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It’s time to step into WWE territory again as we take a look at their latest pay-per-view offering, the newly-named Over the Limit, shown live in the early hours of this past Sunday morning on Sky Box Office here in Britain, with Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and Matt Striker handling commentary duties.
The show began with the first title match of the evening as Kofi Kingston challenged Drew McIntyre for the Intercontinental title. This short match proved to be a great way of opening the show. Kingston again impressed the hell out of me, a perfect foil for the ever improving McIntyre. So after about six minutes or so of great action Kingston got the title winning pin, countering the Scotsman’s DDT attempt with what could only be described as a reverse Russian leg sweep. That wasn’t the end of matters though as McIntyre grabbed microphone and said that the show wouldn’t go on unless Teddy Long came out to reverse the decision. It was then that his rival Matt Hardy came down to the ring and took him out with a twist of fate.
The action continued as R-Truth went up against the now richer Ted Dibiase, accompanied here by none other than Virgil, fresh from his busy autograph signing schedule. Dibiase now seems to be thriving as a star in his own right, no longer sharing the spotlight as part of a three man team. This was a nice solid match between two guys well suited to each other, a really enjoyable encounter, with R-Truth getting the win after taking Dibiase down with the lie detector.
Rey Mysterio and C.M. Punk continued their series next, with the stipulation that if Punk won Mysterio would have to join the Straight Edge Society, and if Mysterio won Punk would lose his hair. Once again these two delivered in spades, and then some. It was a tremendous back and forth affair that had me on the edge of my seat, with the only down point being the moment where they stopped the match when Punk was busted open. Guess we can’t have blood letting in this PG-era universe now, can we? Anyway, back to the matter at hand. This great match came to an end in quite a simple way. After taking the 619, Punk avoided the top rope splash. Mysterio then reversed Punk’s pin attempt to get the pin for himself. But then, as Punk and his minions attacked Mysterio, none other than Kane came down to clear house as punk found himself hand-cuffed to the ropes. Mysterio then went to work with the clippers, later celebrating with two hands full of hair held high above his head. All I can say is what a match.
The Tag-Team title match followed as Chris Jericho and the Miz challenged the Hart Dynasty for the titles. It’s nice to see David Hart Smith and Tyson Kidd getting their chance on pay-per-view, and they showed that they deserved that chance with a very solid performance. Kidd in particular was impressive with his high flying moves. Jericho and Miz also looked good here in what was a good example of 21st century tag team wrestling, with plenty of near falls, and Kidd getting the pin after the Harts took Miz out with the Hart attack clothesline.
Then it was on to the big grudge match between Edge and Randy Orton. This proved to be a solid match between two heated rivals, but will be remembered for the injury Orton sustained during the match, made worse when he pound the mat in preparation for the RKO. The referee gave the X sign, and the ending was changed, with both men counted out. Not really fair to judge this match given what happened.
The first big title match followed as the Big Show challenged Jack Swagger for the World title. A dominating performance from the Big Show saw him throwing the champion around like a stuffed toy. Swagger had his moments, but in the end his frustrations got the better of him as he got himself disqualified by clobbering the big guy with the title belt. The action continued after the bell when Swagger attacked the big guy with a chair, but that wasn’t enough to put him away. A choke slam on the chair and a big right later and Swagger was flat out, ending what was a very enjoyable encounter, and I doubt if this is the last time we’ll see these two against each other.
This month’s filler material saw Maryse challenging Eve Torres for the Divas title. Well, it was a solid enough match, with both girls putting in good performances, but the crowd in attendance were dead for the most part as Eve got the pin after taking Maryse down by driving her head into the mat.
The final match of the evening saw Batista challenging John Cena for the WWE title in an I Quit match. These two really took it to each other in this great brawl. They fought in the ring, around the ring, through the crowd, over balconies and through tables before making their way to the stage, where they even used a car as a weapon, with Batista almost running Cena over, before the champion took his man down with the attitude adjuster on the bonnet. Then, just as Cena was about to take him down with an attitude adjuster from the car’s roof, Batista quit, giving Cena the win. It didn’t save the Animal though as Cena went through with the move anyway, sending him crashing through the stage, Cena’s night wasn’t over either as Sheamus appeared and attacked Cena as the show came to an end.
In conclusion - WWE’s first Over the Limit proved to be a very enjoyable and very good show, which I know goes against what other critics have said. All of the matches delivered, with the only real down point being Randy Orton’s injury, which lead to the hurried finish. I hope that powers-that-be at TNA were taking a look at this, because after their recent disappointing efforts, they should realise that this is what fans want from a wrestling pay-per-view.
