|Date: May 22, 2011
|Venue: KeyArena |City: Seattle, Washington
|Attendance: 7,500 |Buys: 142,000
|Brands: Raw & Smackdown
|tweet me: @BastionBlogger
Over The Limit returns for a second year and tonight we have eight big matches. The Miz gets another shot at the WWE Championship tonight. He originally used his rematch a few weeks ago and beat champion John Cena but the referee reversed the decision after he clocked on to Alex Riley helping The Miz win. Miz would then beat Rey Mysterio and Alberto Del Rio in a triple threat match to earn another shot at the title but John Cena got to pick the stipulation and for tonights match he has chosen an I Quit match, the same type of match that he beat Batista in at last years Over The Limit event. The World Heavyweight Championship will also be defended tonight but Christian will be the challenger. He lost the title to Randy Orton five days after Christian won the belt at Extreme Rules. Christian doesn’t seem too bitter about it and uses his rematch clause tonight.
The Intercontinental Championship is set to be defended tonight when Wade Barrett defends against his former buddy Ezekiel Jackson. After weeks of miscommunications Jackson turned his back on The Corre which spurred on an attack from Wade Barrett, Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel. Tonight Jackson gets a shot at the title held by Wade Barrett. The tag team championships will be on the line as Big Show and Kane defend against the new Nexus members CM Punk and Mason Ryan. And the Divas title will also be defended tonight as new champion Brie Bella, who beat Eve for the title, defends against Kelly Kelly. Sin Cara makes his PPV debut tonight when he goes one on one with the man that claims Cara has stolen all of his moves, Chavo Guerrero.
The feud between Jerry Lawler and Michael Cole continues tonight. Cole announced that he had retired from in-ring competition but Jerry Lawler told Cole that he he could beat The King again then Lawler would not only hand over his hall of fame ring but also induct Cole into the WWE Hall Of Fame one day. Michael Cole not only agreed to the match but also added the stipulation of it being a kiss my foot match. A match that Jerry Lawler once lost to Bret Hart in which the loser must kiss the winners feet. Also tonight R-Truth takes on the man he has attacked on a few occasions as of late, Rey Mysterio.
In a dark match prior to the event Daniel Bryan defeated Drew McIntyre.
A video package kicks us off with the only focus being on John Cena and The Miz and their I Quit match.
Josh Mathews welcomes us to Over The Limit. He’s joined on commentary by Jerry “The King” Lawler, Booker T and Michael Cole who is in his Cole-mine. Cole says he has a big surprise in store for Lawler tonight.
Rey Mysterio vs. R-Truth
This is a first PPV match between these two men who have both wrestled every previous PPV match as babyfaces. Both men won their matches at Over The Limit last year, Mysterio over CM Punk and R-Truth over Ted DiBiase. R-Truth gets on the mic before the bell and rips into the crowd saying that dancing for all the little Jimmy’s got him nowhere. He says that it’s all a conspiracy. He cuts a great crazy promo as a heel. It’s a slow start to the match but R-Truth takes Mysterio down before Rey picks up the pace and low-bridges Truth, sending him to the outside. Mysterio then dives off the apron and hits Truth with a hurricanrana before throwing him into the ring. Mysterio springboards to the top rope but Truth shoves him, crotching him in the corner and then laying in some boots. Mysterio hits a drop toe hold but Truth throws him into the ringpost. Truth gets the first near fall of the night and then applies a front face lock which Rey fights out of.
R-Truth hits a face-first sit-out suplex for a two count and then applies a cobra clutch using the bottom rope which he has to break. Truth suplexes Rey onto the top rope and then goes up to the middle rope himself but Rey hits him with some right hands and then hits a bulldog off the middle rope for a two count. The two men get to their feet and slug it out before Mysterio hits a springboard cross body for a two count. Rey hits a kick to the face but still can’t put Truth away. Truth is looking for his first PPV victory of 2011 and he hits a corkscrew elbow for a two count. Rey avoids a scissors kick and then sets Truth up for a 6129 but Truth rolls out of the ring. Mysterio hits a dropkick but Truth pulls him out of the ring and crotches him on the ring skirt. Back in the ring and Truth hits the lie detector which is enough for the three! A huge win for R-Truth tonight! He attacks Rey after the match with a bottle of water.
