By Jay’Mi Vazquez
Managing Editor
The TD Garden in Boston erupted Nov. 10 as hometown hero John Cena captured the WWE Intercontinental Championship, defeating Dominik Mysterio in the surprise opening match of Monday Night Raw.
The victory marked a career milestone for Cena, officially naming him a Grand Slam Champion, having now held every major title in WWE history.
From the moment Cena’s music hit, the crowd was deafening. I could feel the energy shaking the building. Chants of “Let’s go, Cena!” drowned out everything else, and the emotions on Cena’s face told the story before the bell even rang.
The match itself was a decent bout, with some predictability but fairly surprising move deliveries and reversals. Mysterio tried every trick in the book to escape with his title, but after countering a 619 attempt, Cena hoisted Mysterio up for a perfectly executed Attitude Adjustment, sealing the three-count and sending the Boston crowd into a frenzy.
This title win was a full-circle moment, and being there to see it live felt historic. This being Cena’s final championship run, considering he has only two more appearances during his retirement tour, it was exciting to see him win.
It could not have happened in a better place, as the hometown crowd treated it like a farewell celebration. Seeing him celebrate in front of his hometown fans was emotional and really captured the weight of this win.
While Cena’s triumph was the headline, the night was far from a one-story show. The women’s division stole headlines of its own when Rhea Ripley made her surprise return in the last few minutes of the show after several months away due to injury.
The Kabuki Warriors, Asuka and Kairi Sane, had just defeated Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss to become the new Women’s Tag Team Champions, thanks in part to interference from Nia Jax and Lash Legend.
As the new champions celebrated, the arena lights dimmed and Ripley’s music rang out. The crowd reaction rivaled the reaction for Cena’s win. Ripley stormed the ring, cleared out the ring and stared down at the new champions before grabbing a microphone and challenging the Kabuki Warriors, Nia Jax and Lash Legend at WarGames.
Seeing Ripley return live was a genuine goosebumps moment. Fans around me leapt to their feet, some visibly shocked. WWE leaned into the surprise perfectly, and the reaction proved how much the women’s division had been missing her presence.
The rest of the show set the table for WWE’s road to Survivor Series. Sheamus defeated Shinsuke Nakamura in a hard-hitting contest to advance in the Last Time Is Now tournament, while Damian Priest lost after a close match with Rusev.
From start to finish, this episode of Raw was special. It was a stacked match card, and the energy made it the most chaotic wrestling event I have attended.
The Boston crowd was one of the loudest I have heard in years, feeding into every segment and making even smaller moments feel important.
