By Chris Shore

Dot Net Members can look forward their exclusive audio review of WWE Over The Limit pay-per-view with Jason Powell and Chris Shore after the show tonight. Join us on the ad-free version of the website by signing up right now via the Dot Net Members' Signup Page. We also encourage you to download our FREE apps on iPhone, Android, and Amazon Fire.

WWE Over The Limit
Aired live on pay-per-view
Raleigh, N.C. at PNC Arena

Pre Show

1. Zack Ryder vs. Kane. Due to several technical difficulties I got the YouTube feed in time to see Ryder hit the Broski Boot and setup for the Rough Ryder leg lariat. Kane grabbed Ryder instead and hit a chokeslam for the win...

Kane defeated Zack Ryder.

Shore's Slant: YouTube preshows and I seem to have serious issues. I've not been able to see the two I had to cover for the site. I'm not surprised by this finish. I thought they might give Ryder his heat back, but they also seem hell bent on killing him off too.

Matt Striker and Josh Matthews ran down the card, and then setup a video that recapped the antics of John Laurinaitis since becoming GM and then how his match to John Cena came about. Eve was backstage and Cody Rhodes and Santino Marella walked up. They bickered over which title was better. Eve cut them off and said there will be a People Power battle royal, with the winner getting a title shot for whichever title they wanted to later in the show. She said the match was next. Santino made a pee-pee joke and both men stormed off...

Striker and Matthews started trying to put over the battle royal when Michael Cole, Booker T, and Jerry "The King" Lawler made their entrances to take over on commentary. Cody Rhodes made his ring entrance, followed by Santino, and both men sat ringside for the battle royal...

2. People Power Battle Royal with the winner choosing which mid-card champion to challenge during the PPV. The entrants were Great Khali, Miz, JTG, Ezekiel Jackson, Curt Hawkins, Tyler Reks, Michael McGillicutty, Yoshi Tatsu, Tyson Kidd, Jimmy and Jay Uso, Jinder Mahal, Drew McIntyre, Heath Slater, Darren Young, Titus O'Neal, Alex Riley, David Otunga, William Regal (who got a chant), and Christian. One...well, two of these things are not like the others. Christian made his entrance at the end of the pre-show as a teaser.

The match was joined in progress. The audio actually came up before the video before me. Reks and Hawkins worked together, so did Young and O'Neal. Khali tossed a number of people, including Reks and Hawkins at the same time. Young, O'Neal, and Miz teamed up to get rid of Khali. Christian tossed Regal and earned serious heat for it.

Darren Young botched his elimination from a Riley drop kick but finally went over. Miz tossed Riley right after and your final four was Miz, Christian, Otunga, and Kidd. Kidd put on a clinic of moves, but Miz tossed him over. Kidd skinned the cat and grabbed Miz by the head, but Otunga kicked Kidd to cause the elimination.

Otunga and Miz cut a deal and attacked Christian. Miz missed his corner clothesline and Christian tossed Otunga. Miz attacked from behind and tossed Christian over to the apron. They sold several false finishes, but Christian eliminated Miz by hitting him through the corner. Christian gestured toward Santino, indicting his choice.

won a People Power battle royal at 12:13 and will face Santino Marella later for the US Championship.

Shore's Slant: Decent battle royal that the Raleigh crowd liked a lot. Christian is finally back I guess. I'm guessing from his choice of Santino that he's staying heel for now. We'll know more based on that match.

The official pen for Over the Limit played, complete with pyro, and Vickie Guerrero came out and did her "Excuse me" bit. She said hello to the board of directors and added she heard she was on the short list to replace John Laurinaitis should he lose. She introduced her guys for our first of four title matches...

3. Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler (w/Vickie Guerrero) vs. R-Truth and Kofi Kingston for the WWE Tag Team Championships. Swagger and Kofi started. Kofi showed off his jumps and tagged in Truth. Truth did a ridiculous leg drop and locked in an arm bar. Swagger pushed Truth back to the corner and tagged Ziggler. Ziggler lost control immediately and Kofi tagged in for a superman punch for two.

