Over the Limit (2010)

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Over the Limit
Promotion
World Wrestling Entertainment
Brand(s)Raw
SmackDown
DateMay 23, 2010
CityDetroit, Michigan
VenueJoe Louis Arena
Attendance11,000[1]
Buy rate197,000
Pay-per-view chronology
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Over the Limit chronology
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2011

The 2010 Over the Limit was the inaugural

"I Quit" match. Over the Limit replaced WWE's previously annual May PPV, Judgment Day
.

Nine matches took place at the event, eight of which were broadcast

Unified WWE Tag Team Championship
, which was available to both brands.

The event drew 197,000 pay-per-view buys, and was attended live by 11,000 people. Reviews for the event were generally negative, with reviewers criticizing the endings of the matches, stoppages for blood, and predictable match results. Five wrestlers sustained

legitimate
injuries during the course of the show, being Batista, John Cena, CM Punk, Randy Orton, and Ted DiBiase Jr..

Production

Background

"I Quit" match.[3]

Storylines

Over the Limit involved different wrestlers from scripted feuds, plots, and storylines that played out on WWE's television programs. Wrestlers portrayed a hero or a villain as they followed a series of events that built tension, and culminated into a wrestling match or series of matches.[4]

The main

"I Quit" match.[8]

The predominant feud from the

promo on the May 14 episode of SmackDown, in which Swagger was boasting about his accomplishments.[10][11] As part of the segment, Big Show destroyed Swagger's trophies and memorabilia.[11] The following week, Big Show mocked Swagger in promos throughout the show and distracted Swagger during Swagger's match with Kofi Kingston, allowing Kingston to win.[12]

Two Caucasian males stand on the corner of a wrestling ring apron with red ropes. The one closest to the camera has shoulder-length blond hair and is wearing long black wrestling tights with the words "Rated R Superstar" detailed upon them in white. The other has short dark hair, is wearing short black wrestling tights, and tattoos are visible on his upper arms.
Former tag team partners Edge (left) and Randy Orton (right) were feuding prior to Over the Limit.

As part of the 2010 WWE Draft on April 26,

countout, while Orton faced Jack Swagger, and lost by disqualification when Edge interfered.[13]

The rivalry between

Luke Gallows, Serena, and a mystery masked man) interfered and attacked Mysterio.[11] The following week, Mysterio interrupted an initiation ceremony, in which Punk was shaving the heads of three men to induct them into the Straight Edge Society, and mocked Punk, claiming everyone would be laughing at Punk when he was shaved bald at Over the Limit. Later that night, Mysterio teamed with Montel Vontavious Porter to defeat Punk and Gallows in a tag team match.[12]
SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long announced That The Straight Edge Society will be Banned From Ringside during the match at the Pay-per-view

A Caucasian male stands in a wrestling ring with red ropes. He has long dark hair tied back, and is wearing short, black wrestling tights. A championship belt is around his waist, with a black strap and gold center plate.
The Intercontinental Champion Drew McIntyre, who defended the championship against Kofi Kingston at Over the Limit.

Another feud was over the

Dolph Ziggler.[10] The following week, on the May 14 episode of SmackDown, Kingston defeated Christian to win the tournament and the championship. Immediately following the match, however, McIntyre presented Long with a letter from the WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, which stated that McIntyre had been reinstated to the roster and was still recognized as the Intercontinental Champion.[11] As a result, WWE's official website announced that McIntyre would defend the championship against tournament winner Kingston.[14]

The team of

Unified WWE Tag Team Championship. The Miz's feud with The Hart Dynasty had begun while The Miz was one-half of the Unified Tag Team Champions with Big Show. During the Draft episode of Raw, The Hart Dynasty defeated ShoMiz to win the championship, which led to Big Show turning on The Miz.[6] The following week, The Miz and Jericho, another former tag team partner of Big Show, teamed up to attack The Hart Dynasty.[7] Jericho went on to defeat Smith to earn a championship match for himself and The Miz at Over the Limit.[8]

After

R-Truth, who refused, leading to a feud between the two.[6] After losing a match to John Morrison, DiBiase attacked him, prompting R-Truth to interfere and save Morrison.[7] In retaliation, DiBiase paid The Colóns to attack R-Truth the following week.[8]

In the only women's match scheduled on the

Maryse. Eve had won the championship on the April 12 episode of Raw, and in the weeks that followed she was attacked by Maryse, who was attempting to get revenge.[7][17]

