The results for Over the Limit, as far as Raw goes: Big Show and Kane defeated CM Punk and Mason Ryan; Cena beat Miz (shocker!); R-Truth defeated Mysterio; and Jerry Lawler finally defeated Micheal Cole. The latter is not only long, long overdue, but they did it the right way, enlisting the help of Eve and JR to take down Cole, and bringing in Bret Hart to put Cole in the Sharpshooter as he was forced to kiss King’s foot. If nothing else, this plotline is laid to rest at last. We could have (should have) done this at Wrestlemania, but whatever.
The show starts with Jerry Lawler saying as much, talking about how he was glad that he and Bret Hart could get over their past differences in order to take down the common annoyance of Michael Cole. Bret comes out (with much fanfare from myself) to say he was only too happy to oblige. Sadly for Bret, but happily for us, he is interrupted by a still crazy R-Truth, who I notice no longer has any theme music. Truth, still playing with a bi-polar attitude, is incredibly polite to Bret Hart, while telling the audience to shut up. I enjoy watching Truth have fun with this, as you get the idea he’s really thinking through this character and what he’s going to do. Truth laments that he’s beaten Mysterio and John Morrison, and yet he is still without a title shot. I like that he’s using this over-shadowing as his motivation for all this; I said before that I was against his heel turn, when I thought it was just for heel turn’s sake. Here, however, it makes sense for the character, and it’s tied in very well to how he thinks and how he acts. Truth asks Bret what he did in order to deserve so many Championship opportunities, and Bret responds with “I was the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be. And you’re a lunatic.” Chalk that up for line of the night. Truth, naturally, doesn’t want to hear that, figuring instead it was because Bret was a good PR man, and all you have to do in this business is win people over (he’s not far wrong, you know). To this end, Truth steals Bret’s shades, and offers them to a little kid in the audience. Then, five seconds later, Truth takes them back, in a brilliant heat gaining move. Who steals shades from a small child? (it ends up well, because after the scene, you can see Bret giving the glasses back to the kid, so no harm is really done) Eventually, our Champion, a very beat up Cena, comes out, confesses that he hasn’t been paying attention to things other than the Miz recently, and asks when exactly Truth went nuts. Truth lambasts Cena, saying he’s sick of playing second fiddle, and that he wants the spotlight, interviews, movies, and all the other things that come with being Champion. Cena, showing why I can buy him as Champion in spite of all other flaws he might possess, says he’s more than ready to fight Truth here and now. See, unlike Orton, I don’t care if Cena god-modes at times, or can’t really wrestle, because he comes off as a reliable hero character who you can get behind, because he’s going to do the right thing. I know that smarks hate this, but then, smarks hate most everything, and should be ignored generally.
In response to all these shenanigans, the Morally Ambiguous Laptop GM announces that while he considers Truth’s argument to be a strong one, he’s still not certain about whether or not Truth has what it takes. To this end, he declares that there will be a Tag Team Match tonight between R-Truth and CM Punk vs. John Cena and Rey Mysterio, in order to decide if Truth should warrant a Title match. Also, since Bret is here tonight, he will be guest refereeing.
Backstage, we see Big Show and Kane, hanging out, for whatever reason, by Alberto Del Rio’s car in the back. Why they’re here and not someplace noticeably more comfortable is a mystery. At any rate, they are discussing the probability that during their Tag Team Title match with Michael McGuillicuty and David Otunga tonight, the rest of the New Nexus will interfere. They’re getting good at figuring this out. Oh, and why are Otunga and McGuillicutty getting title shots the night after their leader failed to win? I’m assuming it’s because they did technically walk off with a win against the Champions a while back, and that means they’re contenders. All this really means is another attempt to make the Nexus credible again. Alberto Del Rio shows up and starts yelling, rather heatedly, at the two massive men to get off of his car. Truly, any man who yells at Kane and the Big Show at the same time is a brave man, even more so because the two do indeed leave. This is not the last ballsy move we’ll be seeing from Del Rio tonight.
The match, as one is wont to expect from a Nexus match, is predictable, with much interference, and with Show and Kane doing a lot of the work. The end involves a double DDT to the Big Show while the ref is distracted, so that McGuillicutty can get the pin, thus making him and Otunga the new Tag Team Champions. Boy, do I not care. Seriously, maybe if Punk had won it, it would have mattered, but this is merely a step up from Ginger and Mary Ann’s mercifully brief title reign, and it’s only a baby step at that. I miss when we had actual tag teams.
After the match, we head backstage, where a rightfully miffed Big Show is chewing out anyone who is within ear shot that they got robbed yet again. Man, Show is terrifying when he’s yelling. Why would you ever want to get him mad? Then, just as he’s reached a boiling point, he gets hit by a car. Specifically, Del Rio’s car, with Ricardo Rodriguez driving. And by hit, I mean, we hear a screech, the camera falters to indicate impact, and by the time it comes back into focus, Show is on the ground in front of the car, holding his leg. Live TV can be hard to do sometimes. The getaway by Del Rio and Rodriguez is pretty silly, as they linger for a good fifteen seconds after the attack before they make their escape. Meanwhile, we get to hear Kane call for help, which is pretty surreal. When was the last time Kane ever asked the paramedics to come to the scene of a crime? No wonder they took so long in getting there; they probably thought it was just another Kane murder mystery. Later in the evening, Del Rio tries to absolve himself of all guilt, saying it was all Rodriguez’s fault. What a jerk.