Truth tagged in and played the babyface in trouble as the heels worked in and out quickly. On almost every tag, the man on the outside would sneak in a dirty shot. Ziggler locked in a rest hold while King went on and on and Vickie being fat. Classy. Truth tried to fight out of the corner, but Ziggler got the tag and reversed a Truth wheelbarrow into a weak looking face bump for two.

Ziggler did his headstand headlock. Truth tried to fight out, but Ziggler shoved the ref away to prevent the tag and tagged Swagger in. Swagger put Truth on the top, but Truth reversed into a tornado DDT. Both men got tags and Ziggler showed why he is the best in the business right now at making people look great. Kofi hit a high cross body, but Swagger broke the count. Ziggler hit the Fameassor, but Truth broke the count. Truth dove on Swagger on the floor. Ziggler ran over and Kofi hit the Trouble in Paradise, that knocked Ziggler out of the air, for the win...

R-Truth and Kofi Kingston retained the Tag Team Championships at 12:38.

Shore's Slant: That match wasn't bad, but it wasn't as good as I thought it would be. Ziggler is held back big time. He sells better than anyone I have seen in years. He needs to be a champion that babyfaces can chase and beat the hell out of, only to win at the end. Kofi and Truth just don't feel special. Of course, no tag team feels special right now.

Backstage, Reks and Hawkins told Eve they agreed to go into the crowd and confiscate any signs that were anti-Laurinaitis. Eve asked Otungaif there were any legal problems with that and Otunga said no. The tag team left to do their job. Not sure why that was there...

4. Beth Phoenix vs. Layla for the Divas Championship. Layla went right at Beth and hit several quick kicks and drop kicks. Beth grabbed Layala's leg and hit a knee breaker on the injured leg. Beth worked it awkwardly on the post and rolled Layla in the ring. Beth hooked in a single leg crab, and the crowd could not appear to care less. Beth gorilla pressed Layla, but Layla reversed into a nasty looking DDT for two.

Beth reversed a move off the top rope and lifted for the Glam Slam. Layla rolled through for one, but Beth rolled back through and grabbed the tights for two. Out of nowhere, Layla hit the Lay Out for the win...

Laya retained the Divas Championship at 7:09.

Shore's Slant: Fair Divas match. I've seen better and I've seen worse. I like Layla and think she can work. She wasn't perfect here, but it was a better Divas match than we got for a long time. I'm surprised at the clean win for Layla if for no other reason than where do you go with her next?

Backstage, Matt Striker played the video of Sheamus defeating Randy Orton for Orton. Orton said the message he was trying to send was that Sheamus may have beat him in a fluke, but winning tonight would be a different story. He said if the roles were reversed, he would have eaten a Brogue kick. Orton said there were four men in the match tonight. Chris Jericho walked in at that point and Orton finished with "...and none of us like each other."

Jericho said he liked Orton so much he watched his match with Sheamus. He said he enjoyed watching the two neanderthals beat each other up. He said he was on a roll and he would win the title tonight for the seventh time and prove he is the best in the world at what he does. Orton said if Jericho got in his way, he would be the best in the world at getting RKOed and losing. Orton stormed off and Jericho looked nervous for some reason...

Ring entrances occurred for the Fatal Fourway with Del Rio first, followed by Jericho, Orton, and finally the champ...

5. Alberto Del Rio (w/Ricardo Rodriguez) vs. Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton vs. Sheamus in a Fatal Fourway for the World Heavyweight Championship. The bell rang and everyone stared off. The heels attacked first, but the babyfaces beat them down and to the floor. Sheamus and Orton squared off, but Del Rio and and Jericho charged back in the ring. The fight spilled tot he floor and the babyfaces slammed the heels into the barricades and slid back in the ring to face off.

Sheamus beat Orton down and hit the ropes. Jericho pulled the ropes down sending Sheamus tot he floor. Jericho tossed him into the barricade. Both heels slid in the ring and attacked Orton together. They left Orton down and attacked Sheamus's injured arm. They went back to Orton in the ring and Orton had a hope spot that Del Rio broke the count on. Del Rio covered Orton, and Jericho kicked him in the face to break the count. The heels argued and Del Rio hit a back breaker on Jericho.

