WWE Over the Limit is all set to pop off tonight (Sun., May 20, 2012) from the PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, at 8 p.m. ET, live on pay-per-view.
CagesideSeats.com will provide LIVE blow-by-blow, match-by-match coverage of Over the Limit below, beginning with the first match of the evening and right on through to the main event.
Tonight's show will feature the good old standby booking of "top babyface opposing heel authority figure" when John Cena takes on John Laurinaitis in the main event of the evening. The stipulations are so that if "Ace" loses, he'll be removed from his position as General Manager of both Raw and Smackdown and terminated from the company.
On the undercard, CM Punk defends the WWE championship against Daniel Bryan in a battle of indie brats. A Fatal Four-Way will determine who walks out with the world heavyweight championship, as Sheamus puts his strap up for grabs against Chris Jericho, Randy Orton and Alberto Del Rio ... all at once!
Plus, a Divas title match and a tag team championship showdown.
So kick your shoes off, relax, and enjoy all the action with your favorite pro wrestling website. And remember to keep refreshing!
Full results and match coverage after the jump.
WWE OVER THE LIMIT 2012 QUICK RESULTS:
John Laurinaitis def. John Cena
CM Punk def. Daniel Bryan to retain the WWE championship
Sheamus def. Randy Orton, Chris Jericho and Alberto Del Rio to retain the world heavyweight championship
Layla def. Beth Phoenix to retain the Divas championship
Kofi Kingston and R-Truth def. Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger to retain tag team titles
Kane def. Zack Ryder
Christian wins "People's Power" Battle Royal
Christian def. Cody Rhodes to win the Intercontinental championship
Brodus Clay def. The Miz
Ryback def. Camacho
Geno here.
Broadcast is live.
People's Power Battle Royal
The battle royal is already up and running and guys are flying out like crazy. Heath Slater is gone. JTG is out. Yoshi Tatsu gets sent out by Drew McIntyre and looks like he injured his ankle.
Out goes Ezekial Jackson. Now an Uso is sent flying out. They're going fast and furious here, folks.
Drew McIntyre is tossed by Tyler Reks and Curt Hawkins. They then get sent out by Great Khali, who also tosses Alex Riley out. I see Christian, Miz, David Otunga, William Regal, Darren Young, an Uso, Titus O'Neil and a few more.
Khali is tossed by Young and O'Neil together. Not long after, O'Neil is superkicked out by the remaining Uso.
Santino Marella and Cody Rhodes are sitting ringside watching the proceedings, by the way.
Uso is sent out by Young and we're down to seven guys left.
William Regal is tossed and we're down to six now. Alex Riley hits Young with a dropkick and he screws up bumping his way out and clearly botches the ensuing send off. Nonetheless, he's out.
Miz sends Riley out and we're down to the final four. Miz, Tyson Kidd, Otunga, and Christian.
Kidd does a few cool spots but this whole thing looks really telegraphed. He ends up knocked out by Otunga and we're down to just three. I wouldn't mind seeing Otunga or Christian win here. Looks like they're going to set up Christian as the babyface by having Miz and Otunga team up against him.
Christian is gamely battling through this double team and getting over with the crowd in the process. They tease Otunga sending him out but he gets tossed instead. Miz tries to capitalize and send Christian out but he can't get it. They take turns teasing finishers and neither man hits.
Christian ends up out on the apron and he almost sends Miz out via throwing him from there but Miz hangs on. So Christian hits a spear from between the ropes that sends Miz out and both feet hit the floor. He gets to challenge someone and he appears to gesture towards Marella and the U.S. title.
Christian wins "People's Power" Battle Royal
We get the usual PPV open now and they run the big promo for Cena vs. Laurinaitis. Fireworks and the intro from Michael Cole.
Tag team title match up next.
Kofi Kingston and R-Truth vs. Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger
Sincerest apologies, Cagesiders. I missed this entire match due to unforeseen circumstances at home. From what I can gather, it was a fairly basic tag match with plenty of near falls and tag psychology, with good bumping from all parties. In the end, the babyfaces retained after the Trouble in Paradise.
