John Cena and Batista look to end their feud by any means possible, even if they have to go OVER THE LIMIT!
Opening Match: Intercontinental Title: Drew McIntyre © vs. Kofi Kingston
Kofi connects with some kicks and clotheslines McIntyre to the floor. He follows out with a dive. They battle on the apron and Kofi gets pushed into the ringpost. McIntyre takes control until Kofi blocks a splash attempt. Kofi lands a few punches in the corner and adds a flying crossbody. McIntyre responds with a gutbuster but gets sent into the ringpost. Kofi hits his boom leg drop and follows with the SOS to become the new Intercontinental Champion at 6:22. This was a pretty lackluster opener that didn’t receive enough time to develop into anything worthwhile. Although McIntyre might not be the most entertaining wrestler, he should have retained here to keep his momentum. Moving the Intercontinental Title every other week is not going to strengthen it’s already weak image. *½
After the match, McIntyre threatens to stop the pay per view unless Teddy Long overturns the decision. Matt Hardy makes his return and lays out McIntyre with the Twist of Fate.
Match #2: Ted DiBiase vs. R-Truth
Truth gets the better of DiBiase early on. He connects with a leg lariat and clotheslines DiBiase to the floor. Virgil provides a distraction, allowing DiBiase to hit a neckbreaker. He catches Truth with a flapjack and maintains the advantage. Truth avoids a double axe handle and hits a flatliner. DiBiase answers with an electric chair but gets caught with a stunner. Truth hits the Lie Detector for the victory at 7:44. Speaking of the wrong result, DiBiase needed to win this match. He just introduced a new manager and seems to be developing an image of his own. They didn’t have good chemistry and the action became sloppy at points. The end result also leaves a bad taste and this was ultimately counterproductive. *
Drew McIntyre busts into Teddy Long’s office and demands that Long overturn the result of his match and fire Matt Hardy.
Match #3: CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio
If Punk loses, he will have his head shaved bald. If Mysterio loses, he will have to join the Straight Edge Society. They trade offense to start. Punk back drops Mysterio to the outside but misses a plancha. Mysterio headscissors him into the barricade. Punk just tosses Mysterio into the barber’s chair at ringside. Punk is busted open, so the referee temporarily stops the match to attend to him. The crowd starts turning on the match. Punk notices and immediately throws Mysterio into the barricade. He hits a suplex on the floor and finds success with a slingshot senton back in the ring. Mysterio blocks a charge and hits a code red. They trade strikes and Mysterio lands a springboard crossbody. He follows with a seated senton but gets launched into the turnbuckles. Punk hits a backbreaker and a bucklebomb. He adds a bulldog and a nice kick to the head. Mysterio hits the 619 bus misses a springboard splash. Punk becomes cocky and Mysterio sneaks in a quick rollup for the win at 13:47. This was disappointing in the sense that I know they can do better. Some of the exchanges down the stretch in this contest prove that. However, they didn’t receive a tremendous amount of time and the referee stoppage hurt the match. I support making sure that the wrestlers are not seriously damaged, but Punk made it clear through his facial expressions that he didn’t need aid. This feud had much more potential than it capitalized on. ***
The familiar masked man attacks Mysterio after the match. Luke Gallows and Serena also come out. They try to handcuff Mysterio to the ropes but Kane makes the save. He chokeslams Punk and brawls with Gallows. Mysterio handcuffs Punk to the ropes and hits the 619. He shaves Punk’s head and shows him a mirror. Punk flips out and walks to the back with a towel over his head.
