— Tonight’s WWE Over The Limit pay-per-view opened with a “In Memory Of” graphic paying tribute to Randy Savage, who passed away on Friday.

CM Punk performed a Macho Man style diving elbow drop during his match against Big Show and Kane, but missed. Wade Barrett also performed a flying elbow from the second rope in his match against Ezekiel Jackson.

Savage was never mentioned by the announcers during the pay-per-view broadcast, nor did any video package air.

— Daniel Bryan beat Drew McIntyre via submission in a dark match prior to tonight’s WWE Over The Limit pay-per-view broadcast.

— Paul Bearer will be appearing at Sports Heroes and Legends 10 Giffords Lane Staten Island, New York on Friday July 22 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

source: Pro Wrestling Torch

The second annual WWE Over the Limit pay-per-view event takes place tonight at the KeyArena in Seattle, Washington. There are currently eight matches announced to take place during this event.

“I Quit” Match for the WWE Championship
John Cena (c) vs. The Miz

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match
Randy Orton (c) vs. Christian

Kiss My Foot Match
Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole
(Jerry Lawler will give up his WWE Hall of Fame ring to Michael Cole in the event of a loss.)

WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
Wade Barrett (c) vs. Ezekiel Jackson

WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Big Show and Kane (c) vs. CM Punk and Mason Ryan

WWE Divas Championship Match
Brie Bella (c) vs. Kelly Kelly

Rey Mysterio vs. R-Truth

Sin Cara vs. Chavo Guerrero

— WWE Divas Champion Brie Bella indicated on her Twitter account this afternoon that she will be facing Kelly Kelly this Sunday at Over the Limit.

The message, however, was quickly deleted. No official announcement has been made thus far.

Kelly beat Bella in a Non-Title Match this past Monday on Raw.

— WWE has posted a video package entitled “Has The Great Khali gone soft?,” which highlights the uproarious comedy stylings of “The Punjabi Playboy.”

Khali is currently involved in a storyline where Jinder Mahal is trying to get him to behave in a more serious manner. The newcomer interrupted “The Khali Kiss Cam” last Friday on SmackDown by slapping the former World Heavyweight Champion twice before walking away.

— Hunt to Kill starring Steve Austin will be added to Netflix’ Video on Demand servce in a few weeks in the United States.

It was announced tonight on Raw that Big Show and Kane would be defending the WWE Tag Team Championship against CM Punk and Mason Ryan this Sunday at WWE Over the Limit.

Meanwhile, Michael Cole signed a match contract with Jerry Lawler for WWE Over the Limit. After they had each signed, though, Cole revealed that he’d inserted a stipulation making the contest a Kiss My Foot Match.

The announced card is as follows:

“I Quit” Match for the WWE Championship
John Cena (c) vs. The Miz

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match
Randy Orton (c) vs. Christian

Kiss My Foot Match
Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole
(Jerry Lawler will give up his WWE Hall of Fame ring to Michael Cole in the event of a loss.)

WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
Wade Barrett (c) vs. Ezekiel Jackson

WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Big Show and Kane (c) vs. CM Punk and Mason Ryan

Rey Mysterio vs. R-Truth

It was announced last night on SmackDown that Randy Orton will be defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Christian at WWE Over the Limit on May 22.

Later during the show, Wade Barrett challenged Ezekiel Jackson to an Intercontinental Championship Match at the event.

The announced card is as follows:

“I Quit” Match for the WWE Championship
John Cena (c) vs. The Miz

World Heavyweight Championship Match
Randy Orton (c) vs. Christian

Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole
(Jerry Lawler will give up his WWE Hall of Fame ring to Michael Cole in the event of a loss.)

Intercontinental Championship Match
Wade Barrett (c) vs. Ezekiel Jackson

— With the WWE roster growing increasingly thin due to retirements, injuries and people taking time off, you can be sure that WWE is aware of the situation and looking at ways to strengthen the RAW and SmackDown rosters. Aside from elevating younger talent and building new stars (which the company has done a much better job of doing recently) – WWE is also interested in bringing back several superstars who are currently working on other projects outside of wrestling.

We reported earlier this week that WWE’s creative team regularly discusses how to incorporate former superstar Dave Batista into storylines .. Another superstar who is expected back with WWE in the coming months is Chris Jericho. Now that Jericho’s run on Dancing With The Stars has concluded, most within WWE believe his return is imminent. The recent neck surgery of John Morrison is seen as a factor that could result in Jericho returning to WWE television sooner than later.

— The following pay-per-view events are confirmed for release on Blu-ray:

* Over the Limit, 1 disc – June 21
* Capitol Punishment, 2 discs – July 19
* Money in the Bank, 2 discs – August 16

— Recent WWE attendance figures are as follows:

* Raw live May 6 in Dothan, Alabama – 2,500 attendees
* Raw live May 7 in Macon, Georgia – 4,400 attendees
* SmackDown live May 7 in Pensacola, Florida – 3,500 attendees
* Raw live May 8 in Greenville, South Carolina – 5,500 attendees
* SmackDown live May 8 in Tupelo, Mississippi – 3,600 attendees
* Raw live May 10 in Highland Heights, Kentucky – 2,000 attendees

(source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

It was announced at tonight’s SmackDown taping in Nashville, Tennessee that Randy Orton will be defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Christian at WWE Over the Limit on May 22.

Later during the show, Wade Barrett challenged Ezekiel Jackson to an Intercontinental Championship Match at the event.