Event

Other on-screen personnel
Role: Name:
English
commentators
 Michael Cole
Jerry Lawler
Matt Striker
Spanish commentators Carlos Cabrera
Hugo Savinovich
Ring announcers Tony Chimel
Justin Roberts
Backstage
interviewer
 Josh Mathews
Referees Mike Chioda
Charles Robinson
John Cone
Jack Doan

Prior to the pay-per-view,

dark match.[18]

Preliminary matches

The first match that was aired as part of the pay-per-view was Drew McIntyre defending his Intercontinental Championship against

"Future Shock" DDT, and perform his finishing move, the S.O.S, to pin McIntyre for the victory and the championship.[20] Following the match, McIntyre demanded that Teddy Long go out to the ring and reverse the decision, but instead McIntyre was attacked by Matt Hardy, who McIntyre had attacked on several occasions in the prior weeks.[20][21]

Unified WWE Tag Team Champions The Hart Dynasty faced Chris Jericho and The Miz
.

The next match was a

flying forearm smash).[19]

The third match on the card was a Straight Edge Society pledge vs. hair match, between CM Punk and Rey Mysterio. For this match, the other Straight Edge Society members (Serena and Luke Gallows) were banned from ringside. Early on in the match, Punk threw Mysterio headfirst out of the ring into the barber chair at ringside. Punk had suffered a cut to the head prior to the exchange, and while Mysterio was on the floor, the match was halted so that the blood could be cleaned up. While Punk's wound was being attended, he dropkicked Mysterio, who was on the ring apron, and began attacking him on the floor to restart the match. After Mysterio missed a splash from the top rope, Punk went to pin him, but Mysterio was able to perform a crucifix cradle on Punk for the victory.[19] The other Straight Edge Society members attacked Mysterio after the match, but he was saved by Kane, which allowed Mysterio to handcuff Punk to the ring ropes and shave his head.[23]

A

Natalya, and the team of Chris Jericho and The Miz. The Hart Dynasty took the early advantage, but Jericho and The Miz were able to isolate both Smith and Kidd in the ring at different points in the match, wearing them down. Natalya interfered by tripping up Jericho while The Miz had the referee distracted.[19] The Hart Dynasty were able to capitalise, and performed the Hart Attack on The Miz for the pinfall victory.[24]

The fifth match was between Edge and Randy Orton. Edge took early control of the match by driving Orton into the barricade outside the ring. Orton was able to recover, and performed a rope hung DDT on Edge. While setting up for his finishing move, the RKO, Orton appeared to injure his arm, and went outside the ring in an attempt to recover. Edge followed him, trying to perform the spear, but Orton was able to avoid it, and Edge hit the barricade.[19] Neither man was able to return to the ring before the count of ten, and as a result, the match ended in a double countout.[25]

Maryse was unsuccessful in regaining the WWE Divas Championship
.

The first major match of the night was between the World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger and his challenger, Big Show. Big Show dominated the match, with Swagger getting very little offense.[19] As a result, Swagger got frustrated and hit Big Show with the World Heavyweight Championship title belt, and was disqualified.[26] After the match, Swagger attacked Big Show with a steel chair, but Big Show was able to stop him with a chokeslam. Big Show then performed his knockout punch on Swagger, before leaving the area.[19][26]

The penultimate match on the card saw Eve defend the WWE Divas Championship against Maryse. Maryse took the early advantage, but when she threw Eve outside the ring, and attempted to kick her, she kicked the ringpost instead, allowing Eve to take control with a series of dropkicks. Eve performed a

rolling senton splash attempt by Eve and went for her finishing move, the French Kiss; that was countered by Eve for the pin, who retained her championship.[19]

Main event

The main event was John Cena versus Batista for the WWE Championship in an "I Quit" match, where the object of the match is to force an opponent to say "I Quit". As the bell rang to signal the start of the match Batista gave Cena the chance to quit immediately, but Cena refused and hit Batista with the microphone. Despite this, Batista was able to take control, and locked in a submission hold, but Cena refused to say "I quit". Cena eventually countered the move into his own submission hold, the STF, and Batista passed out. As he had not said the words "I Quit" however, he had to be revived so the match could continue. Batista fought back, and was able to powerslam Cena through the announce table. As Cena was bleeding, the match was briefly halted so his wound could receive attention. The two fought into the crowd before ending up near the entrance ramp, with Batista hitting Cena with a steel chair. On the entrance stage, Batista got into a car, which had been placed on the stage for decoration, and attempted to run over Cena. Cena avoided it, and was able to pull Batista out of the car and slam him onto it. Cena performed his Attitude Adjustment on Batista onto the car, but when Batista refused to quit, Cena went for the move again. When it became clear that Cena was going to hit the Attitude Adjustment from off the car and onto the stage, Batista quit, making Cena the winner, but Cena performed the Attitude Adjustment again anyway, sending Batista through the stage to the floor.[19] As Cena was celebrating retaining the championship, he was attacked by Sheamus to end the show.[27]

Reception

Rey Mysterio's match with CM Punk
was highly praised.

