Review by Adam Stephen Kelly
UK Certification 15 | UK RRP £17.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 178 minutes
The Motor City expected to be treated to a night plentiful with top-quality WWE action back in May when they welcomed Over the Limit to the famous Joe Louis Arena, but instead they were given a disappointing show. In fact, “disappointing” is a little lenient as the event was one of the worst pay-per-view shows in a long, long time. On a night that was plagued with unfortunate and very strange injuries as well as constant stoppages in matches because of blood, Over the Limit was a mostly sour affair that gave little more than you'd get from a good (and of course completely free) episode of RAW or SmackDown. For what was supposed to be a WWE extravaganza with a pretty ambitious title in the first place, the night turned out to be dramatically Under the Limit.
It was sensible booking to have this match open the event as a championship on the line got the crowd hot, not to mention firm fan favourite Kofi Kingston being the first man through the curtain, but what I do not think was so smart was having Kingston win the gold by defeating Christian in the finals of the Intercontinental Title tournament just days before the pay-per-view, only for his win to be nullified by Drew McIntyre's reinstatement, and then recapturing the belt at Over the Limit. That just seemed totally pointless to me. Why not just have had McIntyre reinstated for the event where he'd get his shot at the gold, only to come up short? Regardless, this wasn't a great match. It came off as being too much of a SmackDown freebie than a pay-per-view attraction. Acceptable wrestling, just not in any way, shape or form exciting or intense. Passable.
Ted DiBiase vs. R-Truth ??
What was the need of having this contest on pay-per-view? The whole angle wasn't the strongest to begin with, but seeing as it coupled well with DiBiase's resurrection of the Million Dollar Championship and his father's bodyguard Virgil with his “Fortunate Son” persona, it made somewhat of a decent story for free television, but definitely not pay-per-view. Let's not forget that this match was also strictly RAW quality in its action, and that's not what you want when you're giving your hard earned cash to watch what should be some upper echelon wrestling. There's nothing much to say about this one other than that it included the first injury of the night: a concussion for Ted after being on the receiving end of a slap by R-Truth. Yes, a slap, making DiBiase pretty much the Unfortunate Son at Over the Limit.
Straight Edge Society pledge versus hair: Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk ???
As I mentioned in my review of Extreme Rules, this match at Over the Limit was a little underwhelming when it came to an end because it definitely didn't match up to the hair match at that event. Not only was there more on the line in this bout with the prospect of Mysterio joining the Straight Edge Society if he was to lose, but being that it was essentially the nail in the coffin for their feud, I just thought it was lacking in the quality department. That's not say it was a bad match, no, not by a long shot, but it was inferior to their Extreme Rules outing, and it's only natural that predecessors are topped when it comes to rivalries. It was still a very enjoyable, strong bout with a lot of great action and spots, though. Mysterio went headfirst into the barber's chair like a torpedo in a particularly sick moment, and a minute later blood began to flow from the head of Punk. He must be commended for his actions when getting his wound seen to by the referee and an official as the crowd's excitement suddenly began to dwindle because of the stoppage. You could see CM shaking his head in anger right before he jumped up off the mat in a flash and into a vicious assault on Rey, trying to save the heat, and it certainly worked. It also helped that the bout was capped off with a very nice finish, which included a rather innovative spot where Mysterio landed on the GTS-primed shoulders of Punk in midair during an Asai Moonsault.
Unified Tag Team Championship: The Hart Dynasty
(c) vs. Chris Jericho & The Miz ??Very nearly venturing into three-star territory, this tag team match was well-booked and delivered for the most part. It's interesting seeing Chris Jericho's alliance with The Miz after Y2J's year-plus of allegiances with the likes of Edge and The Big Show, and then Miz's stint with Show. I'm a big fan of all four of the guys who were in the ring for this clash, whether it be the brash Miz, cocky Jericho, or the incredibly talented and fresh faces of The Hart Dynasty. Technically the second best match of the night behind Mysterio vs. Punk and a worthy addition to the event, unlike a lot of the card sadly.
Edge vs. Randy Orton ??
I was glad that when Edge was drafted to RAW he turned heel right away. As I've said before, in the last few years his character has become so reprehensibly evil that him becoming face ever again just doesn't sit well with me, simply because of logic. Randy Orton is also someone I have said that about, yet he's now a fan favourite despite not being a solid face in his actions, but I just do not believe in it. So what did Over the Limit do? It took these two Superstars who I only see as heels and paired them together in a match. Hmm. Result? Not the prettiest of sights. It was all going pretty averagely and then just got totally blown off by the second bizarre injury of the show. Orton dislocated his right shoulder whilst pounding on the canvas as he entered what I can only describe as his signature Viper Mode. They must have been pretty strong shockwaves for the dislocation to occur, really. It wasn't long before the referee threw up the X sign to notify those backstage that there was a legitimate injury, and what followed was, at a guess, Edge and Orton confirming the final spot of the bout with each other as they did very little for many minutes, finally setting up a double count out draw which you could tell obviously wasn't part of the original plan, but I guess what else was there to do? Mr. RKO was obviously in a lot of pain. This had the crowd eliciting mixed reactions as they probably couldn't see what was going on as well as on television, but it was the next match that really killed them.
World Heavyweight Championship: Jack Swagger (c) vs. The Big Show ?
If there is ever a book written about how to make your World Champion look the complete opposite of credible, this match would be prominently featured. This was a dud if I ever did see one. What started out as potential-laded groundwork by Swagger and Show degenerated five minutes in into a sudden disqualification victory for the World's Largest Athlete, as a result of Swagger using the World Heavyweight Championship as a weapon. This absolutely slaughtered the fans; it murdered their involvement. They were caught up in a title match one second and the next began jeering at how utterly senseless the finish was. Then Show got his revenge by beating the hell out of the All-American American with a steel chair, Chokeslams and his signature left-hander. Apparently the DQ finish wasn't enough to make the champ look worthless, so he had to be massacred post-match. This cemented the fact that Jack Swagger was the weakest World Heavyweight Champion since The Great Khali.
Divas Championship: Eve Torres (c) vs. Maryse ?
Maryse is competent in the ring, Eve not so much, though she isn't terrible. This was your bog-standard Divas match that didn't go any places excitement-wise, so there's nothing to say. Though it's funny in a rather tragic way that this was given two seconds less than the World Heavyweight Title bout.
WWE Championship “I Quit” Match: John Cena (c) vs. Batista ???
While it was a fairly decent match in itself, this “I Quit” collision didn't really live up to its name in the sense that so many bouts with the stipulation have been far superior. When I think of this type of match and Cena himself, I think of his battle with Orton at Breaking Point 2009, and after Over the Limit, that remains the same. Not that it adhered much to logic in the first place, having this feud-ending contest right after Cena already defeated Batista at Extreme Rules in their Last Man Standing match, but I guess the WWE wanted to hinder Dave's strength a little upon his departure from the company following his loss at the event. There were a few good spots like a running Powerslam through the Spanish announce table, and of course the big-bump Attitude Adjustment off the roof of a car atop the stage and right through the floor, but there was also a pretty silly one in the form of Batista reversing into Cena in the same car and crashing into the stage lights. This didn't come across well on TV at all, because you could see the WWE Champion was well clear of the car before the Animal even hit reverse!
EXTRAS ★★ The United States Championship match from the RAW before Over The Limit, where Bret Hart won the gold against The Miz under No Disqualification rules; “surveillance footage” of CM Punk revealing his shaven head with the Straight Edge Society backstage at Over the Limit; and the four spoof advertisements from the May 17 commercial-free edition of RAW.