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Wrestling’s 4R’s PPV Edition 5.22.12: WWE Over the Limit 2012

May 22, 2012 | Posted by Larry Csonka

How the 4R’s of wRestling Work!
Here is a quick explanation of the 4R’s. The column will run TWO times a week. We will group our feelings on the shows in various categories: The Right, the wRong and the Ridiculous. The Right is stuff that worked very well: a great promo, a great match and so on. PuRgatoRy is a section between the right and wrong. It shows equal traits from both sides that cannot be ignored and needs discussed. It is not a bad place per say, as things can get remedied or go the wrong way the very next week. The wRong is what it sounds like: bad matches, bad or boring promos and so on. The Ridiculous is stuff that had no right on TV: Stupid angles and so on. And there is always a possibility of a 5th R, which is as bad as they come. This is not a “mark” column, nor a “smark” column, our goal is to analyze the show from many different fronts, reward the good and call out the bad. We will not apologize for our opinions, they are as they are, whether positive or negative.

Let’s rock…

WWE OVER THE LIMIT 2012:

By: LARRY CSONKA

QUICK RESULTS:
– PEOPLE POWER BATTLE ROYAL FOR SHOT AT THE US or IC TITLE: Christian won @ 12:13 [**]
– WWE TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Kofi Kingston and R Truth © defeated Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler @ 12:20 via pin [***]
– WWE DIVAS TITLE MATCH: Layla © defeated Beth Phoenix @ 7:10 via pin [**]
– WORLD TITLE MATCH: Sheamus defeated Chris Jericho, Randy Orton and Alberto Del Rio @ 15:52 via pin [***¾]
– Funkasaurus defeated The Miz @ 4:09 via pin [*]
– WWE IC TITLE MATCH: Christian defeated Cody Rhodes © @ 7:25 via pin to become the NEW IC CHAMPION [**½]
– WWE TITLE MATCH: CM Punk © defeated Daniel Bryan @ 22:04 via pin [****½]
– Ryback defeated Camacho @ 1:45 via pin [NR]
– John Laurinaitis defeated John Cena @ 17:04 via pin [SHIT]

THE RIGHT:
WWE TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: And that is what I was talking about on the podcast on Friday. You have a match between four guys that are very talented, give them some time and let them do their thing and the results are a fun and good match for the tag team titles. They got their time, they worked hard and the crowd was into it, and the only thing I could have asked for was a few more minutes, because I am a greedy bastard. While I will not call this a rebirth of the tag division, they went out there, they delivered and it was a positive addition to the PPV. This was great work from all involved, minus the commentary team. SHUT THE FUCK UP you idiots and stop arguing and bitching about Vickie. Assholes.

WORLD TITLE MATCH: Going into this match I felt that they could have a very good match, due to the level of talent involved, but sometimes a four-way gets too overbooked and there are just to many moving parts. Thankfully those fears were laid to rest, because what we got was a very good four-way for the title. I thought that everyone brought their A-Game, and the closing moments in particular were excellent as we had a ton of near falls, some great teases with finishers, and the always popular finisher buffet, which really got the crowd energized. Again, this was a really good match, and the fact that Sheamus retained I feel was the right call, because while booking hasn’t been that great, he is doing well as the world champion, and I also feel that he is delivering. More of this please!

WWE IC TITLE MATCH: Following his battle royal victory earlier in the show, and Cody Rhodes talking smack, Christian changed his mind and defeated Cody Rhodes for the IC Title. It was a good but not great match, with the crowd seemingly still confused to the fact that Christian was a face now. He got the return pop (according to the live crowd) for the battle royal, but not much of a reaction when he came out for this. They worked well together, and Christian winning was the right call. He just returned, he needed something special to make it feel special, and lets be honest, the facts are that Cody has been booked like shit and has done shit as the IC Champion. Hopefully they can rebuild him, but on this night, Christian winning is the right call.

WWE TITLE MATCH: Going into the show I stated that this match would be your “pure wrestling match” of the night, and that it would deliver. I know that the statement was not exactly going out on a limb, because I think we can agree that this was the general feeling going into the match. In my opinion, this was an excellent match that most certainly lived up to the hype. They worked their style, they utilized their strikes and submission game, which is something that really sets them apart from the rest of the roster, and makes the match feel different. They worked hard, and got the time they needed to work their match and to tell their story. Most importantly, there was no bullshit and no shenanigans. This was simply a tremendous wrestling match between two of the best at this time. I liked the finish as well, because it can be the vehicle for Bryan to say that Punk DID tap, and set up a rematch, possibly in a “submissions only” setting, which I am all for. I would not mind at all an extended feud between these guys if we will get matches of this quality.