Rating: 6/10
Todd Grisham is backstage with The Miz and Alex Riley. Miz has a plan up his sleeve for tonight.
We’re shown some footage of Ezekiel Jackson being attacked by his former Corre members and then Jackson saving Kane from an attack by the Corre but then begin triple teamed.
Wade Barrett (c) vs. Ezekiel Jackson – Intercontinental Championship match
This is a first time PPV match between these two men. An an Over The Limit debut for both. Barrett walks out by himself for this one, no sign of Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel but I fully expect them to show up at some point. This is a first PPV title defence for Barrett who beat Kofi Kingston for the Intercontinental Championship not long before Wrestlemania 27. I’m a big fan of Barrett. He hits Jackson with some right hands in the early going and then applies a front facelock but Ezekiel throws him across the ring and then kicks Wade out of it. Jackson drags Barrett back into the ring but Barrett fires back with some right hands. Ezekiel throws Barrett out of the ring and then chases him back into it. Barrett attempts a kick but Jackson catches his boot and drops him with a clothesline.
Ezekiel Jackson hits a hard Irish whip and follows it up with an elbow drop for a two count. Ezekiel then bounces Barrett off the top turnbuckle and lays in some kicks and forearms. Barrett sells a neck injury but he was playing possum and takes a cheap shot at Jackson before throwing him into the ringpost. Barrett then kicks Jacksons head off the ringpost for a near fall. Barrett hits an elbow drop off the middle rope and then applies a chinlock. Jackson beats his way out of it but Barrett scoops him up for wasteland. Jackson fights out of it but Wade hits a pump handle slam for a near fall. Jackson hits a big right hand as he gets to his feet which knocks Barrett to the outside. Ezekiel then launches Barrett into the ringpost before bringing him back into the ring and hitting a couple of shoulder charges.
Ezekiel hits a big splash in the corner and then five bodyslams. Jackson then locks Barrett in a rack submission but out comes Justin Gabriel who kicks Jackson to cause the disqualification! Ezekiel Jackson wins by disqualification but out comes Heath Slater and The Corre triple team Ezekiel. The three men drop Jackson, leaving him laying. Barrett loses the match but jeeps his Intercontinental Championship.
Rating: 4.25/10
CM Punk and Mason Ryan are backstage and Punk is offering advice to Ryan. They walk into their locker room where David Otunga and Michael Mcgillicutty have been attacked by Big Show and Kane. Punk tells Mason that they are under Big Show and Kane’s skin. Punk tells Otunga and Mcgillicutty to walk it off.
Sin Cara vs. Chavo Guerrero
This is a PPV debut for Sin Cara. Chavo doesn’t get on pay per view very much these days so it’s nice to see him back on a big show. Can’t see him winning tonight though, WWE has been hyping up Sin Cara a lot. Sin Cara gets his own special blue lighting for his matches. He applies a headlock which Chavo counters into a head scissors. Guerrero applies an armbar and then a hammerlock which Sin Cara counters with a snapmare. Cara hits a head scissors sending Chavo on to the apron before hitting him with a handspring which sends Chavo to the ground below. Sin Cara then hits a corkscrew plancha to the outside and lands on his feet. Lots of fast paced attack from Sin Cara as he hits a handspring head scissors on the outside before throwing Chavo back in. Chavo hits a baseball slide and then some right hands.