Kofi Kingston and R-Truth def. Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger to retain tag team titles
Time for the Divas title match.
Layla vs. Beth Phoenix
They work a fast pace to start and that leads to a few ugly looking spots. Layla is working well on her knee, though. Phoenix powers her around and drops her from the second rope. Layla sells her knee and Beth starts working it over.
Psychology from the Divas. That's good to see.
The only thing that sucks about this is Layla's screams are blood curdling. And highly annoying. Nonetheless, Phoenix continues working the knee. Half crab now and the crowd is just dead for this.
Layla finally counters with a DDT that looked really ugly. She crawls over and looks for the pin but can't get it. Beth takes her over to the corner and they set up a spot with Beth countering Layla with a Glam Slam attempt but Layla rolls through for a pin. After a one count, Beth rolls her and gets two.
They switch out again and Layla hits a neckbreaker that gets the pin.
Layla def. Beth Phoenix to retain the Divas championship
Backstage and Randy Orton and Chris Jericho do a promo. Jericho continues pushing the best in the world narrative while Orton continues acting stiffly and speaking in that monotone voice.
World heavyweight championship match up next.
Sheamus vs. Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho vs. Alberto Del Rio
Individual introductions are given to each man after entrances. Orton gets a huge pop. Time for the big clusterfuck.
Sheamus sends Del Rio out early while Orton sends Jericho out leading to a staredown and walk around from the two babyfaces of the match. They never get the chance to lock up, though, as the heels come back in to restart the brawls they had going before.
Once again, though, Sheamus and Orton send them out and get back to the ring to set up their big showdown. They start brawling this time with neither man getting the edge. They go back and forth and Sheamus gets a knee off the ropes to put Orton down.
The champion in control now but he goes to run the ropes and Jericho shows up to pull the ropes down and out goes Sheamus. Now Del Rio is back in and the heels team up to work over Orton while Sheamus sells on the outside after Jericho sent him into the barricade for good measure.
With Orton incapacitated, the heels go out to work on Sheamus. They target the shoulder, which isn't taped this time, and start tossing him into the announce desk. They head back into the ring but Orton counters their attack and regains control for a short period. Of course, because it's two on one, the heels stifle the comeback attempt.
It's not long, though, before the forged friendship is broken on the first pinfall attempt. Del Rio puts Jericho down with a backbreaker while Orton recovers enough to send ADR out. This turns into Orton and Jericho getting their turn front and center while Del Rio and Sheamus sell on the outside.
Orton and Jericho go to the top and get sent out by Sheamus, who is now back in. Now it's Sheamus and Del Rio's turn to do work in the ring while the other two sell on the outside.
Fatal Four-Way's, folks. This is how they work.
After some chaos, we end up with teased finishers galore but it's Del Rio who locks in the Cross Armbreaker on Orton. He's in it for a solid 30 seconds before Jericho comes running in to make the save. Jericho tries to hit the Lionsault but Del Rio gets his legs up.
Suddenly, more chaos as everyone's in the ring hitting spots. Sheamus reverses the RKO into the roll up he used to win on Smackdown but this time Orton kicks out.
Now Orton has Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez set up for the draping DDT. He hits and goes for the pin but Del Rio kicks out.
Jericho in and he hits the Codebreaker on Orton, who rolls out of the ring. Del Rio screams "DESTINY" and locks in the Cross Armbreaker on Jericho but he turns it over into the Walls of Jericho. Crowd is hot for this match.
Here comes Sheamus looking for the Brogue Kick and Jericho ducks while still holding Del Rio in the Walls of Jericho. He hits the Codebreaker on Sheamus but the ensuing pin only gets two.
Holy hell, this got good in a hurry.
Jericho again rolls through, this time on Sheamus, and he locks in the Walls of Jericho. Sheamus doesn't tap and in comes Orton hits the RKO. He tries for the pin but Del Rio comes in to break it up. He gets hit by the RKO but Sheamus nails the Brogue Kick.
