We start with the Pre-Show:
Kane def Zack Ryder
Called It (but who didn't, really). This wasn't much of a match, the pre show matches haven't been great, but just manage to kill some time, this one not so much as it only lasted 10 minutes at the most. As before, I won't count the score of this match against the score of Over The Limit the PPV (not that that is going to help it much).
People's Power Battle Royal to determine who will fight for either the IC or US Championship later tonight.
Christian wins Battle Royal
5/10 Not a bad start, actually a clever start to the show since this match began before the opening promo. Tyson Kidd actually impressed as on of the Final Four, but the returning Christian takes the win from The Miz.
Kofi & Truth def Zig-Swag to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship
5.5/10 Really the only thing keeping the score up this high, was just a reminder of how natural Ziggler looks in the ring. Don't get me wrong, Sawgger looked great, and Zig-Swag dominated the middle of the match, Kofi and Truth won because of a few high spots, like it always happens, but seeing Ziggler go to work on Truth in the middle of the ring, reminded me of why I love watching him in ring. Every night that's he's not in the main event is a true shame.
Layla def Beth Phoenix to retain the Divas Championship
4/10 Oh man, what this match could have been. I was this close to awarding it a 6/10, then Layla started countering and fucking up all her moves. Watching Beth dissect a person is a great pleasure, she picked Layla apart limb by limb, then Layla starts fucking up counters and wins the match, it's just a shame.
Fatal 4 Way for the World Heavyweight Championship
Sheamus retains.
7/10 All four men in this match have tremendous talent, and all the styles clashed well together. Unlike most Fatal 4 Way and Triple Threat matches, this had, for the most part, three men in the ring, and it all worked very well. What resulted was an exciting match with amazing execution.
Brodus Clay def The Miz
4/10 I'm sorry, but again, I called it. The Miz put up a fight, but Brodus remains undefeated. Once again Brodus claims the low point of the show, this time in the form of The Miz trying to out-dance Clay, it's just sad for everyone who has ever backed The Miz that it has come to this.
Christian def Cody Rhodes to Win the IC Title
6.5/10 Man, I came close to calling this one, I predicted an unscheduled match between a returning Sin Cara defeating Rhodes for the title and we got an unscheduled match in which a returning Christain defeated Rhodes for the title. So close. I really like the pairing of these two, they work great together and had a tremendous match. I also LOVED Rhodes' Moonsault from the top rope, it reminded me of the first time Kurt Angle did that move, except without the broken arm.Just for funsies I thought I would bust out a picture of Rhodes almost 5 years ago when he debuted in the WWE with Hardcore Holly.
And a resent picture of him.
Wow what a change. With the IC title off his waist, look for big things from Rhodes in the near future. (I know I've been saying that for a while, but the kid is due, he hasn't had a band match in forever, he's over like crazy, he can talk, he can fight. there is nothing Rhodes can't do right now.
CM Punk def Daniel Bryan to retain the WWE Championship
9/10 This was the 5 Star match we were promised, it lived up to the hype in every way.Bot men have a tendency to bust out normally unseen moves and put their own variation on it, in this case Bryan put Punk in an amazing Mexican Surfboard and adjusted it to become spectacular and painful. I cannot wait for the rematch that you know will come after the ending of this one.
Ryback def Camacho
3/10 This was rather entertaining for a squash match, but again, I still have no idea whether I should love or hate Ryback, since he's done nothing but squash guys. He still has no personality, (just like when he was Skip Sheffeild) And what a crappy way for an in ring debut for Camacho.
Big Johnny def John Cena
5/10 Again, you can see that I got so bored with John Laurnatis's last name, I'm just going to call him Big Johnny. First off, let me state that this should have never been considered for the main event of the show. They should have had this before the WWE Championship and ended the show on a high note. This was just a gloried way for the Big Show to turn heel, which has been done in matches in the past, but usually it's a midcard match. One high note I will give this "match" it was actually pretty funny. When Cena does commentary with Big Johnny as both Cole and Booker T, I laughed (I'll get to the commentary in a minute) All in all this was a waste of 20 minutes,
6.13 Sadly enough this ranks third in the PPV's of the year, although I would recommend it last. The matches that were actual matches were really good, but it ended on such a low note, it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
I'd like to talk for a second about another thing that really bugged me during the show, and has bugged me for a while now. The Commentary is just plain horrible. It used to be great, when it was JR. and The King, they had the perfect blend of play by play and color. Now, with Cole, King and Booker T, they have a play-by-play guy who keeps taking shots at everyone, commentators and talent alike in Cole, a color guy who is face, and doesn't have anything bad to say about the anyone execpt Cole in King and a color guy who you can't understand because he's making up words as he goes along in Booker T. Cole and King work decently alone on Raw, but when you add in Booker T on the PPV's, Cole spends most of his time ragging on Booker T, and he's right to do so, because Booker T is just a mess on commentary. Another reason Cole doesn't quite know his place is on Smackdown there is another play-by play buy in Josh Mathews, which along with Booker T and Cole, I don't know what's going on half the time on that show, but they need to sort it all out.
