How about a first-hand account of Over the Limit from someone who was there? This was my second WWE show (first was Raw in October 2002 where Kane defeated Triple H in casket match thanks to Shawn Michaels). Like the first time I was there, my dad was with me, and I think he enjoyed this more than Raw.
Our seats were at the left side of the from stage when looking through the camera. Loved the classic and new cars on the stage. What can I say, this is Detroit, and we love our automobiles here.
Dark match was Chavo Guerrero vs. MVP. For a dark match, the crowd seemed to like it. MVP hit the Ballin' Elbow and set up for the Play Maker, but Chavo countered into the Three Amigos. Before he could hit the third, though, MVP reversed out and hit the Play Maker. BALLGAME! I just wish this match was on the card. They are two super-talented competitors, and it sucks that MVP didn't have a match for the actual PPV and that Chavo is still stuck losing, although this match was more tightly fought than his recent TV matches. Good pop for MVP, plenty of heat for Chavo.
Michael Cole got about a 3:2 ratio of people booing him to the cheers. Matt Striker was 50/50. Jerry Lawler, as per usual, was all pop. Carlos Cabrera and Hugo Savinovich, the Spanish announce team, were well-received, and I think it's mainly because Joe Louis Arena is just blocks away from Detroit's Mexicantown neighborhood.
The crowd was yucking it up during the fake driver's ed film in the beginning, and the build-up video for the matches was superb. Because of where our seats were, the pyro was louder than I anticipated. And it didn't help that following the opening fireworks was Kofi Kingston's entrance. I CAN'T HEAR ANYMORE!
Kofi was wildly over with the crowd. They kept cheering for him all match. Well, I don't know exactly what was heard on TV, but the area I was in was very vocal. Drew McIntyre, as you could expect, got tons of heat. A solid back-and-forth match. You thought one was going to put the other away, they kick out. The S.O.S. just came out of nowhere, and when Kofi got the pin, the Joe exploded. And it needs to be said. HERE IS YOUR WINNER, AND THE NEWW (that's as many W's as I'm allowed here) WWE INTERCONTINETAL CHAMPION, KOFI KINGSTON! Lemme say, it is fun going, "BOOM, BOOM, BOOM," in person. I was worried when McIntyre grabbed the mic, he would play the Mr. McMahon card, but when Kofi made it backstage, I knew he was safe. Matt Hardy, well, let's just say we all went ape$#!t when he showed up. Twist of Fate, good night, Mac. WWE, listen to me, the people still love Matt Hardy.
Punk was being booed hard during his backstage segment, I couldn't even hear what he was saying. I thought I heard him say something about Detroit, but I missed it over the heat.
I'm only learning now that there were spots from the R-Truth vs. Ted DiBiase match that didn't happen, particularly involving Virgil. It may be that DiBiase is hurt, and I just read it was a concussion from a slap Truth gave DiBiase early in the match. Anyways, as you may imagine, crowd was into Truth (WHAT'S UP) and giving it to DiBiase. The whole match, my section kept trying to give support to Truth when he was in trouble and they were really into the signature moves. A lot of eyes were focused on Virgil through the match. They wanted to see if you was going to do something dirty. Once Truth hit the Ax Kick, everybody was really enjoying that. I thought there would be drama with DiBiase and Virgil, but nothing materialized. Damn!
Drew McIntyre's character is an absolute bitch, and I mean the whiny kind. I could sense a lot of the fans would have jumped backstage and attacked him if he destroyed Teddy Long's picture of Martin Luther King, Jr. It pissed me off hearing McIntyre say King was more of a revolutionary than Long, which is true. The problem was the messenger. King worked to improve the world, while McIntyre expects to have everything given to him on a silver platter. Today's word, boys and girls, is hypocrite.
Even my dad, not the biggest wrestling aficionado, was getting into the CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio match (OW, MY EARS). Solid support for Mysterio throughout, and Punk got it bad. I couldn't see where Mysterio cut open Punk originally, but my dad said it was when Mysterio bashed Punk's head on the barber chair. Tossing Mysterio into the chair was a smart move to clean up Punk, but it had two issues. One, they took forever to stitch up Punk (cue the "BULLSHIT" chants). Second, my dad said it looked like Mysterio broke his arm when he was tossed into the chair. Er, dad, if that were true, there would have been some help. Anyways, my dad said that was his favorite match. I think he liked the contrasting styles of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu vs. the Mexican Lucha Libre. The whole time, the crowd was nuts, and the seesaw battle for control kept them into it. My section did an "Eddie" chant twice, but I don't know if caught on with the rest of the crowd. Punk made that one little mistake, and the crowd exploded again. People were mimicking a head being shaved right until the masked member of the SES attacked. Once Luke Gallows and Serena (where the hell were they in this match) broke out the handcuffs, we thought it was trouble. Kane (WHAT DID YOU SAY) was a complete and delightful surprise, and he cleaned house on on the SES. Crowd went nuts for him because of the surprise appearance. I was following Kane for so long, I completely missed Mysterio slap the first set of cuffs on Punk. When I saw it, I knew it was going to be amazing. A 619 later, Mysterio grabs the second cuffs and how symbolic it was, watching the cult messiah hanging from the ropes like he is about to be crucified. In a matter of seconds, Punk was a shell of his former self, his face covered in hair clippings, sweat, and blood. The whole time, the atmosphere was electric. The crowd was eating it up. Serena comes in with a towel to cover up (but all knew it was to stop the bleeding). When Mysterio broke out the mirror and showed Punk what he had become, I knew what we had witnessed was a crowning moment of awesome.
