John Cena Says Goodbye to RAW with Victory at MSG: Summary and Results

The Madison Square Garden has always been an emblematic stage for professional wrestling. Historically, it was the main venue for the World Wide Wrestling Federation, especially when it operated in the northeastern United States under the old regional territorial system. Currently, WWE usually adds a special touch to its events at the “World’s Most Famous Arena”. The “Raw” episode already promised magic, as it marked John Cena’s last appearance as an active competitor. That alone was enough to sell out the MSG, but fans also witnessed a significant title change, the announcement of a main event match at Survivor Series: WarGames, and the surprise return of three prominent figures.

Results for “Raw”

John Cena, Rey Mysterio, and Sheamus defeated The Judgement Day (Dominik Mysterio, Finn Balor, and JD McDonagh) Cena’s last match on “Raw” exceeded expectations. Cena seemed to greatly enjoy his association with Sheamus and Rey Mysterio in a six-person tag team match against The Judgement Day. The joy was evident on the faces of the trio, who executed their signature moves, including a triple Five Knuckle Shuffle that commentator Joe Tessitore brilliantly dubbed “The 15-Knuckle Shuffle.” Furthermore, we witnessed 30 Beats of the Bodhran and a double 619, or 1,238, from Mysterio.

We know that Cena will defend the Intercontinental Championship against Dominik Mysterio at Survivor Series: WarGames in Dom’s hometown of San Diego. This evokes the “house and house” series of John Cena vs. Edge from 2006, although on this occasion Cena won the title in his hometown of Boston and it is likely that Dom will regain it in San Diego. I recognize that, upon hearing the announcement of the six-person tag team match, I felt skepticism. I would have preferred Cena’s last match on “Raw” to be a singles match and with greater significance, but my opinion changed when I saw the joy that this match generated among the participants.

Other highlights from “Raw”

• MSG was the perfect setting for the confrontation between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns at the end of the show. With these two wrestlers completing the WarGames teams, the match becomes even more stellar and interesting. There are multiple possibilities for the development of the match, with interesting combinations of pairings in the ring. I believe that The Vision’s team (Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed), Logan Paul, Drew McIntyre, and Lesnar will prevail, preparing future rivalries and challenges for the world championship against the “babyface” team of CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, and Reigns. • NXT star Je’Von Evans continued to raise his profile in his Last Time Is Now tournament match against Gunther. Evans, only 21 years old, already demonstrates great quality. He seemed to defy gravity as he moved around the ring. It was also gratifying to see Gunther back. With the victory over Evans, he seems to be on his way to winning the tournament and retiring Cena. • Maxxine Dupri had a great “moment at MSG” by defeating Becky Lynch for the Intercontinental title, thanks to a distraction from AJ Lee, who seems to have a match with Lynch in the near future. Rhea Ripley requested alone time with Lee backstage, suggesting that Lee could join Survivor Series. • Welcome back, Dolph Ziggler! The former world champion was a surprise in the Last Time Is Now tournament against Solo Sikoa, who won the match. I had never seen the Samoan Spike look so lethal as when it hit Dolph. Ziggler is a machine and hasn’t missed a beat. Could we see him more often alongside Zack Ryder, who joined “SmackDown” last Friday?