JC's Take: Over the Limit Preview

JC's Take: Over the Limit Preview

Guess who's back, back again!

Hello everyone. I'm back after an extended lay off with my Over the Limit Preview. A PPV three weeks after another PPV. Yep, only in the world of the WWE. I don't like it, it causes terrible buyrates for the already over-priced PPVs. I feel that more people would have been inclined to buy Extreme Rules than Over the Limit. At least with Extreme Rules you are guaranteed some gimmick matches. Over the Limit doesn't provide that, although it does look like it will be the place for a traditional John Cena I Quit Match.

I'm not a fan of this PPV card. I don't think I'm going to order it. I might find a way to watch it online, but O won't be paying for it. I'm interested to see what happens in the 2 Title matches, but that is. Of course, the WWE gave away one of them (Orton/Christian) for free on TV a couple of weeks ago. And this is the 4th time we will see Cena/Miz, and they also had a match on TV a couple of weeks ago. So why would anyone pay to see these matches again? Also, two of my favorite performers, Cody Rhodes and Alberto del Rio, are nowhere to be found on the card. They are two of the best things the WWE has going today. It's a shame that they aren't officially on the PPV. I think the WWE was just trying to get to this PPV, and will reset everything after Over te Limit to kick off their summer programs.

Anyways, onto the preview:

Intercontinental Championship: Wade Barrett (c) vs Ezekiel Jackson

When was the last time the Intercontinental Championship last defended on PPV? TLC at the end of 2010. I'm surprised there is even a match on this PPV. To me, this just shows how rushed for time the WWE is between PPVs. But it is nice to see Wade Barrett get a match on PPV, even if it is against a less than average worker in Ezekiel Jackson.

There has been dissension brewing in the Corre for weeks, and it finally reached a boiling point when Jackson was beatdown by the other three members of Corre. Zeke tried to retaliate the next week, but was again out numbered. Barrett then challenged Jackson to a match, which he accepted. Now the two are fighting at Over the Limit.

I don't know who to pick here. I could see Jackson taking the title as a way to put him over as a threat. Vince likes his big guys and he might want to start pushing Jackson more on Smackdown. I could also see Barrett retaining the title and work his way up the card to once again challenge for the World Heavyweight Title. This is a toss up. I think I'm leaning towards Barrett retaining. Jackson isn't a good enough worker in the ring, or over enough with the crowd to hold a singles title. But then again, neither was the Great Khali. Still going Barrett though.

WINNER: Wade Barrett

World Tag Team Championship: Kane & Big Show (c) vs C.M. Punk & Mason Ryan

This match was announced on RAW this past Monday. Four days later, they still don't have a graphic or match preview up on WWE.com. Shows how much the WWE cares about the Tag Titles: even less than the IC and US Titles.

I guess this would be considered the rebound program for Punk. He was dominated in his feud with Randy Orton. If there is anyone who could make the Tag Titles relevant again, it may very well be C.M. Punk. The only problem is that he doesn't have the best wrestlers to work with in this match. Kane & Big Show are nothing special, and Mason Ryan is still greener than fresh grass.

It appears as though the WWE may want to make Nexus seem like more of a threat than they have been. I don't know if they will actually go through with that. What I think the WWE is trying to do here is recreate the same magic they had with Batista with Mason Ryan. In Evolution, Batista was Tag Champion with Ric Flair. Later on, Batista went to turn on Evolution and go on to become World Champion. I don't know if Vince and Company can do the same thing again, but I'm sure they are going to try. Ryan & Punk win here, and the slow turn of Mason Ryan begins soon after. As for Show & Kane, they are on separate brands. They'll get their rematch, but I see them going their separate ways soon. By the way Kane, Happy May 19th!

WINNERS: C.M. Punk & Mason Ryan

R-Truth vs Rey Mysterio

Has there been a more enjoyable character in the entire WWE than R-Truth over the last month? Not to me. I love R-Truth's new found heel persona. It's different and it's great. No entrance music, great promos, vicious attacks. Him taking out John Morrison and "storyline wise" putting him in the hospital only puts more heat on Truth and will garner Morrison more support when he comes back. It also makes what would normally be considered a mid-card match more of a big deal.

But with Morrison's injury, the WWE needed to find somebody to replace him at the PPV. Enter Rey Mysterio, one of the top faces in the WWE. There's no way Rey could be left off a PPV card, so he seemed like too logical of a choice to fill in. It all started when Rey took Truth's spot in the #1 Contender's Match on RAW. Truth attacked Rey after the match, then again after his match with Alberto Del Rio this past Monday on RAW. Truth accepted Rey's challenge after the match and said that at Over the Limit, Rey is "Gonna Get Got."

I really hope R-Truth gets the win here. Rey's at a point in his career where wins and losses don't hurt him too much. Rey doesn't need the win, but R-Truth does. I think Truth could be build up as a challenger to John Cena down the line, whether he has the WWE Championship or not. There's also no better way to get Truth over as a heel than by having him take out one of the most beloved wrestlers by kids there is. I hope R-Truth doesn't disappoint in the ring. He's been an ok worker is whole career, but he needs to step his game up a notch to fully get over as a heel. He can't slack one bit. I'm going with my gut here and saying that R-Truth picks up the win with the Lie Detector.

