May 18, 2012|By Adam Testa and Arda Ocal
Adam: This match does largely seem to be a case of taking the top stars without obvious matches for the show and throwing them together. Like I said about the Divas Championship match, I’m not a fan of the short title reigns, so I’m pulling for Sheamus to retain here. The match itself should be decent, at least, considering the star power involved. Hopefully we get more of the Sheamus-Jericho interaction that started at the Royal Rumble. I think the singles matches that Arda predicted will splinter from this into matches for the next pay-per-view.
Prediction: Sheamus
WWE Championship
CM Punk (c) vs. Daniel Bryan
Arda: The winner of this match? The fans. It will be a terrific wrestling match that will not disappoint. Unlike their champion vs. champion matches on Raw, I look forward to seeing new wrinkles and twists that we aren't used to but welcome with open arms. Both guys have met across company borders and are very familiar with one another. What I like about this match is that there is a mutual respect going into the PPV — both haven't exactly talked too much smack about their opponent, other than “I will beat you.” That's also because they haven't had too much interaction face to face leading up to Over the Limit. Normally, that would be a point of complaint, but in this case, it's not irritating. I see CM Punk with his hand raised and, due to the fact that both men seemed preoccupied with other rivalries, this may be a one-off match.
Prediction: CM Punk
Adam: This is somewhere Arda and I will disagree. I don’t see this being a one-off match. To me, it seems that Bryan has moved on from Sheamus and Punk from Jericho, so I see these two competing until SummerSlam. To keep the feud alive — as well as to extend the issues between Bryan and AJ — I see Bryan winning the title courtesy of AJ’s interference. Her plan will backfire, though, when Bryan still refuses to take her back.
Prediction: Daniel Bryan
John Cena vs. John Laurinaitis
Arda: The real question is will John Laurinaitis ride to the ring on a skateboard? My head says no, but my heart hopes yes. In this "battle of the Johns," I wonder if Cena will, in fact, take time off after this event. It was teased at last month's PPV after Cena's match with Lesnar, and then dropped. Maybe at the end of this match, Cena is beat down at the hands of Laurinaitis’ henchmen (who somehow evade the "you're fired stipulation, possibly because they aren't employed technically, like Big Show or Brock Lesnar), causing a Cena injury and a Laurinaitis victory. If Cena goes away for a while, this lets "Big Johnny" become even more dastardly until Cena returns for payback.
Prediction: John Laurinaitis
Adam: The shenanigans of Big Show or Brock Lesnar getting involved seem inevitable. Maybe Lesnar will help Laurinaitis and Show will emerge to help Cena, and then we’ll get the dream match of Big Show vs. Lesnar at SummerSlam… No? Okay, fine, have it your way. But one way or the other, at least one of those men is getting involved in this match, and it will help Laurinaitis win. If Johnny Ace loses, he’s fired, and that basically makes the past several months completely worthless. I’d like to think WWE is above that. Fans have begun to get more behind Cena, and a loss to Laurinaitis and subsequent time off (as Arda alluded to) seems like a good way to develop that even further.
Prediction: John Laurinaitis
