Monday night marked the final appearance by WWE legend John Cena in the ring in his hometown of Boston, and he certainly created another memorable moment for fans watching at the arena or from home on Netflix.
At the opening of the show, Cena received an introduction from WWE chief content officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque. Following that, he spoke about the significance of appearing in his hometown on this night and how much the fans meant to him. However, leave it to one of the biggest heels around, Dominik Mysterio, to interrupt the proceedings.
Dom suggested that he was a bigger deal than Cena, due to holding the AAA Mega Championship and WWE Intercontinental Championship. After some insulting remarks, Cena became fired up and suggested this was not the night to go at him, because he felt “invincible.”
He told Dom he’d let him walk away due to respect for his father, Rey Mysterio. However, that didn’t sit well with Dom, who ended up staying in the ring and getting booked for a championship defense by Triple H right then.
Read more: John Cena Sends Strong Message to Fans for WWE Raw in Boston
Dom tried his usual tricks, such as leaving the match to get counted out, but Cena stopped him and brought him back to the ring. The IC champ attempted to get Cena counted out by throwing him into the ring steps outside the ring, but Cena managed to beat the count.
Later, it also included Dom using a steel chair as the ref wasn’t watching. However, Cena outsmarted him by grabbing the chair, throwing it next to Dom, and pretending to be down on the mat. Eventually, the referee working the match got knocked out. Despite Cena locking in the STF on Dom and the champ tapping out, no ref was in the ring to call it.
Eventually, another referee rushed to the ring, nearly giving Cena a pinfall win after a move. However, Dom kicked out and managed to regain the advantage.
The close saw Dom hit a 619, and then a big splash off the corner of the ring for a pinfall attempt. While he connected on the finisher, Cena still powered through by turning over and standing up with Dom in his arms, before putting him on his shoulders to hit the Attitude Adjustment.
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With the pinfall win, Cena captured the WWE Intercontinental Championship, which is the only championship that had eluded him in his WWE career. WWE also announced on X that Cena made history, becoming a Grand Slam Champion by winning the belt.
“Thank you so much, Boston. Tonight, the champ is here!” he announced on the mic post-match as fireworks shot off at the top of the ramp.
Backstage, various superstars applauded and congratulated him on the win, including Rey Mysterio, Sheamus, and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. It made for a special moment for all involved, and could very well set up an interesting match on the final WWE run for Cena over the next several weeks.
He’ll officially retire on Saturday, Dec. 13, at “Saturday Night’s Main Event” in Washington, D.C., with a 16-man tournament occurring over the next several weeks on Raw, SmackDown, and elsewhere to determine his final opponent.
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