WWE Over the Limit 2012: Great Wrestling Makes B-Level PPV into Incredible Show

Sunday's Over the Limit PPV event was supposed to be an average PPV at best. Generally, when WWE has a PPV schedule which crams three events into seven weeks, it is expected that at least one of them will suffer in quality.

WrestleMania was off-the-charts successful and Extreme Rules was insanely entertaining, so I expected Over the Limit to be mediocre at best. I was happily surprised when that did not turn out to be the case.

The show opened with an exciting battle royale to determine who would get to face their choice of Santino or Cody Rhodes for their respective title. Christian returned to action and won the match, choosing to challenge Santino for the U.S. title.

The battle royale itself was very entertaining, and having the PPV start right as the match began was a smart move by WWE to save time. By not having the entrances and having the sound from the match play over the opening graphic, the fans at home were immediately drawn into the action.

Christian got a huge pop from the crowd when he won, and even though he decided to face Santino, I think WWE, seeing how he was received when he won, realized that he could be more valuable as a face. He later changed his mind and decided to face Cody Rhodes for the IC title.

When he ended up winning the IC title from Cody Rhodes in a very competitive match, I was a bit torn. I was happy to see him hold gold again, but at the same time I feel like this is a demotion from the main event scene for the former world champion.

One of the surprise highlights of the night was the highly entertaining tag team championship match. R-Truth and Kofi Kingston retained in what ended up being one of the best tag team matches I can remember in quite some time.

All four men pulled their weight, and the ending was well done and pulled off without a hitch. Another one of the major highlights was the Fatal-4-Way match for the world title between Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio, Randy Orton and Chris Jericho.

Sheamus retained in what was a hard-fought match where all four men looked like they could win at any moment. The final moments of the match were, by far, one of the best choreographed and well performed series of moves we have seen end one of these types of matches.

Orton was the man to beat in this match, as he hit RKOs on two of the men in the match before eating a Brogue Kick from Sheamus.

The final match of the night was better than I expected, given that there was very little real wrestling involved. John Laurinaitis won the match and kept his job after Big Show returned to help the man who just fired him.

In the process of helping his former boss, Big Show effectively turned himself heel and possibly set himself on a collision course with John Cena.

The most entertaining part of the match may have been when Cena put the dazed GM in a chair and the two did some improv commentary which saw JL try and deliver one of Booker's signature lines.

The match of the night was the wrestling clinic we saw when CM Punk and Daniel Bryan squared off over the WWE championship. Both men proved why they deserved to fight for the WWE championship in a high-profile match.

I only wish this match could have happened on a grander stage so the moment was more special for their careers, but the match was incredible and that was the most important thing.

Both men showed us numerous submissions, and at points it seemed like either of them could make the claim of being the best in the world.

Daniel Bryan and CM Punk have become the next great rivals by having a match that could end up being the match of the year in terms of sheer quality and performance by those involved. The crowd in attendance may agree with me, judging by their high level of enthusiasm throughout the match.

One of the longest dueling chants I can ever remember, happened when the crowd was screaming "Let's go Bryan, CM Punk!" It was an experience I am sure everyone in attendance will remember for the rest of their lives.

If you did not watch the event, I highly suggest you decide to buy the encore presentations—it is well worth the money for the quality of wrestling we saw on the card.

Brodus Clay and Ryback had a couple of typical wins, and Layla was able to retain her Divas championship in three matches, which did not take away from the fun of the event. The Divas match was better than the crowd's reaction said it was, in my opinion.

WWE has had a string of great PPVs in 2012, and I think this is a sign of good things to come. We still have to see what comes of the Triple H/Brock Lesnar feud, and we have many new faces coming into the mix like Antonio Cesaro and Damien Sandow.

Thanks for reading and please share your thoughts on Over the Limit below.

Please take a moment and check out my signature PPV recap of the things we learned, loved and hated.