The Case
The stars of RAW and SmackDown are back in action, taking over
Seattle, Washington, for WWE: Over the Limit 2011, and here's the
complete lineup:
• Rey Mysterio vs. R-Truth
In the first match of the
night, Rey Mysterio goes head-to-head with R-Truth, and while both athletes are
known for their flexibility and ability to lead highly entertaining battles,
this fight is definitely not the kind you would want to watch over and over
again. That said, this clearly isn't the worst matchup either, because both
Mysterio and R-Truth do offer a handful of impressive moves all while keeping
the pace of the battle steady throughout.
• Wade Barrett vs. Ezekiel Jackson in an Intercontinental
Championship Match
Things quickly worsen though, because this title
match between Jackson and Barrett fails on many levels. Although their fight
lasts for less than 10 minutes, it still ends ups dragging, primarily because
both athletes spend most of the time inside the ring engaging in sloppy kicks
and punches. They deliver a few slams here and there, but overall, they're both
being way too passive, taking the action outside the ring way too often. This is
undoubtedly one of the most boring PPV matches I've seen in a long time.
• Sin Cara vs. Chavo Guerrero
WWE newcomer Sin Cara
gets his PPV shot against Chavo Guerrero at this year's WWE: Over the
Limit, but the match-up between the two wrestlers fails to impress, despite
Cara's efforts to show off his flexibility and technical skills. Essentially,
this is Sin Cara's match. It's a solo performance, because Chavo barely gets a
chance to strike back or pull off a decent move on his own. Sin Cara dominates
this fight from start to finish, leaving Chavo to stumble around while his
opponent gets to show off his signature maneuvers. Boring.
• Big Show & Kane vs. CM Punk and Mason Ryan in a Tag Team
Championship Match
As the quality of this event is quickly worsening,
a little improvement finally surfaces in this tag team match between Kane &
Big Show and CM Punk & Mason Ryan. This is not a memorable fight, mind you,
but it at least offers a fresh combination of high-risk moves, slams, slaps,
kicks, and strong punches. Punk remains on the technical side as the remaining
athletes go at it a little harder, but the overall quality of the wrestling
action we get to see in this battle easily tops that of the previous
matchups.
• Kelly Kelly vs. Brie Bella in a Divas Championship
Match
Another disastrous match. Enough said.
• Christian vs. Randy Orton in a World Heavyweight
Championship Match
Finally! Finally a great matchup! Christian and
Orton are almost always fun to watch against other WWE stars, but seeing them go
head-to-head really kicks things up a notch. Surely enough, this title match is
undoubtedly the best one of WWE: Over the Limit 2011. Wasting no time,
both wrestlers switch gears relatively early, proving that going full force for
20 minutes is something they can both handle. The energy inside the ring flows
well, the variety of moves and powerful maneuvers they choose to engage in keeps
the wrestling action fresh, and the constant buildup of momentum on both sides
finally culminates in a solid finale that wraps up a memorable PPV
experience.
• Michael Cole vs. Jerry Lawler in a Kiss My Foot Match
This is more of a joke than a wrestling match, but truth be told, it is
somewhat entertaining for a little while. Of course, the whole sketch involving
Cole and Lawler goes on for way too long, with Lawler starting the match
offensively and giving Cole no chance to land a punch or kick. The battle ends
quickly enough, but the whole thing about the loser kissing the winner's foot
drags on for another boring 10 minutes. It's obvious the WWE messed up big time
when it came to properly scheduling this event, and I seriously wonder if this
is really what the fans want to see…
• John Cena vs. The Miz in a "I Quit" Match for the
WWE Championship
For some odd reason, this title match between Cena
and The Miz is essentially a handicap match, with the Miz brining along Alex
Riley to help him work on his opponent. As such, the match loses some of its
appeal, even though Cena occasionally manages to get back up to his feet and
take on two wrestlers at once. With no rules in place, the action moves
occasionally outside the ring, but for most of the pretty long 27 minutes, Miz
and Riley just dominate Cena. Worse, the battle completely falls apart during
the last five minutes, leaving me to believe WWE writers just had no clue about
how to structure this event.
Anyway, as usual, this WWE pay-per-view is presented in widescreen format,
and the picture quality and audio transfer work just fine for this type of
television event. In terms of special features, the DVD offers a short backstage
interview with John Cena.
WWE: Over the Limit 2011 disappoints big time. With only one
memorable match in the lineup, this event easily ranks among the weakest WWE
pay-per-views of the past year.