Match #4: Unified Tag Team Titles: Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith © vs. The Miz and Chris Jericho
Kidd punishes Miz with multiple kicks and Smith adds a delayed vertical suplex. Smith military presses Kidd to the floor onto Miz and Jericho. In the ring, Jericho connects with a missile dropkick on Smith. The heels isolate him until he catches Miz with an electric chair and makes the tag. Kidd dropkicks Jericho and works in a unique rollup. Jericho blocks a hurricanrana and locks in the Walls of Jericho. Kidd makes the ropes but springboards into a Codebreaker. Smith turns the tide with an overhead suplex on Jericho. He follows with two powerslams. Miz catches him with a backbreaker-neckbreaker combination. Smith reverses a sharpshooter into a rollup for a nearfall. More close pin attempts ensue. The Hart Dynasty catch Miz with the Hart Attack to retain their titles at 10:42. These two teams worked well together and I wouldn’t mind seeing a rematch. The Hart Dynasty looked like they belonged and for once tonight, I agree with the result of a match. I also appreciate that this match received over ten minutes, as it actually makes me believe that WWE is taking their tag team division somewhat seriously. **½
Match #5: Randy Orton vs. Edge
Orton controls early on and the match starts off rather deliberately. The action goes to the floor where Edge sends Orton into the barricade and hits a gourdbuster. Back in, they trade the advantage until Orton hits a superplex. A punch exchange follows and Orton finds success with a powerslam. Edge responds with a big boot but falls victim to a rope-assisted DDT. Orton blocks a spear and calls for the RKO. He suddenly shows immense pain in his right arm and weakly kicks Edge to the floor. They brawl on the outside and the match goes to a double countout at 13:48. It turned out that Orton separated his shoulder during the match. This contest started out deliberately and soon became tedious. The crowd was hot for the match at the start but quickly died down. It’s a shame that Orton was injured, as they probably had a decent second half of the match planned. It will be interesting to see how long Orton will be out and what they decide to do with this feud from here. *½
Match #6: World Heavyweight Title: Jack Swagger © vs. Big Show
Swagger tries for some takedowns to no avail. Show makes him retreat to the floor and mocks him with pushups. Back in, Swagger runs into a boot and gets caught with a chop in the corner. He avoids a chokeslam and retreats to the floor once again. Show is finally taken down by a spear in the ring. Swagger follows with a shoulder block and two vader bombs. Show comes back with a flurry of offense and shoves Swagger to the floor. Swagger grabs his title and hits Show with it, causing a disqualification at 5:04. The usual case of WWE booking themselves into a corner where neither competitor can afford to lose. Swagger’s title reign is beginning to mean less and less as the days go by. The action was just okay and the finish did this match no favors. *
Swagger continues his attack after the match. He hits Show with a chair but falls victim to a chokeslam. Show bends the chair across Swagger’s back and chokeslams him onto it. Show connects with a knockout punch and stands tall.
Match #7: Divas Title: Eve Torres © vs. Maryse
Maryse tosses Eve into the ringpost and takes control. Eve dodges a kick and Maryse connects with the ringpost. Eve musters up a flurry of offense and lands a standing moonsault. Maryse falls victim to a flatliner but gets her knees up to block a senton. Eve hits some sort of facebuster to retain her title at 5:02. The standard WWE women’s match on pay per view. Eve is barely competent and there’s really not much more to add. ½*
Match #8: WWE Title: I Quit Match: John Cena © vs. Batista
Batista gives Cena a chance to quit before the action starts. Cena responds by hitting him with the microphone. Batista connects with a clothesline and a kick to the head. He sends Cena to the floor and throws him into the barricade. In the ring, Batista hits a suplex but gets caught with a few shoulder blocks. Cena finds success with the Five Knuckle Shuffle but Batista escapes an Attitude Adjustment. Batista hits a spear and applies his version of the Rings of Saturn. Cena powers out and synchs in the STF. It appears that Batista may have passed out, so he can’t answer the referee. Cena wakes him up by pouring water onto him. Batista hits a spinebuster along with the Batista Bomb. He takes a moment to tear apart the announce tables. They battle on top of an announce table and Batista powerslams Cena through the second table. Cena is bleeding, so staff comes out to check on him. They brawl into the crowd. Cena knocks Batista off of a small balcony onto some security members. They make their way to the entrance area. Batista works in multiple chair shots and enters a car that was used as a prop for the entrance design. He tries to back up into Cena but misses. Cena drags Batista out of the car and hits an Attitude Adjustment onto the hood. They go to the roof of the car where Cena teases another Attitude Adjustment. Batista quits, allowing Cena to retain his title at 20:27. This was the feud-ending encounter. For the first fifteen minutes, it truly felt like it. However, the crowd brawling and finish dragged this match down in my eyes. I feel as though the WWE thinks that these insane stunts will make up for the lack of blood or constricted selection of weapons. Batista trying to run over Cena with a car makes me feel like I’m watching The Marine, not the main event of a pay per view. This match featured solid action but severely lacked a satisfying conclusion. When dealing with a feud of significant importance, that’s a pretty large piece of the puzzle that’s missing. **½
For the fun of it, Cena still hits the Attitude Adjustment off the car, putting Batista through the stage. Sheamus enters and bicycle kicks Cena. Sheamus stands tall to end the show.
Overall: Over The Limit 2010 is the worst pay per view offering from WWE in quite awhile. The show itself was largely monotonous, as every babyface picked up the win (aside from the double countout). The previous statement is especially demoralizing when considering that guys like McIntyre, DiBiase, Punk, and Swagger would have benefited from going over. Aside from the booking, the wrestling quality was absolutely abysmal. Half of the matches were below two stars and the only contest worth watching was Punk/Rey. Although some may enjoy the main event more than me, it definitely didn’t end the show with any spark. Avoid this pay per view at all costs.
