Over the Limit 2012

Over The Limit (2012)

Promotion	WWE
Date	May 20, 2012
Venue	PNC Arena
City	Raleigh, North Carolina
Attendance	8,000
Last Event	Extreme Rules
Next Event	No Way Out

Over the Limit was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by WWE. It took place at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina on May 20, 2012. It was the third and final event under the Over the Limit chronology.

Event summary[]

Kofi Kingston & R-Truth vs Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger[]

Kofi Kingston & R-Truth retained the WWE Tag Team Championships at WWE Over the Limit with a strong victory over an alliance that appears to be growing weaker – Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger.

With “Little Jimmy” on their side, Kingston & Truth proved there’s a simple reason why they still hold the tag titles – teamwork. Joining together to outfight and outsmart The Show Off and The All-American American, the exciting duo continued to ride a wave of momentum with the WWE Universe cheering them on.

Ziggler & Swagger came close to victory in the highly competitive bout, but they were constantly one-upped by the Tag Champs. Not long after Kingston hit a ring-shuddering Boom Drop on Ziggler, he landed a perfect Trouble in Paradise on The Show Off for the victory.

While Ziggler & Swagger couldn’t get in sync at the close of the match, a distracted Vickie Guerrero could be partially to blame for their loss. Before the bout, she offered a hello to the WWE Board of Directors and presented herself as a possible candidate for John Laurinaitis’ General Manager job in the event that he was terminated. With her mind on other matters, Guerrero’s leadership may have failed her protégés.

The Show Off and The All-American American have been on a steady decline lately, and with each loss, they seem to grow farther apart as a tag team. Tensions ran high after their WWE Over the Limit match, as the blonds staggered up the ramp with an irate Guerrero. While Ziggler & Swagger’s dissention escalated, WWE Tag Team Champions Kingston & Truth reveled in another victory.

Layla vs Beth Phoenix[]

Former Divas Champion Beth Phoenix came to WWE Over the Limit looking to reestablish herself as the alpha female in WWE. Instead, she suffered a stinging defeat at the hands of the current titleholder, Layla.

It has been a precipitous decline for Phoenix, who just over a month ago complained to WWE.com that there were no worthy challengers to her title before predicting she would be a dominant champion forever.

How quickly things can change.

Phoenix lost the butterfly-emblazoned belt to Nikki Bella on the April 23 edition of Raw SuperShow after suffering a severely sprained ankle. Unable to compete at Extreme Rules, The Glamazon was replaced by a shocking last-minute alternate – Layla – who returned to WWE after a yearlong absence to astonishingly win the title.

With a fully healed ankle and a desire to regain her place at the summit of WWE’s Divas division, The Glamazon battled Layla at WWE Over the Limit for the title she once held for more than six months.

However, The Fabulous Firebird’s bid for a second Divas Championship was foiled by Layla. Surviving Phoenix’s trademark aggression and powerhouse attacks, the British-born beauty was able to use her speed and agility to mount her own offense. The Glamazon focused her attacks on Layla's injured right knee, but she was unable to keep the champion down. After narrowly avoiding a Glam Slam attempt, Layla nailed Phoenix with a Lay-out neckbreaker out of nowhere to get the pin for an impressive and emotional win.

Although Phoenix performed admirably and nearly recaptured the title, it’s back to the drawing board for the former titleholder. Meanwhile, the tough and gutsy Layla has another successful title defense under her belt, and there’s no telling what’s next for the surging Divas Champion.

Brodus Clay vs The Miz[]

The undefeated Brodus Clay continued his funky roll at WWE Over the Limit, defeating his polar opposite, former WWE Champion The Miz at Raleigh, N.C.'s PNC Arena.

The bout was a rematch from earlier this month on Raw SuperShow, a contest which delivered The Funkasaurus his most arduous challenge to date. After falling to the mighty Clay that night, The Awesome One came to Raleigh looking for a fight.

The brash loudmouth already had a busy evening, seeing action earlier as the runner-up in the "People Power" Battle Royal, and approached ringside delivering one of his signature, unbecoming soliloquies. The Miz surprised no one when he arrogantly proclaimed himself to be a better dancer than the aforementioned man from Planet Funk. Proceeding to flaunt what he believed were his best moves to the unimpressed North Carolina crowd, Miz's claim was quickly put to rest by the fortunate sight of The Funkadactyls. The match itself was a back-and-forth affair, featuring the former WrestleMania main eventer's sly quickness and the undoubted power of The Funkasaurus.

The embattled "most must see WWE Champion in history" has struggled to regain his footing since losing the title more than one year ago. At Over the Limit, he was impressive, nailing his foe with a hard shot to the steel ring post and several boots to the face. But in the end, it was The Miz who needed to call his momma, succumbing to Clay's strength and What the Funk splash. The Awesome One retreated to the locker room licking his wounds while Brodus, Naomi, Cameron and young members of the WWE Universe celebrated with grooves of their own.

He had a reason to party. Match after match, The Funkasaurus continues to make his opponents extinct.

Results[]

Tag team match for the WWE Tag Team Championship: Kofi Kingston and R-Truth (c) defeated Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger (with Vickie Guerrero)
Singles match for the WWE Divas Championship: Layla (c) defeated Beth Phoenix
Singles match: Brodus Clay (with Naomi and Cameron) defeated The Miz