Jack Swagger has a match against Evan Bourne, and while this is short and generally a throwaway, it does help establish a few things. One, this is the first time we’ve seen Evan in a while. Two, they really are trying to get Jack back on his own two feet and distance him from Cole. Third, Swagger wins with the ol’ Gutwrench Powerbomb, which is a way more interesting finisher than the Ankle Lock. Fourth, after the match is over, Evan kicks Jack in the head and then dashes off, indicating that things are to come from this duo.
And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: the official end (God willing) of Cole’s obnoxious behaviour. After losing his match to King last night, we see a much more humble Michael Cole then we’ve become used to over the last few months, as he trudges into the ring looking very put out. He doesn’t waste time, and apologizes to King and the WWE Universe for his behaviour. You know what? Under normal circumstances, I would consider this abrupt ending of a plotline and character to be a cop out, but here, this works fine. I was wondering what they could even do with Cole after this story, having built him up so much as a heel, so to have him just revert to meek status after a savage humiliation at least makes sense. After all, it mercifully ends the overkill of his announcing. King, with a few taunts, accepts, and Cole is allowed back at the announce table, with no box this time. We see as the evening that Cole can still kind-of do the heel announcer, backing the heels in matches, yet it’s done without being completely obnoxious and yelling down at all the other commentators. I’ll take it.
We have another plot point to wrap up: the relationship of Alex Riley and the Miz. It helps that Miz has sort of deep set eyes, because when he wants to look intensely angry, he doesn’t have to try very hard. Once again, the only reason Miz claims to have lost to Cena is because of more inept minion-ing from Riley. As it turns out, their evil plot to get Cena to say “I Quit” was to play a recording of his voice over the mic, thus tricking the referee. There’ve been some comments that this is a direct rip off of the Rock vs. Mankind’s I Quit Match, but given that match was over ten years ago, most people probably won’t remember it. Well, Miz has had enough of all this, and after a long insult fest of his lackey, he informs Riley he’s fired. Whereupon Riley finally snaps and lays a beatdown on the Miz. A very good one, too. He doesn’t go for just the usual take-down and flurry punch (though those are there), he also takes Miz all around the ring, tossing him about and doing damage. The crowd is really into this, too, with a loud “Riley” chant going. I’m glad that Alex Riley is going back to solo: he was my pick to win NXT2 (and, ironically, is doing much better as a minion than the guy who actually won), and he had a good character. Here’s to hoping he keeps it up.
From good character development to odd character development: Eight Diva Tag Match between the teams of the Bellas, Melina, and Maryse vs. Kelly Kelly, Beth Phoenix, Eve, and Gail Kim. Oh, I forgot to mention that Brie beat Kelly in a who cares match at Over the Limit. We’re all here for the purpose of Kharma, and indeed she does show. The eight Divas in the ring, putting aside their differences, encircle the vicious Kharma... who breaks down crying.
...Huh.
Research after the show would reveal that Kharma, in real life, is pregnant, and of course will not be dong in-ring work for sometime. I feel nothing but selfish when I lament about her good fortune for the sake of my entertainment, but while I’m happy for her, I was really into this storyline. The character was great, and for the first time in a long time, the Diva storyline was picking up in style, giving them something interesting to do for once. I mean, who didn’t want to see Beth Phoenix vs. Kharma? The problem is, I don’t know what they’re going to do now if Kharma’s not there, unless they can find another monster heel quick. Damnation, I don’t /want/ to see title matches with the Bellas and Kelly Kelly! I want the actual good Divas, and Kharma signalled this! Hopefully, we can keep the momentum up, and still allow the women to put on a good show.
So yes, at any rate, they’re probably going to write Kharma out for a while, thus the sudden breakdown. Ah, well, it was good in Women’s Division Land while it lasted.
But hey, if I lose one thing, I get another, and here for the first time in a long time is Drew McIntyre, in a match against Kofi Kingston. Drew gets fireworks now, and you only get fireworks if you’re being taken seriously, so hope for good things. As per usual with two of my current favourite ring workers, this is a fun match. Both men might not have the most technical move-sets, but they both have the advantage of constant movement in their matches, coupled with Drew’s body language and Kofi’s energy. These two are just fun to watch, especially considering they both get little to no mic time, yet still manage to establish their characters via wrestling. Kofi does win, which I won’t begrudge him.
And now, main event time. CM Punk, I notice, is decked out in pink trunks and yellow boots as an homage to the late Macho Man Randy Savage. This is a pretty well done tag match: they avoid having the usual “One man is beat up on for the entire time before getting the dramatic tag five seconds before the end” and has each man on top for an equal amount of time. I’m surprised that Truth is underplayed a great deal in the match, never seeming to steal the show, but that might be due to his partner in the form of Punk, who can steal any show at will. He spends a lot of this match jawing at Bret Hart for his ref skills. Naturally, Bret doesn’t take too kindly to this, and near the end of the match, wins up putting Punk in the Sharpshooter in a blatant disregard for ref neutrality. I love how he’s totally indifferent that this is un-fair, and is just badass in his not putting up with heels. In fact, Bret should take care of smarks in this fashion. Rey drops the seated senton on Punk and gets the official win. I don’t know how this will affect Truth’s chances for a title shot, but seeing as he wasn’t the one pinned, he should still be good.
This was a pretty good Raw, though I’m bummed about the loss of Kharma. There were a lot of storylines established, with Swagger/Evan and Kofi/Drew, as well as Truth getting more screen time to put his character over. We've seen the end of Miz's minion, as well as Heel!Cole. Not a fan about the new Tag Champions, but what can you do? Bret Hart more than made up for that.
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