Over the Limit (2010)
The 2010 Over the Limit was the inaugural Over the Limit professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on May 23, 2010, at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The name "Over the Limit" was a reference to its main event match being contested as an "I Quit" match. Over the Limit replaced WWE's previously annual May PPV, Judgment Day. Nine matches took place at the event, eight of which were broadcast live on pay-per-view. In the main event, which was the main match from Raw, John Cena faced Batista for the WWE Championship in an "I Quit" match, while Big Show versus World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger was the main match from SmackDown. Matches on the undercard included Randy Orton against Edge, CM Punk facing Rey Mysterio, and Drew McIntyre defending SmackDown's Intercontinental Championship against Kofi Kingston. Other championships defended at the event were Raw's WWE Divas Championship and the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship, which was available to both brands. The event drew 197,000 pay-per-view buys, and was attended live by 11,000 people. Reviews for the event were generally negative, with reviewers criticizing the endings of the matches, stoppages for blood, and predictable match results. Five wrestlers sustained legitimate injuries during the course of the show, being Batista, John Cena, CM Punk, Randy Orton, and Ted DiBiase Jr.. Production Background World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) had previously ran an annual May pay-per-view (PPV) titled Judgment Day. In 2010, WWE discontinued Judgment Day and replaced it with a new PPV titled Over the Limit. The event was held on May 23, 2010, at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan and featured wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brands. The name "Over the Limit" was a reference to its main event match being contested as an "I Quit" match. Storylines Over the Limit involved different wrestlers from scripted feuds, plots, and storylines that played out on WWE's television programs. Wrestlers portrayed a hero or a villain as they followed a series of events that built tension, and culminated into a wrestling match or series of matches. The main feud from the Raw brand heading into Over the Limit was between John Cena and Batista over the WWE Championship, and had been going on for several months. Cena retained the WWE Championship against Batista at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view in a Last Man Standing match, by taping Batista's ankles to the ringpost to ensure he could not stand up by the count of ten. The next night on Raw, Batista defeated Randy Orton and Sheamus to become the number one contender to the championship and earn a rematch against Cena. On the May 3 episode of Raw, they competed in a Beat the Clock challenge to determine the stipulation for their match. Batista defeated Daniel Bryan in 5:06, but Cena defeated Wade Barrett in 4:32 to win the challenge