The event received generally negative reviews. Writing for

Canadian Online Explorer's wrestling section, Matt Bishop derided the show, calling it "one of the worst WWE pay-per-view events in a long time" and awarded the show 5.5 out of ten.[21]

Most of the negative comments centered around the following World Heavyweight Championship match, which ended in disqualification immediately following a double countout in the preceding Orton-Edge match due to injury. Bishop awarded the match 2.5 out of ten and said that the match "hurt the show in a big, big way".

booking of the finish, remarking that "Swagger came off looking like anything but a credible champion".[28] Wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer also criticized the World Heavyweight Championship match, remarking that it was "almost an insult as a PPV main event".[29] Bishop stated that the show was "hampered by several stoppages for blood" and a predictable ending to the main event between Cena and Batista.[21]

Despite the generally negative reviews, the Mysterio-Punk match was highly praised. Bishop awarded the match 8.5 out of ten, and stated it was one of two matches, along with the Tag Team Championship bout, that were not "underwhelming in every aspect".[21] Eck agreed, calling the Punk-Mysterio match the "most compelling match on the card" and stated that the Tag Team Championship match was "well-worked".[28]

11,000 people attended Over the Limit at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, resulting in a gate of approximately $675,000.[1] In August 2010, WWE reported that the event had received 197,000 pay-per-view buys.[30] The DVD of the event contained extras including a match between Bret Hart and The Miz for the WWE United States Championship and several promos from the weeks preceding the event.[31]

Aftermath

Rey Mysterio
before the event.

During the event, five wrestlers suffered

legitimate injuries. Randy Orton dislocated his shoulder while Ted DiBiase suffered a concussion, and although they both appeared on Raw the following night, they did not wrestle.[32][33] CM Punk required 13 staples to close the wound in his forehead he sustained during his match with Mysterio.[32] Batista suffered a back and tailbone injury during his match with John Cena, who himself suffered a laceration and lost a tooth.[32][34]

On the episode of Raw following Over the Limit, Bret Hart was announced as the new Raw General Manager. During Batista's promo at the beginning of the show, Hart interrupted and told him that if he wanted a rematch against Cena, he would have to qualify for the fatal four-way match at the Fatal 4-Way pay-per-view in June. Batista refused to wrestle, citing his injuries, and as a result Hart awarded the match to his opponent Orton by forfeit. Following Hart's decision, Batista quit WWE.[33] This storyline was put in place as Batista was legitimately leaving WWE to pursue acting and a career in mixed martial arts.[35]

Apart from Orton qualifying via forfeit, the other qualifying matches for the

triple threat match.[33]

On the May 28 episode of SmackDown, SmackDown General Manager Teddy Long announced a fatal four-way match for the World Heavyweight Championship would be taking place at the Fatal 4-Way pay-per-view. As the defending champion Jack Swagger automatically was part of the match, and as a result of his win by disqualification, Big Show received automatic entry. Later in the show, both

half brother Kane on the following episode of SmackDown. That same broadcast, a battle royal to decide who would replace The Undertaker at the Fatal 4-Way pay-per-view was won by Rey Mysterio.[38]

At the beginning of the May 28 episode of SmackDown, Drew McIntyre made Teddy Long read out a letter from the WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, which stated that as a result of attacking McIntyre at Over the Limit, Matt Hardy had been suspended without pay until further notice. On the same episode, McIntyre simultaneously continued his feud with Kofi Kingston by teaming with Jack Swagger in a loss to Kingston and The Big Show.[36]

A

orphaned initialism.[39][40] Over the Limit would be a short-lived PPV, however, as it was discontinued after its 2012 event and was replaced by Battleground in 2013.[41]

Results

No.ResultsStipulationsTimes
dark match

Notes

  1. Unified WWE Tag Team Championship" refers to both the WWE Tag Team Championship and World Tag Team Championship
    being held and defended together, although both titles remain independently active.

References

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External links

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