Take a look at the “abbreviated rules” for voting from WWE.com. The emphasis is mine:

Abbreviated Rules: U.S. residents who are subscribers to a participating wireless service and who have a wireless device capable of 2 way messaging (“Eligible Voters”) are invited to text message their vote on match stipulations for matches which will take place at the Cyber Sunday pay-per-view event on Sunday, October 26, 2008. Fans may vote beginning Monday October 6, 2008 immediately after the first match stipulation open to fan votes is announced on Raw (announcement could come anytime during live broadcast, between 9:00pm ET and 11:00pm ET) through Sunday, October 26 at 8:00pm ET. When you vote via your mobile phone, you will receive a code for a one month trial to WWE Mobile Alerts (a $3.99 value). WWE Mobile Alerts gives you access to breaking news, show previews and results and live pay-per-view updates directly to your mobile phone. Free one-month subscription only available to Eligible Voters who are not already subscribers to the WWE Mobile Alerts Club. To opt-out at any time, send STOP, QUIT, CANCEL, END or UNSUBSCRIBE to the 44993 short code. At the end of the first month, if you opt-in, you will be charged $3.99 per month until you choose to opt-out. Standard text messaging rates may apply to each text message sent or received, whether in connection with voting on match stipulations or participating in the WWE Mobile Alerts Club, and other charges may apply, depending on your wireless service plan. Contact your carrier for pricing and other details that apply to you. To opt-out of the WWE Alerts Club at any time send STOP, QUIT, CANCEL, END or UNSUBSCRIBE to the 46993 short code. See Terms and Conditions for complete details.

So how many people do you think will sign up for that free trial and then forget to opt-out after a month? I’d say a good number. After all, who hasn’t signed up for something that’s free for a month and then forgetten to cancel it until they get charged for it? That’s happened to me several times in the past, especially when it comes to phone-related or internet-related charges.

Face it, this voting thing is a sham and just a way for WWE to make even MORE money off pay-per-view. Don’t fall for it. I don’t understand why they would go away from the voting on their web site, considering now only U.S. residents can vote for this crap. The number of votes will be WAY down this year. And how many people will actually vote more than once? That would be stupid.

Given the economic climate right now and the demographic that WWE targets, this makes the WWE look pretty greedy. I hope people not only refuse to pay money for the “privilege” to vote, but also refuse to spend their money on this shitty pay-per-view. I know I won’t buy it, even if my favorite wrestler of all-time is a part of the show.

Episode 116 of Pro Wrestling Blog v2.0’s Official Podcast is now online, featuring:

• Lex and Ian’s interview with former WWE Superstar Rob Conway…
• Lex’s thoughts on Cyber Sunday, Including Podcast Poll results…
• Podcast Paydirt…
• Listener Feedback…
• IMPROVED DOWNLOAD SPEEDS!

Finally, check out Lex’s new blog, El Kabong, at www.elkabongblog.com!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFX7_4uTqhI&rel=1]

Note: Let’s not post over this until tomorrow. That way, we can have a great Cyber Sunday Discussion! Thanks, guys. Also, don’t forget to vote in the Cyber Sunday polls on the right sidebar. Come tonight, we’ll see just how accurate the PWBites are. I’ll use them on the upcoming Cyber Sunday podcast.

Chris Jericho’s last wrestling match in the WWE was August 22, 2005. All signs point to tonight for his long-awaited return. In fact, I’ve actually gotten caught up in the moment–I’ve totally flip-flopped on this PPV based on the fact that one of my all-time favorites could return. I’m going to order the show and hope for the best.

Here’s the card for tonight’s PPV extravaganza:

• WWE Championship: Randy Orton(c) v. Fan’s Choice (Jeff Hardy, Mr. Kennedy or HBK)
• World Heavyweight Championship: Undertaker v. Batista(c) w/ Fan’s Choice of Guest Ref (JBL, Mick Foley or Stone Cold Steve Austin)
• ECW Championship: CM Punk v. Fan’s Choice (The Miz, Big Daddy V or John Morrison)
• Fan’s Choice of Stipulation (Cage Match, Street Fight or First Blood): Triple H v. Umaga
• Fan’s Choice of Stipulation (MMA, Boxing or Wrestling): Matt Hardy v. MVP
• Fan’s Choice of Stipulation (Shillelagh on a Pole, Stretcher Match or No DQ): Finlay v. Rey Mysterio
• Diva’s Halloween Costume Contest

On the bright side, there’s not too much filler crap here. All of these matches could turn out to be good, so maybe this show won’t end up being too bad. Especially if Y2J makes his return.

Also, does anyone else get the feeling that we might be walking away with a new WWE Champion tonight?

Matt Hardy suffered a cut on his head Tuesday on the Smackdown recordings when in the match he was hit on the head with Rey Misterio’s knee protector. Matt Bleed like crazy during the match. Hardy had 35 stiches on his head and it is unknown if he will be at Cyber Sunday.

Lillian Garcia’s CD “Quiero Vivir” sold less then 3,800 units (Ouch!) on it’s first week. The CD did not make it to the top 200 on Billboard.

Steve Austin’s film “The Condemned” made $2.14 millions in DVD rentals last week making the total 15.94 millions in DVD’s sales and rentals. This amount is higher than what the movie made in theaters.

Chris Masters hurt his elbow in a tag match last week involving The Undertaker. Reports say that prior to getting hurt Masters had an encounter with the Undertaker during the match after pissing the deadman off. (Big mistake from Masters.)

The card for Cyber Sunday was released last night by the WWE after Raw. Here’s what it looks like so far.

• WWE Championship match Randy Orton(c) vs Jeff Hardy or Ken Kennedy or HBK

• World Championship match Batista(c) vs The Undertaker fans decide the special guest referee Mick Foley, JBL or Stone Cold

• ECW Championship match CM Punk(c) vs Big Daddy V or The Miz or John Morrison

• HHH vs Umaga in ether a Street Fight, Steel Cage or First Blood Match

• Rey Mesterio vs Finlay in ether a Stretcher Match, Shillelagh On A Pole, or No DQ Match

• Matt Hardy vs MVP fans choose the type of competition Boxing, Wrestling, or MMA

Ok, they really only added 2 matches that we didn’t know about already but assuming the fans pick the card correctly this actually looks like it could be pretty good.

-sideshowRaheem