Sin Cara hits a low dropkick and then a beautiful moonsault for a two count. Sin Cara misses with a splash in the corner and chavo takes him down with a running knee attack. Sin Cara hits a dropkick and then a springboard arm drag. He runs into a kick from Chavo who follows it up with right hands. Chavo works on the right knee of Sin Cara and then heads to the top but Sin Cara kicks him down to the outside. Sin Cara dives off the top rope with a big splash to the outside on Chavo and then rolls him back in and hits Guerrero with a springboard hurricanrana, kicks and a handspring elbow. Sin Cara hits an arm drag, a big kick to the face and then a springboard cross body for a two count. Chavo looks for the Gory special but Sin Cara counters it with an arm drag before making a complete mess of a tilt-a-whirl head scissors which is the finish! Sin Cara wins the match but he shakes his head because he isn’t happy with the finish. A decent enough match until that.
Rating: 6.5/10
Todd Grisham is backstage with his guests Christian and Randy Orton. Christian is confident that he’ll win back the World Heavyweight Championship tonight but Orton beat Christian last week and he’ll beat him again.
Ricardo Rodriguez introduces Alberto Del Rio who doesn’t have a match tonight. Alberto comes out and talks about sneaky Canadians illegally crossing the border into America. Del Rio says that destiny can’t be stopped and he will be WWE Champion. He is then interrupted by the WWE Tag Team Champions, Big Show and Kane. Big Show and Kane tell Alberto Del Rio to leave the ring and intimidate him into doing so.
Kane & The Big Show (c) vs. CM Punk & Mason Ryan – WWE Tag Team Championship match
This is a first PPV match between these two teams. CM Punk lost to Rey Mysterio at last years Over The Limit PPV whilst Big Show beat Jack Swagger by disqualification. This is only Mason Ryan’s second PPV match, he’s looking for his first PPV victory tonight. Ryan starts against Kane and powers down the big red machine in the early going. Kane hits a couple of right hands but Mason Ryan hits him with a bodyslam and then a clothesline in the corner. Mason tags in CM Punk who runs right into an uppercut. Kane tags in Big Show who hits Punk with a big chop to the chest. Punk manages to hit a low dropkick and then tags in Mason Ryan who hits a big shoulder charge to take down Big Show and then tags CM Punk back in. Punk attempts a front facelock but Big Show counters it with a bear hug and tags in Kane who hits a running boot.
Kane hits a clothesline in the corner and then a sidewalk slam for a two count. Kane then heads to the top and hits a flying clothesline. Kane motions for a chokeslam but a distraction from Mason Ryan allows Punk to kick Kane in the face. Punk tags in Ryan who kicks Kane to the outside allowing CM Punk to take a cheap shot. Ryan then rams Kane into the ring apron before rolling Kane back into the ring for a two count. Kane tags in CM Punk who takes some shots at Kane and then a running knee. Punk attempts a bulldog but Kane shoves him away only for Punk to hit a low dropkick and tag in Mason Ryan. Ryan hits a running powerslam for a near fall and then applies a bear hug of his own. Kane fights him off and then hits Mason with a suplex. Both men are down but Mason Ryan manages to tag CM Punk who stops Kane from tagging in The Big Show.
CM Punk heads to the top and in the style of Randy Savage, who died two days prior to this event, attempts a diving elbow drop but Kane avoids it and tags in The Big Show. Mason Ryan tags in and Big Show hits him with clotheslines and shoulder charges. Big Show looks for a chokeslam but both Nexus members fight him off. Big Show drops both men with a clothesline before Kane disposes of Punk. Kane and Big Show then hit a double chokeslam on Mason Ryan which is enough for the three! Kane and Big Show retain the WWE Tag Team Championships tonight!