They’ve come such a long way…

PURGATORY:
PEOPLE POWER BATTLE ROYAL FOR SHOT AT THE US or IC TITLE: WWE decided to add two matches to the PPV, with nearly no notice, which was to be expected with what they had advertised. It was a “People Power” battle royal, with the winner getting a shot at either the IC or US Title. They joined the PPV in progress, which I can understand from a time standpoint, but it also made the match feel like a jobber invitational. And the way that they casually mentioned that, “hey, Christian is back and in there,” really took away from his return. The battle royal itself was fine, nothing special, but it wasn’t bad at all. It got down to Christian, Otunga and Miz, and Christian overcame the odds and earned himself a title shot. He then chose Santino to challenge later in the show. Again, since this wasn’t something random, and was for a title shot, it would have been much better announced at least on Smackdown Friday, but that is apparently too much to ask. Credit to Cody and Santino at ringside, sniping at each other, and also reacting to certain eliminations (like relief when Khali was tossed) and it was one of those small things that add to the match. On a final note, it was good seeing Regal in there, and Tyson Kidd continues to impress while not being used worth a damn.

WWE DIVAS TITLE MATCH: Layla defended the Divas Title against Beth Phoenix at the PPV, and it was a solid, but unspectacular match. I thought that they worked hard, and the crowd was generally more involved than usual, but they had some spots where they were sloppy. I thought that the match structure was a good one, as Beth focused on the knee of Layla, and on top of that they worked a very “Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong” style, which will be very beneficial if the plan is to have Layla face Kharma anytime soon. Again, this was generally fine, and better than the average Divas match, but not what I would call PPV quality.

THE WRONG:
Brodus Clay vs. The Miz: This was essentially the same match we saw on Raw before. I know that WWE is looking to fill time, but my suggestion is to give matches that will be good more time instead of constantly adding useless filler like this. We get it, Miz is leaving, Funaksarus is staying. I have no issues giving him wins, and especially on PPV, but I do not need constant repeats of matches that don’t mean a damn thing in the grand scheme of things.

Another Meaningless PPV Squash: No sir, I do not like them, I do not like them at all. Moving on please.

THE RIDICULOUS:
John Laurinaitis defeated John Cena: As promised…

FUCK. THIS. COMPANY.

The 411
That main event bullshit really hurts the enjoyment of the show for me, I am not going to lie, but the thing is that I am not alone. It’s just a shame that they couldn’t have just ended the show after the Punk vs. Bryan match, because the Tag Title, WWE Title and World Title matches were all good stuff, and the purgatory I listed were not horrible things, just things I didn’t fully feel was right. But the main event, all 17 minutes of it, along with the finish just really hurt the show. And that’s a shame, because the things I mentioned, along with Christian’s return and title victory were the makings of a great show.

SHOW RATING: 6.5

As a reminder, I will be going by the 411 scale..

0 – 0.9: Torture
1 – 1.9: Extremely Horrendous
2 – 2.9: Very Bad
3 – 3.9: Bad
4 – 4.9: Poor
5 – 5.9: Not So Good
6 – 6.9: Average
7 – 7.9: Good
8 – 8.9: Very Good
9 – 9.9: Amazing
10: Virtually Perfect

YEAR IN REVIEW (PPV) by Csonka:
TOP PPVs:
* DGUSA Open the Ultimate Gate 2012 iPPV – 8.2
* DGUSA Mercury Rising 2012 iPPV – 8.1
* WWE Extreme Rules – 8.0
* EVOLVE 13 iPPV – 8.0

* WWE WrestleMania 28 – 7.9
* ROH 10th Anniversary iPPV – 7.5
* ROH Showdown in the Sun: Night One iPPV – 7.4
* EVOLVE 12 iPPV – 7.3
* TNA Sacrifice – 7.2
* EVOLVE 11 iPPV – 7.0

* TNA Victory Road – 6.5
* TNA Against All Odds – 6.5
* WWE Over the Limit – 6.5

* TNA Genesis – 5.0
* WWE Royal Rumble – 5.0

* WWE Eliminating Chamber – 4.0

* TNA Lockdown – 3.0

TOP PPV MATCHES:
* From The ROH Showdown in the Sun: Night Two iPPV –ROH Title Match: Davey Richards vs. Michael Elgin [****¾]

