page_title: Cyber Sunday (2008)
section_title: Storylines
hierarchical_section_title: Cyber Sunday (2008) / Storylines
caption_attribution_description: English: Matt Hardy at an ECW taping. Bradley Center; Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Taken by myself. Rotated, cropped, and brightened.
context_page_description: Cyber Sunday (2008) was the fifth and final Cyber Sunday professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment. It took place on October 26, 2008, at the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona. It featured wrestlers from the Raw, ECW, and SmackDown brands. Eight professional wrestling matches and one miscellaneous segment were featured on the event's card. The event received 153,000 pay-per-view buys, less than the previous year's event.
context_section_description: Unlike other WWE events where the stipulations were determined by WWE's creative staff, stipulations for matches were determined by votes from WWE fans conducted on WWE's website and by text messaging. The event was scheduled to feature eight professional wrestling matches and one miscellaneous segment. Although the stipulations resulted from votes by WWE fans, different wrestlers were involved in pre-existing scripted feuds, plots and storylines, which led to scheduled matches in which WWE fans could vote upon stipulations. Wrestlers were portrayed as either villains or fan favorites as they followed a series of tension-building events. All wrestlers were from either the ECW, Raw, or SmackDown brands – a storyline division in which WWE assigned its employees to a different television program.
  The main feud from the Raw brand was over the World Heavyweight Championship. On the October 6, 2008 episode of Raw, General Manager Mike Adamle announced that World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho would defend his title against Batista in a standard wrestling match, also known as a singles match, in which a guest referee would be voted for by WWE fans; the candidates for the position were Randy Orton, Shawn Michaels, and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Earlier that night, it was also announced that Santino Marella would defend his WWE Intercontinental Championship against a former Intercontinental Champion voted for by the WWE fans; the candidates were Roddy Piper, Goldust, or The Honky Tonk Man.
  The main rivalry from the SmackDown brand was over the WWE Championship. It was announced on the October 10, 2008 episode of Friday Night SmackDown that WWE Champion Triple H would defend his title against either Jeff Hardy or Vladimir Kozlov in a singles match, or in a triple-threat match, a standard match involving both Hardy and Kozlov. Later that night it was also announced that The Big Show would face The Undertaker in a fans choice of match, which included a Knockout match, "I Quit" match, or a Last Man Standing match.
  The only rivalry from the ECW brand was over the ECW Championship. It was announced on the October 14, 2008 episode of ECW that ECW Champion Matt Hardy would defend the title against the fans' choice of an opponent, with Mark Henry, Evan Bourne, or Finlay as the options from which to choose.
caption: Matt Hardy as the ECW Champion.
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