Rating: 5/10
Brie Bella (c) vs. Kelly Kelly – WWE Divas Championship match
This is only Brie Bella’s second PPV match, she looks for her first victory tonight. Kelly Kelly looks to become Divas Champion for the first time tonight. Michael Cole doesn’t look forward to another boring Divas match. Nikki Bella distracts Kelly early on which allows Brie to get a cheap shot in. Kelly Kelly applies an inverted tarantula and then a cross body from the top for a two count. Kelly then hits a stink face! Brie back body drops Kelly out of the ring where Nikki Bella hits her with a dropkick. This isn’t one for the purists. Brie gets a near fall in the ring and then works the left arm of her challenger. Five title matches tonight, this is the third, no title changes so far. Brie applies an armbar which Kelly fights out of. Kelly then hits a Lou Thesz press and rams Brie’s face into the mat. Kelly hits a bulldog for a two count. The Bellas then switch and Nikki gets in the ring and hits Kelly with a facebuster for the three. I guess this goes down as a win for Brie Bella. Terrible match.
Rating: 1.25/10
There’s a video package next for Christian and Randy Orton.
Randy Orton (c) vs. Christian – World Heavyweight Championship match
This is a first PPV match between these two men. Randy Orton drew at last years Over The Limit event with Edge. The crowd seem pretty split on these two men. Christian rolls Orton up early for a one count. Orton knocks down Christian for a one count of his own and then applies a headlock. Christian gets out of the headlock and hits a shoulder tackle and a dropkick off the middle rope. Christian then back body drops Orton out of the ring before hitting him with a baseball slide. Back in the ring and Christian hits a bodyslam before locking on a chinlock. This is right out of the Randy Orton playbook. Orton gets out of the chinlock but Christian knocks him down with a dropkick and then a snapmare before locking on another chinlock. Christian then heads to the middle rope but Orton hits him with some right hands and then a superplex for a near fall.
Orton hits a couple of uppercuts but Christian counters a third into a backslide. Randy hits a couple of clothesline but Christian drops him with a spinebuster for a near fall. Christian looks for a dropkick off the middle rope but Orton counters with a pinfall. Randy then hits some right hands and looks for an Angle slam but Christian counters it. Christian then looks for a low right hand from the outside and hits it on the second attempt. He then drops Orton on the top rope before going to the top and hitting a flying headbutt for a near fall. Orton hits a backbreaker for a two count and then stomps away at Christians limbs before hitting a kneedrop for a two count. Christian then looks for an unprettier but Orton counters and locks on a modified Boston crab. I have never seen this move before. Christian gets to the bottom rope and then hits a sunset flip for a near fall. This is Randy Ortons 34th PPV in a row, which is a joint record with Kurt Angle.
Christian looks for a pendulum kick but Orton counters it with the hangmans DDT for a near fall. Randy looks for an RKO but Christian fights him off and attempts a spear but Orton counters with a powerslam for a near fall. Randy then considers a punt but then reconsiders. Orton reconsiders again but Christian catches him with a spear! Orton kicks out at 2 and Christian tries for an unprettier but Orton fights him off and tries for an RKO. Christian counters the RKO and looks for an unprettier but Randy counters and this time hits the RKO! Orton hooks the leg and gets the three! Orton beats Christian tonight to retain the World Heavyweight Championship! Decent match between these two, they told a good story.
Rating: 6.75/10
There’s a video package up next showing the recent history between Jerry Lawler and Michael Cole.
Jerry “The King” Lawler vs. Michael Cole – Kiss My Foot match
If Michael Cole wins this match then Jerry Lawler will have to give him his hall of fame ring. This is a second PPV match between these two men, Michael Cole beat Jerry Lawler at Wrestlemania 27. Jerry Lawler is out first and ready to go but Michael Cole walks out in a suit. Cole reads from a piece of paper saying that he is medically prohibited to compete tonight. The doctors note says that Michael Cole’s foot is so infected with athlete’s foot that if Cole puts his foot in Lawlers mouth then Jerry will contract foot and mouth disease. The referee rips up the note and Lawler goes right to work on Michael Cole. He rips up Cole’s suit and hits him with right hands and a dropkick. Cole rolls to the outside but manages to knock Lawler into the ring steps. Cole then throws Jerry into the barricade and takes off his shoe and sock.