* From WWE Over the Limit – WWE Title Match: CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan [****½]
* From WWE WrestleMania 28 – Hell in a Cell: The Undertaker vs. Triple H [****½]

* From WWE Extreme Rules – World Title Match: Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus [****¼]
* From DGUSA’s Mercury Rising 2012 – Low Ki, BxB Hulk and Akira Tozawa vs. Ricochet, PAC and Mazaaki Mochizuki [****¼]
* From EVOLVE 11 iPPV – Fit Finlay vs. Sami Calihan [****¼]

* From WWE Extreme Rules – John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar [****]
* From WWE Extreme Rules – WWE Title Match: Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk [****]
* From EVOLVE 11 iPPV – Low Ki vs. El Generico [****]
* From EVOLVE 13 iPPV – El Generico vs. Sami Calihan [****]
* From DGUSA’s Mercury Rising 2012 – Open the Freedom Gate Title Match – Johnny Gargano vs. Masato Yoshino [****]
* From DGUSA’s Open the Ultimate Gate 2012 – Open the United Gate Tag Title Match: Chuck Taylor vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Ricochet and Masato Yoshino [****]
* From DGUSA’s Open the Ultimate Gate 2012 – Akira Tozowa vs. Masaaki Mochizuki [****]
* From WWE WrestleMania 28 – WWE Title Match: CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho [****]
* From The ROH Showdown in the Sun: Night One iPPV – Last Man Standing Match – Kevin Steen vs. El Generico [****]
* From TNA Sacrifice – AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle [****]

* From TNA Sacrifice – Austin Aries vs. Bully Ray [***¾]
* From TNA Lockdown – Bobby Roode vs. James Storm [***¾]
* From WWE Over the Limit – World Title Match – Sheamus vs. Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton vs. Alberto Del Rio [***¾]
* From WWE WrestleMania 28 – The Rock vs. John Cena [***¾]
* From The ROH Showdown in the Sun: Night One iPPV – ROH World Title Match: Davey Richards © vs. Roderick Strong vs. Eddie Edwards [***¾]
* From TNA Victory Road – Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Hardy [***¾]
* From TNA Against All Odds – TNA X-Division Title Match: Austin Aries vs. Alex Shelley [***¾]
* From The ROH 10th Anniversary iPPV – Eddie Edwards & Adam Cole vs. Davey Richards & Kyle O’Reilly [***¾]
* From DGUSA’s Mercury Rising 2012 – El Generico vs. Lince Dorado vs. Rich Swann vs. Cima vs. Chuck Taylor vs. Samurai Del Sol [***¾]
* From EVOLVE 12 iPPV – Fit Finlay vs. Jon Davis [***¾]
* From EVOLVE 12 iPPV – AR Fox vs. Sami Calihan [***¾]
* From EVOLVE 13 iPPV – Low Ki vs. Jon Davis [***¾]
* From EVOLVE 13 iPPV – DGUSA Open the Dream Gate Title Match: Johnny Gargano vs. AR Fox [***¾]

* From TNA Sacrifice – TNA World Title Ladder Match: Bobby Roode © vs. RVD [***½]
* From EVOLVE 13 iPPV – AR Fox vs. Samuray Del Sol vs. Ricochet vs. Jigsaw [***½]
* From EVOLVE 12 iPPV – El Generico vs. Ricochet [***½]
* From EVOLVE 12 iPPV – Jigsaw vs. Low Ki [***½]
* From TNA Lockdown – Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Hardy [***½]
* From EVOLVE 11 iPPV – Chuck Taylor vs. Samurai Del Sol vs. Johnny Gargano [***½]
* From DGUSA’s Open the Ultimate Gate 2012 – PAC vs. Low Ki [***½]
* From DGUSA’s Open the Ultimate Gate 2012 – Rich Swann vs. AR Fox [***½]
* From The ROH Showdown in the Sun: Night One iPPV – Lance Storm vs. Mike Bennett [***½]
* From TNA Against All Odds – Kazarian vs. AJ Styles [***½]
* From TNA Genesis – Monster’s Ball Match: Abyss vs. Bully Ray [***½]
* From WWE Elimination Chamber – Raw Elimination Chamber WWE Title Match: CM Punk vs. The Miz vs. Kofi Kingston vs. R Truth vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Chris Jericho [***½]
* From The ROH 10th Anniversary iPPV – TV Title Match – Jay Lethal vs. Tommaso Ciampa went to a 15-minute time limit draw [***½]
* From The ROH 10th Anniversary iPPV – No DQ Match – Kevin Steen vs. Jimmy Jacobs [***½]