Orton recovered and clotheslined Del Rio over the top, but Jericho hit a enziguri for two. Del Rio slid back in and they setup the tower of doom in the corner, but Sheamus knocked Jericho and Orton to the ground and attacked Del Rio.Ric Rod distracted Sheamus and Del Rio hit his enziguri for two and attacked the arm again. Del Rio went for a drop kick but Sheamus moved. Del Rio slid through the ropes, but Sheamus grabbed him for the forearms to the chest. As Sheamus hit them, Jericho ran in and hit his springboard dropkick to knock both men down.

Orton immediately ran in and hit his clotheslines and powerslam. He hit the rope DDT on Sheamus and set for the RKO. Del Rio ran in and hooked on the cross arm breaker on Orton. Jericho broke the count and all four men hit moves. Sheamus and Orton traded finisher misses and Jericho ended up hitting a Codebreaker on Orton before hooking the Walls of Jericho on Del Rio.

Sheamus ran in and tried for a Brogue kick on Jericho. Jericho ducked and hit a Code breaker for a great near fall. Jericho hooked the Walls on Sheamus. Orton broke it with an RKO on Jericho. Del Rio broke the count and Orton hit an RKO on him. Sheamus hit a brogue kick on Orton. Jericho rolled up Sheamus for two. Sheamus lifted Jericho on the next charge and hit White Noise for the win...

Sheamus retained the World Heavyweight Championship at 15:53.

Shore's Slant: Wow, that was great. As a rule, I hate these multi-man singles matches, but they did a great job with it here, and the live crowd bought into all of it making it even better. The best part is they can still go anywhere with this. I'm assuming they still go with Orton, but the door is wide open.

Backstage, Cody Rhodes was talking with Eve. He put over Christian winning and said he would bring prestige to the US title. He said it was a good thing Christian picked Santino because Rhodes would have beaten easily. Christian walked up and asked what they were talking about. Rhodes said he was telling Eve how great of a US Champion Christian would be. Christian said Rhodes was full of crap and he was changing his mind and would face Rhodes instead. Christian left and Rhodes sold being frustrated...

Miz made his ring entrance and cut a promo about being a better dancer than Brodus Clay. He had his music play and he danced like...well, you can guess how bad It was. Clay and the Funkadactyls made their entrance...

6. The Miz vs. Brodus Clay (w/The Funkadactyls). Brodus sold two moves until the match spilled tot he floor. Brodus went for a slam into the post, but Miz slid off and slammed Clay into the pole instead. Miz worked a rest hold as the Dactyls failed to get the crowd chanting. Brodus hit his suplex of the top and followed with the splash for the win and no crowd reaction. Post-match, Clay danced with some kids...

Brodus Clay defeated the Miz at 4:12.

Shore's Slant: This is what those who loved the Funkasaurus character missed from the very beginning: the guy can't get over in the ring as a babyface. His entrance is great. In fact, it's so great I lost sight of the fact he couldn't get over in the ring as a babyface. But this match proved it. He's in a tough spot here. It's too soon in the run for a turn, but this act is dead in the water after he rips his pants off.

Hawkins and Reks were in the crowd snatching signs away from fans. Cody Rhodes made his ring entrance and cut a promo about how his dad Dusty wouldn't let him come to shows in North Carolina as a kid. He said Dusty told him he would know why one day, and Cody said it was because we were shortsighted because we liked him facing Christian. OK...

7. Christian vs. Cody Rhodes for the Intercontinental Championship. The match started fast and took on a TV match pace. Christian hit a drop kick through the ropes and a superplex to show he is heeled. Christian hit his pendulum kick and missile drop kick for two. Christian went for a tornado DDT, but Cody shoved him off and hit a moonsault for two. Cody started mouthing off to the crowd, so Christian hit the Kill Switch for the win...

Christian defeated Cody Rhodes for the Intercontinental Championship at 7:08.