I could hardly hear what was the funniest line in the Big Show/Chris Jericho conversation, so if anybody heard let me know. I thought it was hysterical, though, the Show knew The Miz was behind him. I thought Miz was going to jump him, but Show put an end to that.
The tag team title match was baffling. I cannot believe that people were actually chanting "Y2J." Miz, definitely had heat on him. Hart Dynasty, good applause, but I think the fans will get louder the more they see them. And even from my seats, Natalya is smoking in person. I think everyone in the building thought it was over when Jericho blasted Kidd with the Codebreaker, but NOOOO!. Let me say, these four are fun to see in person. The skills of Jericho and Miz, the acrobatics of Kidd, and the strength of Smith need to be seen to be believed. And I saved Smith strength for last for a reason. It's not everyday you see somebody simply walk away from Miz's clothesline while carrying the Miz, and I was shocked he did that, but it was an excellent step up for the Hart Attack. Solid match.
Edge (OH, MY POOR EARS) vs. Randy Orton came up next. Like R-Truth vs. Ted DiBiase and CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio, I was drooling for this potentially amazing match. Here's the funny thing. During Mysterio's entrance, fans were singing along to his theme. Same with Orton. Throughout my section, you could fans singing, "I hear voices in my head, they talk to me, they understand, they to talk to me..." God, the fans were ecstatic to see him. I even did the pose (you know the one). A real solid back-and-forth showing from these two future HOFers. Surprisingly, for every ten people chanting, "Let's go Orton," there were three to counter with "Let's go Edge." I have no idea except to say that Edge is awesome. My dad was laughing when Edge and Orton exchanged punches as the crowd reacted (Boo! Yay! Boo! Yay!). I think they were merely teasing the ending and could have gone at least an extra five minutes. I was prepped for the RKO, but when Orton stopped pounding the ring, I knew something was wrong. Seconds later, I looked at the ref and I saw the dreaded X hand gesture. As they went outside, it was clear that Orton's shoulder was dislocated. It was significantly lower than the other. I gotta feel for Edge, though. Spearing the barricade headfirst, ouch! Some fans were booing the double countout finish, but I think they may have missed the X. My fingers are crossed for you, Orton. I know he has an extensive history of shoulder injuries, so I hope he'll be OK. At the end, I tried to start an obvation to support Orton, but as usual with me, it didn't catch on.
Still deaf, we get Big Show vs. Jack Swagger. Let's just say I psyched for this one. What was Mr. Kennedy's nickname for Tony Chimmel, the round mouth of sound? If so, agreed. Swagger got tons of heat, while Show (IS THERE AN EAR DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE) was well over. My section once again served as the WWE choir (Weeeeeeeeeell, well it's the Big Shooooooooow...). I heard people say you need to see Big Show in person to appreciate his size. That's no lie. Even my dad was in awe of big he was. And seeing his strength in person is impressive, too. Let's face it, Swagger's no cruiserweight, but Show tossed him around like a rag doll, and it was a sight to behold. As Show told the audience to be quite so we could listen to him slap Swagger's chest, you could hear a pin drop, which is not an easy task at the JLA. The slap literally echoes through the arena, and then people do the Ric Flair "WOOOOOOOOO!" When Swagger started attacking Show's leg, I had to explain to my dad the strategy of taking out his legs to ground him (like I did in the tag match over how important it is to keep your opponent isolated in your corner). When Show started making the comeback, people were sensing a title change at hand. We even joined him in doing the hand gesture to signal for the choke slam. I wasn't happy Swagger used the belt to end the match, but seeing Show get up after the belt and chair shots is incredible. I think anybody would be sore after all that, no matter how big they are. But Show, wow, get him angry and he turns into a white Incredible Hulk. He went to town on Swagger with that chair, and my dad was astounded that it took one shot from Show to bend the chair as much as it was. The crowd loved seeing the choke slam on to the chair, and since it was bent, RIP, Swagger's upper back. Everybody was going nuts for the knockout punch. I may have geeked out and yelled, "Falcon Punch," when he did it, but I don't care.
Funny thing during the Batista and Josh Matthews interview. When Batista said he made John Cena say, "I quit," at the end of Raw last Monday, I heard various forms of, "Yeah, right!" Gotta agree.