WINNER: R-Truth

Kiss My Foot Match: Jerry Lawler vs Michael Cole

Could it be? Could this feud finally be coming to an end? It appeared that may be the case on RAW. Also, when it comes to these two, there is nothing more humiliating than having to kiss the other's feet. Cole and Lawler don't like each other, not one bit. The way the contract signing played out on RAW, it seems like everything is starting to catch up to Cole. He lost his trainer Jack Swagger after saying that nobody remembers him being a World Champion. Jerry Lawler has also continued to get the best of him in the last couple of weeks.

This program really jumped ship at Wrestlemania. The match was being built up so well, then it was a complete DUD. Not even Stone Cold could save it. I touched on this a bit more in my upcoming review of the WWE so far in 2011, which I hope to have finished by Friday night, Saturday at the latest. In short, this feud needs to end. No one wants to see Michael Cole in another match. Get him away from the announce table too.

I think the match ends with Jack Swagger coming out. It appears that he is going to help Cole, but instead pushes Cole into Lawler allowing Lawler to knock him out, then hitting the top rope punch for the win. After the match, Cole gets in Swagger's face. Swagger snaps and puts him in the ankle lock, forcing him to kiss Lawler's feet. Jim Ross comes out as well and Cole kisses his feet too. Cole disappears for few weeks do to the humiliation, but returns and tries to recruit someone to help him take out Jack Swagger.

WINNER: Jerry Lawler

World Heavyweight Championship: Randy Orton (c) vs Christian

Christian was living his dream after Extreme Rules. After such a long journey, Christian finally climbed the mountain and won the World Heavyweight Title. His dream, however, only lasted 5 days. Randy Orton won a fan vote and beat Christian for the World Title. Christian's dream world was shattered. There was a huge uproar over Christian's quick loss. Mostly from the IWC, the Internet Wrestling Community. I even over-reacted a bit. Without seeing the match, everyone was pissed at Vince McMahon for taking the title off of Christian, someone who busted his butt for years to get to the top.

Most people, even the most die-hard Christian fans like myself, saw him as a transitional Champion. I thought he would lose the title here at Over the Limit. But Vince wanted it off of him ASAP, and wanted it on his second biggest face in the WWE, Randy Orton. After all, Orton was moved to Smackdown so he could have his own brand built around him, and not be in the shadow of John Cena on RAW. At least to me, however, Orton has become really boring as a character recently. His wrestling has been ok at best. His best match, coincidentally, was his match against Christian on Smackdown a few weeks ago. It was a great TV match, possibly the best TV match of the whole year.

If the match on Smackdown is any indication, these two have great chemistry in the ring. I hope they have an extended program on Smackdown. From the video packages they've shown on Smackdown, it seems like they are trying to build up Christian as a guy that had everything and lost it so quickly, possibly causing him to snap and turn heel. The problem with that, however, is that they may have more people sympathize with Christian rather than Orton. That can of course be edited out on Smackdown. If this is going to be a long program, I think Orton retains here. Christian wins at the next PPV, and it all culminates in a TLC match at SummerSlam.

WINNER: Randy Orton

I Quit Match for the WWE Championship: John Cena (c) vs The Miz

It's an I Quit Match. In case you didn't know, the only way to win this match is to make your opponent say I Quit. John Cena and The Miz have been feuding with each other since around the Royal Rumble, where Miz eliminated Cena in the Rumble match. They had a decent build heading into their Wrestlemania match, although Miz always seemed to be playing second fiddle to the conflict between The Rock and John Cena. Miz won at Wrestlemania. He lost his WWE Title, however, at Extreme Rules to Cena.

I think Cena is going to be WWE Champion for a few months. It's all building to a Cena/Del Rio WWE Title Match at SummerSlam, so Cena is holding on to the Title til at least then. If Cena is facing The Rock at Wrestlemania, they need to make him as strong a threat as possible. That probably means Cena is going to be on top for the better part of 2011.

The WWE actually did a good job of building this match up on RAW this past Monday. Miz and Cena had a good opening promo, and the show ended strong with Miz saying he's found a way to beat Cena, and Cena saying that he may have think he found a way to win, but Cena will never say I Quit. Cena's right. There is no way that John Cena, the top dog in the WWE, is saying I Quit. He's Superman, there's no way he can look weak. Now, I'm not saying that there isn't a chance Miz wins. If you look back at the Rock/Mankind I Quit Match from the 99 Royal Rumble, Rock won by playing an audio recording of Mankind saying I Quit over and over on an episode of RAW. That could happen here, although I doubt it does. I think it ends with Cena locking Miz in a modified STF by using some sort of cable or chain, and Miz holding on as long as possible until he is forced to utter the words I Quit. Cena wins. After the match, I could see Cena extending a handshake to Miz as a show of respect. Miz considers it but walks away, leading to a slow face turn for Miz. I've been begging for it now for some time. If Miz is going to be the new face of the WWE as reported, he has to be a face to do it.

WINNER: John Cena

That's all I have for today. As I said, My "Analyzing the WWE's 2011 So Far" will be up in the next couple of days.

Until then,

Justin C