Madison Square Garden has always been one of the most important venues for professional wrestling. Historically, it was the home base of the World Wide Wrestling Federation when it operated out of the Northeastern United States under the old regional territory system. And these days, WWE brings a little extra magic when they hold shows in “the world’s most famous arenas.”
That magic was already present on this episode of “Raw,” as it was John Cena’s last Monday night as an active competitor. MSG alone sold out, but fans also got a big title change, the announcement of a massive Survivor Series: WarGames title match and three big unannounced names returning to make their appearances.
November 17 ‘Raw’ results
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John Cena, Rey Mysterio and Sheamus defeated The Judgment Day (Dominik Mysterio, Finn Balor and JD McDonagh)
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Solo Sequoia defeated Dolph Ziggler
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Maxxyn Dupree defeated Becky Lynch to win the Women’s Intercontinental Championship
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Gunther defeated Javon Evans
Cena’s last ‘Raw’ match exceeded expectations
Cena seemed to be having a lot of fun partnering with Sheamus and Rey Mysterio in a six-person tag match against The Judgment Day. You can’t wipe the smiles off all three of their faces as they hit each other’s signature moves, including the Triple Five Knuckle Shuffle (which commentator Joe Tessitore brilliantly called “The 15 Knuckle Shuffle”). Come to think of it, we also got 30 beats of Bodhran and double 619 – or 1,238 – from Mysterio.
We know that Cena is going to defend the Intercontinental Championship against Dominic Mysterio at Survivor Series: WarGames in Dom’s hometown of San Diego, which reminds me of the 2006 John Cena vs. Edge “Home and Home” series – only this time Cena won the title in his hometown of Boston and Dom will presumably reclaim it in San Diego. So, I admit, when I heard the announcement that it was going to be a six-person tag match, I shrugged. I wanted Cena’s last “Raw” match to be a meaningful singles match, but I changed my mind when I saw the joy and happiness this match brought to the participants.
More ‘Raw’ Takeaways
• MSG was such a big stage that Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns were face to face to end the show. With both of them out of the two men’s WarGames teams, the match has become absolutely star-studded and more interesting. There are now so many ways to proceed with a match, there is no shortage of interesting combinations for the pairings in the ring. I still feel that the team of The Vision (Braun Breaker and Bronson Reed), Logan Paul, Drew McIntyre, and now Lesnar will prevail, setting up future feuds and world title challenges against the baby-faced team of CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, and Reigns.
• NXT star Javon Evans continued to raise his stock in his Last Time Is Now tournament match against Gunther. Evans has become so good at just 21 years old. It seemed as if he was defying gravity as he flew around the ring.
Also good to see Gunther back. With the win over Evans, he looks set to win the tournament and retire Cena.
• Maxine Dupree had an epic “MSG Moment” by defeating Becky Lynch for the Intercontinental Title, thanks to the distraction of AJ Lee, who believed a Lynch match was waiting for her in the near future. Rhea Ripley asked Lee for some time backstage, which meant Lee could attend Survivor Series.
• Welcome back, Dolph Ziggler! The two-time former world champion made a surprise entry in the Last Time Is Now tournament against Solo Sequoia, who won the match. I’ve never seen a Samoan Spike as deadly as when Dolph got hit by it. Ziggler is a machine and hasn’t missed a single match. Could we see more of him and Zack Ryder, who appeared on “SmackDown” last Friday, in WWE?
