-- 5/23 WWE Over the Limit PPV Reax

Daron Garrett (3.0): Live Perspective - I wasn't planning on actually going to the show until 30 minutes prior. I was able to secure two tickets in the 15th row 15 minutes before bell time if that give you any indication how many good seats were still available. The entire upper bowl to the left was taped off with black tarps. Not even close to a sell out. Detroit usually pops for the heels, but this was a solid face crowd. The matches were mostly weak to say the least with a DQ and double count-out in two big PPV matches, although it was very apparent that Orton was legitimately injured. It was weird live; I believe it happened when he was hitting the mat to set up the RKO. No heels won on this PPV. None. I thought it was terrible booking. The stopping of the C.M. Punk match mid-way through didn't go over well, and when the crowd started chanting "boring," Punk threw the trainer off and attacked Rey in a sick momentum-building fashion. It was the only thing that saved the energy in the building, in my opinion. There were no swerves or big reveals, which I thought was poor. No Bret Hart, Triple H, and Taker made for a poor outing as a fan to this event.

Sam Weiss of San Diego, Calif. (5.0): Best Match: Punk vs. Mysterio. Worst: Striker's announcing. Let's get the annoyance out of the way quickly - Striker's banter has become a distraction and not a help to enjoying the product. That is a shame, as he strikes me as someone with promise. The one good line from Striker tonight was about Rey needing his papers which I assumed was a reference to the recent controversial Arizona law. Yes, Mysterio is an American (indeed, from here in San Diego) but that is the point of the criticism of the Ariz. law, as it is feared it will encourage profiling and that citizens of Latino appearance will be scared into needing to carry papers. Anyways, before moving on to praising the best match of the night, I want to send kudos out to the women on the card. Eve has improved so much and I enjoy watching her work. Also, Maryse is quite the character. The best match of the night benefited from the quality, character-driven acting of Punk in and out of the ring and from Mysterio's always entertaining ring style. Seeing Punk covered in blood mixed with cut hair after the match was the only item on the card that lived up to the name "Over The Limit." This brings me to the deep disappointment with this PPV and the irony of the WWE using the set, location, and PPV title. Detroit used to be the iconic city of the automobile, but that is history. The U.S. auto industry destroyed itself with a lack of innovative products, where simply re-badging tired product lines was pushed onto the public as something great and new. This led to the stale and inefficient product that eventually doomed the U.S. auto industry. So too WWE thinks it can rebadge the same old, increasingly stale product and pretend they are innovating. I do not want to watch John Cena get run over by a car yet again, and so forth. I'm already getting to the point that NXT is the only show I want to watch, simply because it is different (if not by much). Let's hope WWE creates a truly innovative product soon.

Ben Roat, Torch reader (7.0): I watched Over The Limit last night and thought it was not a bad PPV, all in all. Some parts were a bit relaxed, as if WWE thought they had done enough with the matches to fill a PPV. However, I was quite disappointed with the John Cena match and thought it was a cowardly, easy-way-out finish how Batista said, "I Quit." I give it a 7.0 based on it being the first PPV of its kind.

We welcome your 0-10 score and comments on this show for a "WWE PPV Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. Just to add a twist to this feature, include not just your hometown, but also your occupation (mechanic, lawyer, stay-at-home-dad, college student, etc.) so readers get a flavor for what everyone does as "day jobs." To contribute your thoughts on the PPV, click here.

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