Eve and Maryse. I didn't mention it with my dad around, but I figured Eve is the strap, Natalya is the ass, and Maryse is the clean-up. Crowd liked this match, but not as much as the previous matches. Some kids behind me tried to get "Let's go, Eve" chant going, and I tried to help them out, but it died quickly. Strong match, Maryse dominating early, but Eve fighting back. These two are amazing women and they could be right up there with Trish, Lita, Mickie, Melina, and Beth in terms of being quality Divas in the future. Like Natalya, both Eve and Maryse are finer in person, even when you're quite a distance away. Liked Eve's finisher, very innovative and different. Tell me that wouldn't hurt. By the way, when Maryse went spread eagle between Eve's raised legs, I could tell my dad was thinking dirty thoughts. And this is a guy who for all I know doesn't look at Internet porn.
Oh, man, I was hyped up for Batista vs. Cena. Batista was booed all the way through his normal act, and the cheers for Cena blew the ceiling of Joe Louis Arena across the Detroit River into Windsor. Cue the choir. "Your time is up, my time is now, you can't see me, my time is now!" When Batista got on the mic and said he made Cena say, "I quit," on Monday, there were fans around me that said, "He said, 'I quit!' End the match!" That was very attentive. Cena's response to Batista was gold. Also cracked up when Cena grabbed the bottle of water to wake Batista up. Batista vs. Cena is always fun to watch, but what was funny to watch was the battle in the stands between the Cena fans and haters. Behind me, they were looking at each other, so one group (the haters) were ignoring the match as they exchanged chants of "Let's go Cena" (of course, I helped with that one, and I actually wasn't the only deep-voiced male saying it) and "Cena sucks!" How would the haters know? They're focused on the Cena supporters and have their backs turned to the ring! It was fun to actually say, "You can't see me," in public and know nobody will judge you. Seeing the Spanish announcer's table be destroyed was beautiful, as pieces of it flew about in the air. I have no idea how Cena cut himself there. I am still stumped trying to figure it out. Every time Cena was asked if he wanted to quit, you could hear a very loud "NO!" echo through the arena. In contrast, there was a vocal "YES!" when Batista got the same question. The action in the stands was so cool to watch. Sure, I had to stand up and look at the arena's scoreboard to see, but it was worth it. For the rest of show, it was the only time my dad stood up (like I said, he's not as big a fan as I am). But this was cool to watch. Literally, they were down 14 rows and one section to my left when they went at it at the ramp rails. When Batista went over, I wasn't the only one going "HOLY SHIT!" It was crazy watching them fight back down, and before the match, I had a feeling the cars would come into play. I just couldn't believe Cena could take that may chair shots and not want to quit had it been real. So, when Batista was getting in the car, I asked myself if Batista had a set of keys for that classic Mustang or if he knew how to hot wire a car. I kept looking for Cena when Batista backed the car up, but my seats didn't provide me with a great angle (it looked like the car was behind the Titantron). I knew he'd show up, and I wasn't disappointed. An Attitude Adjustment on the hood of a car, I'm sorry, I don't care how big you are, that will hurt for a while. When Batista said he wouldn't quit and Cena said he was hoping he'd say that, I couldn't wait to see what plan Cena had. I thought he was going to do an AA onto the windshield, but when he climbed to the top I was expecting to see Batista go splat. Then, true to his character as of late, he wusses out and says, "I quit." Disappointed Cena didn't dispatch him on the stage, but that turned to glee when he dropped him THROUGH the stage. I just read that one or both of the last two bumps gave Batista a back and/or tailbone injury. Again, "HOLY SHIT!" At least in my section. Loved when he posed with the fan with the "Cena is not a quitter" sign. Even the haters were giving Cena a well-deserved applause when Sheamus gave him a boot the head. Let me say, TV doesn't do his paleness justice. Stop the cameras.
Cena got up about two or three minutes later, first sitting, and then standing, just trying to laugh off the kick. Hey, the show was over, he could get away with it then. Meanwhile, they have EMTs with a stretcher trying to get to Batista, but I don't know if they got to him. Cena celebrates one last time and his music hits to wrap it up, and Justin Roberts thanks us for coming.
All in all, it was a great show. I see you guys are bitching about the booking, but they kept the fans hot throughout the show. Once again, the Detroit crowd proved they love this stuff. Even my dad, a non-viewer, said it was a great show and looked at Punk vs. Mysterio as the highlight of the night (more so the match than the head shaving, but he liked that too). He said everybody who competed on the PPV really did well and said they were all very talented, which I agree on. It was an absolutely raucous event and was so fun to go to. Not exactly WrestleMania XXVI, but the Superstars kept the whole thing going so well, the crowd was into it from the word go. My hats off to my parents for getting me the tickets for my birthday, and the WWE for putting on a hell of a show.
Well, I think I've said my piece. Thanks for reading.