Jericho suddenly pops in for a roll up but Sheamus kicks out! He gets up and hits Jericho with the White Noise slam and that gets the pin.
Awesome match.
Sheamus def. Randy Orton, Alberto Del Rio and Chris Jericho to retain the world heavyweight championship
Backstage and Eve is talking with Cody Rhodes. He's kissing ass and talking up John Laurinaitis. Says Christian can legitimize the U.S. title now but it's a good thing he didn't pick Rhodes because he would have embarrassed him.
Christian shows up behind him and Christian says Rhodes is full of crap and he changed his mind. Now he'll be facing Rhodes tonight for the Intercontinental title.
Miz's music hits and I guess he'll work a second match tonight. He comes out with a mic and his "really?!?" schtick gets a great response from the crowd, who mock him right along with it.
He starts cutting a promo on Brodus Clay, so I guess they're continuing this little rivalry.
Oh dear god. Miz says he's not only the most must-see wrestler in the world today but he's also the best dancer and he'll prove it right now. He starts dancing around -- looks like he's doing Thriller by Michael Jackson -- and gets a good reaction for it before Clay's music cuts him off.
Oh this is a disaster already. Clay tries to intro the ladies but Miz's music is still playing so we can't really hear him. It doesn't stop until Clay's music starts.
The Miz vs. Brodus Clay
Once again, The Funkasaurus has new tights. These are black and orange with Funkasaurus across the stomach. Miz tries to use speed to get an early edge but Clay is just physically dominating him. Miz even walks up and slaps him in the face but this just leads to the "Dino Mad, Dino Must Destroy" act.
They let Miz get a bit of offense in but Clay is doing his usual thing here.
They go to the outside and Miz reverses Clay into the ring post, which leads to Michael Cole remarking -- "Folks, we've got a wounded dinosaur."
Not even kidding.
They go inside and Miz has control now. He hits a few spots before a pinfall attempt gets less than a two count. Not long after, Brodus makes his comeback with all the usual moves. Oh dear, now he's hitting the suplex from the second rope. He hits the Dino Splash after to get the pin.
Brodus Clay def. The Miz
In come the kids and they're dancing around in the ring, as is the usual case with Clay matches now.
Now they show Hawkins and Reks taking signs from people that talk poorly of of Laurinaitis and People Power. I wonder how many of these guys are plants.
Time for the Intercontinental title match.
Cody Rhodes vs. Christian
Rhodes comes out first and cuts a promo on the fans in attendance saying he's a better man for not having grown up around them. He's also a better man than Christian and he'll prove it here.
As WWE hoped, Christian got a solid babyface response.
Rhodes takes control early and he's working like he's absolutely pissed that he's even being made to have a match tonight. Rhodes with a mean streak? Yes, please.
Christian comes back to send Cody outside and hits a diving kick through the ropes. Rhodes wasn't in the right spot for it and they nearly missed badly but they made up for it quickly. Christian followed to the outside and Rhodes sent him into the steel steps before tossing him back in the ring to work on him there.
They battle back and forth and Christian hits Rhodes with a superplex. They both lay out selling and Rhodes gets up first just to run into a roll up attempt. It gets a short two. Christian then screams like a wild banshee before sending Rhodes to the outside while following him out over the top rope.
That was awesome.
He tries to get the crowd into it by clapping them into a frenzy but it doesn't go well. This is a cool down match and the crowd is playing the part.
Christian looks for a tornado DDT but Rhodes sends him flying. He then hits a moonsault off the top rope but it only gets a two count. Rhodes starts screaming at everyone and says he's "better than all these idiots."
This, of course, leads to Christian hitting the Killswitch to win the match and the belt.
Christian def. Cody Rhodes to win the Intercontinental championship
Backstage for an interview with Punk. Looks like he's the co-main event ... again.
They replay Smackdown from Friday night where Bryan cost Punk the match and set it up to where he caught a beatdown from Kane.
Instead of opening up with Bryan talk, he says he's smiling at the fact that John Laurinaitis will be out of a job tonight. Sigh. He goes on to say that he's going to give the fans a great match with Bryan and blah blah.