Shore's Slant: Snore fest of a match. Both guys did what they could, but there was no drama in the match. Christian winning does nothing for him other than confirm his babyface turn that happened, I guess, on this show. Cody loses again to take even more heat off him. This has been a good show, but this decision was weak.

Backstage, Josh Matthews played a video of Daniel Bryan setting up CM Punk with Kane's attack from Smackdown. CM Punk cut a promo and said if someone had told Vince McMahon 10 years ago that the main event on one of his PPVs for the WWE Championship would be CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan his head would have exploded. Punk said the match should be enough for both of them, but it wasn't because Bryan has changed. He said the match would be more than a five star classic. He started to say more, but AJ walked up looking good and said this was going to be fun to watch. She wished Punk luck. Punk looked confused, but walked off as AJ did her sultry/crazy smile...

8. Daniel Bryan vs. CM Punk for the WWE Championship. The crowd got hot fast. Punk tied up Bryan's leg in the ropes and Bryan made have legit tweaked the knee as it looked rough. Punk hooked a leg lock. Bryan rolled it over and hit elbows to escape. Bryan missed a drop kick and Punk curb stomped him for two. Punk hit a knee breaker and tossed Bryan to the floor. He tried for a baseball slide, but Bryan ducked and slammed Punk into the barricade.

Punk dropped Punk across the barricade and drop kicked him off. Bryan sold the leg and rolled Punk in the ring for a missile drop kick and two count. Bryan locked in a seated abdominal stretch and Cole sold the attack from Kane hurting Punk's core. Bryan hit a couple of knee lifts and locked in a surfboard. He dropped the arms and pulled the head back in a very uncomfortable looking position. Punk rolled to his belly and hit elbows to escape.

Bryan hit two knee drops, but Punk moved on the third and they traded blows in the middle of the ring. Bryan hit a snap suplex and climbed up for a top rope headbutt for two. Bryan went back to a rest hold. Punk fought out and both men hit cross bodies on each other at 13:00.

Punk went on a string of strikes and hit a rolling neck breaker. Punk went for the high knee. Bryan kicked him and charged back. Punk hit a powerslam for two. Bryan rolled tot he floor and Punk hit a dive. Punk rolled him back in the ring and went to the top and jumped off. Bryan drop kicked him out of the air for two. Bryan hit several kicks and said "Yes" with each. Punk grabbed the last one and flipped Bryan down to lock in a figure four. The two men sat up and traded blows. Punk wrenched back and Bryan fell back. He dragged them over to the ropes and Punk held on until four.

They traded several submission reversals with Bryan hitting a stiff kick for two. A "This is awesome" chant broke out. That's rare for WWE. Bryan pulled his knee pad down and hit several knee strikes in the corner. He set Punk on the top and climbed up. Punk knocked him down on the rope and followed with a springboard clothesline for a near fall. They traded finisher setups and Punk hit the roundhouse kick for a leg on the rope near fall at 21:08.

Punk slammed Bryan and hit the top rope elbow. Punk sold the ribs being hurt and couldn't cover. Bryan went crazy and hit knee drops until the ref pulled him off. Punk stood in the corner and Bryan charged for his drop kick. Punk moved and hit his high knee in the corner. He came out for the bulldog, but Bryan grabbed the arm and hooked the Yes Lock on in the middle of the ring. Bryan wrenched back three times. On the third, Punk kicked back and pinned Bryan. Punk tapped just after the ref slapped the mat for the third time, but the replay clearly showed the pinfall happening before the tap. Bryan protested in the ring as Punk celebrated on the stage...

CM Punk retained the WWE Championship at 24:02.

Shore's Slant: Great match. If this match had half a story behind it I would be talking about it beating Triple H vs. Undertaker from WrestleMania. As it stands, it shows that great wrestling can only get you so far. This needed a better story. I'm confused with the AJ appearance. I guess the finish will be enough to put them back in the ring together again, and that's where we see AJ do whatever it is she's going to do. See this match, but be warned the finish leaves you hanging just a little.

Backstage, Eve and Otunga walked up on a smiling Teddy Long. They teased Teddy and assured him he wouldn't be put back in charge if Johnny lost. Teddy said he thought they might be put in charge. He said he also thought they might be fired if Johnny was...