Jerry Lawler throws Michael Cole into the Cole-mine which completely dismantles it. Back in the ring and Lawler goes up to the middle rope, hitting his trademark fist drop for the three! Jerry Lawler wins the match and then calls out Eve from the back. Eve goes up to the top and hits Cole with a moonsault! Lawler then calls out Jim Ross from the back and JR pours barbecue sauce all over Cole! Cole rolls out of the ring and heads back up the aisle, grabs a microphone and calls Lawler, Jim Ross and Eve losers. Bret Harts music then hits and out walks The Hitman! Hart forces Cole back into the ring and then locks on the sharpshooter! Jerry Lawler takes that opportunity to shove his foot in Cole’s mouth! Pretty terrible match, the aftermath was better.
Rating: 1.5/10
There’s a video package next for John Cena and The Miz.
John Cena (c) vs. The Miz – I Quit match for the WWE Championship
This is the third pay per view match between these two men. They have both won one match a piece so far. John Cena won at last years Over The Limit event, in an I Quit match against Batista. The Miz lost in a tag team championship match at that event. The Miz is joined by Alex Riley. The bell rings but Miz grabs the microphone out of the referee’s hand and says how he can beat John Cena tonight. Miz also makes it clear that Alex Riley can do what he wants too. Miz offers Cena a chance to quit right away but Cena refuses. Cena then clotheslines both men multiple times before hitting Riley with a back body drop and Miz with a bulldog. Cena then hits Miz with a gut-wrench powerbomb and locks on the STF but Alex Riley breaks it up. Riley hits Cena with an Irish whip and then a suplex. Cena disposes of Riley and hits Miz with a couple of shoulder charges, a side suplex and a five knuckle shuffle before setting up for an attitude adjustment but Miz counters it and hits a neckbreaker and backbreaker combo.
The Miz sets up for the skull-crushing finale but Cena counters it and drops Miz with an attitude adjustment! Alex Riley then lays into Cena with a steel briefcase, taking him down. Miz and Riley pop Cena on the top rope and then hit him with a double powerbomb. Cena refuses to quit. Riley and Miz throw Cena out of the ring and then ram him into the barricade. Miz takes the padding off another barricade and they throw Cena into the steel but Cena still won’t quit. Miz and Riley take apart the announce desk before nailing him with the monitors. Cena fights back but Miz reverses an Irish whip, sending Cena into the ring steps. Miz hits Cena with a DDT on the ring steps but Cena still won’t quit. Alex Riley drops the ring steps on Cena but still the WWE Champion won’t quit. Riley then holds Cena wide open and Miz grabs a kendo stick, offers Cena a chance to quit but Cena tells Miz he hits like a girl and Miz nails Cena with the kendo stick a lot of times.
The Miz and Alex Riley go back to ramming Cena into the barricade, taking the fight up the entrance way. Miz hits a suplex on top of the entrance stage but still Cena won’t quit. Miz then kicks Cena off the stage and Alex Riley holds Cena over the job camera. Miz then demands the belt off a floor manager and he hands it over. Miz tells Cena that he is going to whip him with the belt over and over unless Cena quits. Cena tells Miz he has a leather strap but no nuts. Miz whips Cena three times and still the WWE Champion won’t quit. Miz whips Cena another 14 times and still he won’t quit. Miz then takes Cena back to the ringside area and Cena fights him and Alex Riley off. Cena bounces Riley off the ringpost but Miz nails Cena with a steel chair. Back in the ring and Cena avoids a chair shot before fighting both men off. Cena accidentally throws Alex Riley into the referee, knocking him out. Miz then drops Cena with an inverted DDT.