AJ shows up and says the match will be a lot of fun to watch. "Good luck, Punk."
Time for the WWE championship match.
CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan
Word on the street is Punk will do a tribute to Randy Savage tonight. Nothing so far. Individual introductions for both men. The crowd really hot for both guys, doing the YES chants for Bryan and popping for Punk when called upon.
Punk opens with leg kicks and Bryan checks two of them while laughing. Bryan sends one Punk's way and he doesn't check it but brushes it off after it hits.
Then they tie up and Bryan hits a shoulder block after running the ropes. The crowd starts getting into it with duel chants.
DAN-IEL BRYAN!
C-M PUNK!
Bryan's name is coming from a lower pitch, meaning the adults in the crowd are on his side. That means Punk has the younger crowd, of course, and I'm just not sure how to feel about that.
Meanwhile in the ring, Punk has control. He works over Bryan's left leg while pausing to scream "YES!" at him.
Bryan battles back and he works strong style with big elbows from on top. Punk gets out and gets control back via holding onto the ropes and letting Bryan miss a dropkick. He hits a big move with Bryan's legs tied up, like a leg cross curb stomp in the center of the ring.
Once Bryan regains control, he locks in that awesome looking submission that I have no idea the name of. Punk gets back but Bryan takes over again and lands a diving headbutt.
These two are using a lot of moves we wouldn't normally see otherwise.
Double cross body hits to put both guys down for a rest. Once they get back up, they pick up the pace and it's Punk hitting clotheslines. Then the swinging neckbreaker. He misses the high knee in the corner but hits a scoop slam for a two count.
Oddly enough, they've got Cole on commentary acknowledging the wide held fan belief that these two were never supposed to make it to this point, battling it out for the WWE title at a pay-per-view.
Meanwhile, Punk hits a suicide dive on the outside. He goes for a clothesline off the top but Bryan hits him with a dropkick in mid-air.
Bryan breaks out the YES kicks but on the last one, Punk counters and locks in the Figure Four. They start shoot slapping the shit out of each other, shades of Bas Rutten vs. Frank Shamrock. They trade near falls and a ton of fast spots that I hardly keep up with. A big kick to the skull from Bryan gets him a two count.
This is living up to the hype. The crowd starts chanting, "This is awesome."
Bryan pulls down his knee pad and hits Punk with knees in the corner. He goes to climb up but Punk racks him on the ropes before hitting a clothesline off them. The ensuing pinfall attempt gets two and Punk pleads with the referee.
Once again, they start getting up and shoot hitting each other. Multiple kicks miss and Punk almost gets the GTS but Bryan rolls into a pinfall attempt that gets two.
Bryan looks to grab the YES Lock but Punk gets out and hits a huge head kick. Punk hits the flying elbow but not before winking at the sky. That must have been the tribute to Macho, nice and subtle.
I dig that.
They get back into it and Bryan gets the YES Lock. Punk reverses by rolling over and as he does, Bryan's shoulders are down so the referee counts three to give Punk the win. However, immediately after the three, Punk starts tapping. This leaves Bryan livid and shaking his head in the middle of the ring lamenting his loss.
CM Punk def. Daniel Bryan to retain the WWE championship
They go backstage and Eve and Otunga run into Teddy Long. He says he could see them being terminated tonight if Laurinaitis loses.
Here comes another cool down match. Hunico's music hits and the crowd doesn't even know him. He's not even in the match, his buddy on the bike is.
Camacho vs. Ryback
This squash is brought to you by steroids. They'll make you comically large with a really tiny head.
No different than Goldberg or Clay or Tensai, they're working Ryback into a groove in terms of selling a bit more and more for each match. He sold a bit more for this one but ultimately, he got the pin in short order.
The highlight of the match was the crowd chanting Goldberg at him.
Ryback def. Camacho
On his way out, Ryback kicks Hunico's bicycle and generally looks like a psychotic piece of wacko.
Main event time.