The announced card is as follows:

“I Quit” Match for the WWE Championship
John Cena (c) vs. The Miz

World Heavyweight Championship Match
Randy Orton (c) vs. Christian

Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole
(Jerry Lawler will give up his WWE Hall of Fame ring to Michael Cole in the event of a loss.)

Intercontinental Championship Match
Wade Barrett (c) vs. Ezekiel Jackson

— The official website of the Key Arena is advertising an I Quit Match between WWE Champion John Cena and The Miz for Over the Limit. The pay-per-view event takes place May 22, 2011 in Seattle, Washington.

Other WWE Superstars advertised for the event include Randy Orton, Christian, John Morrison, Big Show, Alberto Del Rio, “The All-American American” Jack Swagger, R-Truth, Kofi Kingston and “Highflying” Rey Mysterio.

— Promoting an upcoming SmackDown taping in Philadelphia, WWE Superstar Justin Gabriel discusses his past with the Soscia Network. The audio interview is available here.

— Today would have marked as Owen Hart’s 46th birthday. He died on May 23, 1999 when an equipment malfunction occurred during his entrance from the rafters of Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri at the Over the Edge pay-per-view event.

— WWE Champion The Miz is featured on the promotional poster for WWE’s Over the Limit pay-per-view event, which takes place May 22, 2011 at the KeyArena in Seattle, Washington.

— The theme for WWE Classics On Demand programming during the month of May is the 90s.

— Alberto Del Rio is featured on the cover of the latest issue of Inside Wrestling.

— Following Monday’s Raw, one spot remains for Team Raw for the WWE Bragging Rights Tag Team Match at WWE Bragging Rights. The remaining spot was tabbed for Mark Henry, and may still be, but he missed the show because his brother is in a coma after suffering a stroke last week.

— The pre-sale password for WWE’s Over The Limit pay-per-view event taking place on May 22, 2011 at the Key Arena in Seattle, Washington is CENA. Tickets go on sale tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. local time via Ticketmaster.com. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Saturday.

— It’s interesting to note that Jillian is featured as today’s “Daily Diva” on WWE.com. While she still’s officially listed as a WWE Superstar on the company website, she was reportedly removed from the active roster two weeks ago due to her new assigned role as trainer for developmental promotion Florida Championship Wrestling.

— Next month on WWE Classics on Demand, WWE “gives thanks” with shows celebrating legends, announcers and matches. The synopsis reads: “All November on WWE Classics On Demand, we feature all the Superstars, matches and moments that the WWE Universe should be thankful for.”

— The cover art for WWE’s Night of Champions DVD, which features Randy Orton, has been released. To view it, click here.

— With WWE’s Raw guest host concept seemingly on its last legs, one company source said “things don’t look good” for The Bella Twins.

Throughout the duration of the concept, the twin duo’s screen time would hinge on the guest host of the week as they are generally used on Raw as “arm pieces” rather than in a wrestling capacity. In recent weeks they have been largely relegated to WWE’s secondary show Superstars as a result of the concept being de-emphasized.

Florence Henderson, who wasn’t even announced in advance on Raw, was the last guest host scheduled, though that doesn’t necessarily mean she’s the final one.

— WWE released a preliminary figure of 198,000 worldwide buys — including 115,000 from North America — for its Over the Limit pay-per-view in May. WWE dropped Judgment Day from it annual line-up and replaced it with Over the Limit this year. Last year’s event drew 228,000 total buys.

— Last week’s episode of WWE Superstars on WGN America scored a 0.64 cable rating, 715,000 viewers. The midnight replay scored a 0.2, with 146,000 viewers.

(source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

— CM Punk won points with management for his effort in getting the crowd back into his Over the Limit match with Rey Mysterio after the bout was awkwardly halted so a trainer could treat his head wound. When the audience began to turn against the match, Punk called an audible by attacking Mysterio in an effort to get things back on track.

— Drew McIntyre has reportedly fallen out favor with management as he’s gained a reputation of being high maintenance not to mention that he’s failed to get over to the degree of his push. Initial plans called for McIntyre’s undefeated streak to result in a World Heavyweight Title reign. Instead, Jack Swagger ended up in the spot and McIntyre was left to feud with Matt Hardy.

— Sunday’s Over the Limit pay-per-view at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan drew 11,000 paid fans with a live gate of approximately $675,000.

– WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart appeared on the “Right After Wrestling” Sirius XM satellite radio show last night and announced that his last scheduled date with WWE is the May 17th commercial-free Monday Night RAW from Toronto, Canada. As noted before, this show is being built around Bret’s WWE return to Canada and it looks like it will be his farewell, unless they can come up with a storyline to keep him around. You can listen to Bret Hart’s appearance on Right After Wrestling by clicking here (MP3).

– WWE will tape tonight’s NXT and this week’s Friday Night SmackDown tonight from the North Charleston Coliseum in North Charleston, South Carolina. After earning the right to face a WWE superstar on tonight’s show, NXT rookie David Otunga selected R-Truth as his opponent for tonight. No matches have been announced yet for SmackDown.

– The official theme song for WWE’s Over the Limit pay-per-view is the song “Crash” by the band Fit for Rivals.

– A stipulation for John Cena’s match with Batista at Over The Limit will be announced in the next week or so.

– The WWE production guy in the backstage segment on RAW tonight with Edge was actually WWE writer Brian Gewirtz.