The Miz sets Cena up for a skull-crushing finale on a steel chair and he hits it! Miz then asks Cena if he quits but he won’t. Miz asks members of the crowd to tell Cena to quit but they refuse. Miz smashes a chair into Cena’s head and Riley holds the microphone next to Cena’s face. His back is to camera but Cena says “I Quit”! He clearly didn’t say it. It sounded like a recording. Miz is announced as the winner but the referee finds a mobile phone on the floor. He picks it up and listens to it, clearly he’s found the recording! The referee replays the recording and then announces that the match will restart. I hate the term “restart”. The match just continues. Alex Riley runs at Cena with the WWE Championship belt but Cena ducks and Riley nails Miz! Cena then hits an attitude adjustment on Riley through the announce desk! Cena then takes off his belt and whips Miz with it all the way to the top of the ramp. Cena then locks on the STF on the entrance stage and The Miz screams “I Quit”! John Cena wins the match and retains the WWE Championship!
This was an enjoyable main event tonight. A good performance from all three guys in the match. John Cena retains the WWE Championship though.
Rating: 7/10
And that was Over The Limit 2011. Another eight match card that had a feel of an old pay per view. It didn’t feel the highest quality and it felt like a show building to the future with newer stars like Mason Ryan, Sin Cara, Ezekiel Jackson and Wade Barrett getting pay per view time. The show kicked off with R-Truth and Rey Mysterio and I’m not ashamed to say that I was surprised to see R-Truth win cleanly. I do really like R-Truth’s heel turn, it’s been good fun and he’s playing his part really well so I’m happy that R-Truth did win. Wade Barrett beat Ezekiel Jackson by disqualification which makes me think that this feud will continue. I’m sure Jackson will be made to plough through Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel before he gets another shot at Barrett. It wasn’t a great match between these two though so I’m not counting down the days until their next encounter.
Sin Cara beat Chavo Guerrero in a good match where Cara nearly wen the whole match without botching but sadly made a mess of the finish. He’s been making a lot of mistakes as of late and you could tell with his reaction after the bell that he wasn’t happy with himself. He’s talented though and if he can cut out the mistakes then he could be the man to step into Rey Mysterio’s shoes. They put him with Chavo for a reason. Chavo is a safe pair of hands and can mentor Sin Cara. Kane and Big Show then retained the WWE Tag Team Championships in clean fashion. They beat The Corre last month at Extreme Rules and The Nexus this months. There aren’t many decent tag teams at the moment, the division is weak. But I do like The Usos. The Miz and Alex Riley would be good contenders to the belts.
Brie Bella beat Kelly Kelly to retain the WWE Divas Championship. This was pretty terrible. Brie won with twin magic so technically Nikki won but it goes down as a title defence for Brie. I expected Kharma to show her face here but she didn’t. Randy Orton beat Christian to retain the World Heavyweight Championship in a good match. It was a clean win for Orton so I’m not sure where this feud goes next unless one of them turn heel. Sheamus and Mark Henry are also in the main event scene currently so I wouldn’t be surprised to see a fatal four way at the next PPV. Good psychology from Randy and Christian in this one. Jerry Lawler then beat Michael Cole in a kiss my foot match. This was every bit as terrible as I thought it would be. If nothing else it was nice to see Bret Hart. King wins. Hopefully this is the finale following a trilogy of PPV matches between these two.
John Cena beat The Miz to retain the WWE Championship in an I Quit match. It was a clean win following what was essentially a two on one handicap match. This match might write Miz out of the main event scene for the time being as it will be very hard for Miz to come back from this. This was a solid main event though.
Overall Rating: 47.8/100 (ranked joint 241st out of 265)
Match Of The Night: John Cena vs. The Miz
Worst Match Of The Night: Brie Bella vs. Kelly Kelly
Surprise Of The Night: R-Truth beats Rey Mysterio clean
Worst Booking Of The Night: N/A
Superstar Of The Night: John Cena
Over The Limit 2011 Will Be Remembered For: John Cena’s I Quit match with The Miz
https://worldwrestlingtimeline.wordpress.com
https://worldwrestlingtimeline.wordpress.com