John Laurinaitis vs. John Cena
Laurinaitis doesn't have the heat I thought he would but Cena gets a damn good reaction.
"Ace" is going to wrestle in a body suit looking deal that Cena can't stop laughing at. God, this already feels like a cheesy mess that I don't want to see.
As soon as the bell rings, Laurinaitis tires to run away but Cena chases him down and catches a kick before a big clothesline.
Cena brings his shirt up before smacking "Ace" on his chest. He does the same on his back while the commentary crew does their fake laughing routine. Immediately, Cena picks up Laurinaitis for the Attitude Adjustment. Instead of hitting it, he drops "Ace" and he gets up all dizzy before falling out of the ring.
Sigh.
This is so dumb.
Cena grabs the ring bell and hits it right next to "Ace's" ear. Now he's working Laurinaitis over by smashing his head into each one of the announce tables. He's just doing what he wants with him. He puts him in the announce chairs and they put the mics on and Cena tells a few bad jokes.
This is the dumbest thing I've ever seen.
Cena sends him back into the ring and Laurinaitis begs from his knees for Cena to shake his hand. The crowd doesn't want Cena to do it and he plays to them before smacking "Ace" in the face. He then hits a body slam and an elbow before going out to get a microphone.
He gets in the ring and grabs a leg before saying he's come up with an idea. He's about to put Laurinaitis in the STF. If he taps out, he's fired. But he'll let go of the hold if he can last 10 seconds. But in the good name of People Power, the fans can help count along.
So he locks it in and the fans count to 10. Laurinaitis survives the first one. So Cena does it again and "Ace" makes it a second time.
Cena says he's exhausted and could use a drink, so he goes out to get a water. He takes a drink and says Laurinaitis also looks parched, so maybe he should bring him a drink. They give him three bottles and Cena proceeds to dump them on Laurinaitis.
Dumbest shit I've ever seen, ever.
Oh, on the last one, Cena dumps the water down Laurinaitis' pants. Booker T on commentary -- "That's shrinkage."
Cena then gets under the ring and grabs a fire extinguisher. He teases using it a few times before going ahead and doing so. To the outside they go and Cena continues looking for new and interesting ways to embarrass Laurinaits, himself and the pro wrestling business.
He finds a big trash can and dumps it on Laurinaitis before punching it while it's over Laurinaitis' head.
"Ace" gets up and almost manages to get out of dodge but Cena catches him. Laurinaitis then actually hits his arm and that causes Cena to stop short. Instead of running, though, he sees Cena hurt and decides to stick around to inflict more damage.
Cena sells his arm, which was supposed to be hurt anyway. Laurinaitis tosses him in the ring and grabs a chair before following in. He drills Cena a few times before attempting a pin but it only gets two.
He goes for another but Cena catches it and drills him. This leads to the Five Knuckle Shuffle with chair in hand. A low blow from "Ace" gives him time to try to escape again and this time Cena isn't even getting up to try to chase him. He's deep into the arena now but going super slow, presumably so Cena can catch up to him.
Surprisingly, Cena stays in the ring and Laurinaitis escapes to the back behind a curtain. Cole says this must mean it's a no contest and Laurinaitis keeps his job. Cena is alone in the ring and suddenly Big Show comes out with Laurinaitis in hand. Cole is livid, screaming that "he was fired!" Booker says he bought a ticket so it's all good. Yeah, all good that he's in the back with him.
Show gets in the ring and brings Laurinaitis in with him. "Ace tries to escape again but Show stops him. He runs into Show and he grabs him by the throat. Laurinaitis begs for mercy and Show throws him over to Cena, who picks him up for the AA. It's then that Show hits Cena with the WMD and Booker T asks, "What the hell just happened."
There's the Show heel turn.
Show watches as Laurinaitis slowly crawls over to a knocked out Cena. "Ace" turns Cena over and the referee counts to three.
John Laurinaitis def. John Cena
Show picks up Laurinaitis and holds his hand high.
The commentary is putting this over as one of the worst moments in history.
That's it.
End.