The show began with the first title match of the evening as Kofi Kingston challenged Drew McIntyre for the Intercontinental title. This short match proved to be a great way of opening the show. Kingston again impressed the hell out of me, a perfect foil for the ever improving McIntyre. So after about six minutes or so of great action Kingston got the title winning pin, countering the Scotsman’s DDT attempt with what could only be described as a reverse Russian leg sweep. That wasn’t the end of matters though as McIntyre grabbed microphone and said that the show wouldn’t go on unless Teddy Long came out to reverse the decision. It was then that his rival Matt Hardy came down to the ring and took him out with a twist of fate.
The action continued as R-Truth went up against the now richer Ted Dibiase, accompanied here by none other than Virgil, fresh from his busy autograph signing schedule. Dibiase now seems to be thriving as a star in his own right, no longer sharing the spotlight as part of a three man team. This was a nice solid match between two guys well suited to each other, a really enjoyable encounter, with R-Truth getting the win after taking Dibiase down with the lie detector.
Rey Mysterio and C.M. Punk continued their series next, with the stipulation that if Punk won Mysterio would have to join the Straight Edge Society, and if Mysterio won Punk would lose his hair. Once again these two delivered in spades, and then some. It was a tremendous back and forth affair that had me on the edge of my seat, with the only down point being the moment where they stopped the match when Punk was busted open. Guess we can’t have blood letting in this PG-era universe now, can we? Anyway, back to the matter at hand. This great match came to an end in quite a simple way. After taking the 619, Punk avoided the top rope splash. Mysterio then reversed Punk’s pin attempt to get the pin for himself. But then, as Punk and his minions attacked Mysterio, none other than Kane came down to clear house as punk found himself hand-cuffed to the ropes. Mysterio then went to work with the clippers, later celebrating with two hands full of hair held high above his head. All I can say is what a match.
The Tag-Team title match followed as Chris Jericho and the Miz challenged the Hart Dynasty for the titles. It’s nice to see David Hart Smith and Tyson Kidd getting their chance on pay-per-view, and they showed that they deserved that chance with a very solid performance. Kidd in particular was impressive with his high flying moves. Jericho and Miz also looked good here in what was a good example of 21st century tag team wrestling, with plenty of near falls, and Kidd getting the pin after the Harts took Miz out with the Hart attack clothesline.
Then it was on to the big grudge match between Edge and Randy Orton. This proved to be a solid match between two heated rivals, but will be remembered for the injury Orton sustained during the match, made worse when he pound the mat in preparation for the RKO. The referee gave the X sign, and the ending was changed, with both men counted out. Not really fair to judge this match given what happened.
The first big title match followed as the Big Show challenged Jack Swagger for the World title. A dominating performance from the Big Show saw him throwing the champion around like a stuffed toy. Swagger had his moments, but in the end his frustrations got the better of him as he got himself disqualified by clobbering the big guy with the title belt. The action continued after the bell when Swagger attacked the big guy with a chair, but that wasn’t enough to put him away. A choke slam on the chair and a big right later and Swagger was flat out, ending what was a very enjoyable encounter, and I doubt if this is the last time we’ll see these two against each other.
This month’s filler material saw Maryse challenging Eve Torres for the Divas title. Well, it was a solid enough match, with both girls putting in good performances, but the crowd in attendance were dead for the most part as Eve got the pin after taking Maryse down by driving her head into the mat.
The final match of the evening saw Batista challenging John Cena for the WWE title in an I Quit match. These two really took it to each other in this great brawl. They fought in the ring, around the ring, through the crowd, over balconies and through tables before making their way to the stage, where they even used a car as a weapon, with Batista almost running Cena over, before the champion took his man down with the attitude adjuster on the bonnet. Then, just as Cena was about to take him down with an attitude adjuster from the car’s roof, Batista quit, giving Cena the win. It didn’t save the Animal though as Cena went through with the move anyway, sending him crashing through the stage, Cena’s night wasn’t over either as Sheamus appeared and attacked Cena as the show came to an end.
In conclusion - WWE’s first Over the Limit proved to be a very enjoyable and very good show, which I know goes against what other critics have said. All of the matches delivered, with the only real down point being Randy Orton’s injury, which lead to the hurried finish. I hope that powers-that-be at TNA were taking a look at this, because after their recent disappointing efforts, they should realise that this is what fans want from a wrestling pay-per-view.
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