Hunico and Camacho made their entrance. Hunico said everyone was talking about Camacho's opponent, but Camacho was going to show them how they handled business in the barrio. Ryback was out next...

9. Camacho (w/Hunico) vs. Ryback. Hunico managed to interfere to get Ryback down once, but Ryback ended up killing him and Camacho for another squash victory...

Ryback squashed Camacho.

The announce team setup the main event and the video recap played. Ace's music played and he came to the ring in a track suit. John Cena was out to a huge pop...

10. John Laurinaitis vs. John Cena. Winner can only be determined by pinfall or submission. Anyone who interferes will be fired. If Laurinaitis loses, he is terminated. The bell rang and Ace bolted from the ring. He tried to jump the rail, but Cena caught him and rolled him in the ring. Ace tried a kick, but Cena grabbed his foot and hit a clothesline. Cena pulled Johnny's shirt up and hit a chop on his chest and his back.

Cena lifted for the AA, but did an airplane spin instead. Ace fell from the ring. Cena grabbed the bell and rung it in Johnny's ears a few times. He slammed him all over the announce tables, and then put him in the Spanish announcer chair with the headset on. Cena put on the other and Said he would be Cole and Johnny would be Booker T. Cena said, "Vintage Laurinaitis," and Ace said, "Five time" before passing out.

Cena went to throw Ace back in the ring and drove him sternum first into the apron. OW! He finally got him in the ring and got a mic. Cena said he was going to put Ace in the STF. He said if Ace tapped, he was fired. Cena said he would break the hold if Ace could last 10 seconds. He had the crowd count for him. Ace made it. Cena said the good news was he made it, the bad news was it was going to happen again. Once again, Ace made it.

Cena went and got some water bottles and poured them on Ace and poured one in his pants. He dumped a trash can on him and hit the trash can. Cena got a fire extinguisher and hosed Johnny down. Johnny tried to escape over the wall again. Cena grabbed him, but Johnny dropped the arm on the railing. Cena sold it as the bad arm. Ace jumped back over the rail and slammed the arm on the announce table.

Cena rolled in the ring and Ace grabbed a chair. He hit the arm a few times and covered for two. He grabbed the chair again, but Cena snatched it away and hit Ace in the leg with it. He did a You Can't See Me with the chair and tried to stand Johnny up, but Ace hit him in the nuts. Johnny finally escaped through the crowd at 13:33

Big Show popped out of the curtain, dragging Ace back to the ring. He threw him in the ring and stepped on his hand when Ace tried to leave. He grabbed Johnny by the throat and Johnny begged off. Show nodded and shoved him to Cena. Cena lifted for the AA, and Big Show hit the WMD on Cena. Ace took about 30 minutes to recover and finally crawled over and pinned Cena. Show helped Johnny to his feet and raised his hand before leaving in apparent disgust. Cole sold the win big and said he couldn't wait for tomorrows Raw as Laurinaitis crawled up the ramp and Cena sold the knockout...

John Laurinaitis defeated John Cena at 16:54.

Shore's Slant: Honestly, if you didn't see that coming you might want to get checked out by a professional. I'm not even sure what to write here because it was so painfully obvious what the finish would be before they ever even got to the arena tonight. This wasn't bad, just predictable. Show did it to get his job back. Cena and he will have a feud now. Life goes on in WWE as normal.

This ended up being a good card once it was all said and done. It's funny to think they announced five matches and we ended up with nine on the PPV itself, 10 counting the pre-show. The top title matches were very good, and it was nice to see Christian back. The main event delivered well for the live crowd I'm sure, but it was a TV garbage match for us at home. Overall this is worth seeing, but I can't go so far as to recommend the replay. Buy the Punk vs. Bryan match and the Fatal Fourway for $2.99 on iTunes and that will suffice. Jason and I will have more to say later in the member's exclusive audio review. Thanks for following along tonight.

Questions? Comments? Anyone, anyone? Let me hear from you. Email me at css3238@gmail.com or tweet me @TheShoreSlant with whatever is on your mind.

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