As WWE heads toward a busy end to 2025, the road continued with an episode of WWE Raw in Boston, featuring one of the best wrestling crowds of the year to back a star-studded night that included John Cena’s final appearance in the city, multiple title matches, and the fast-paced build to a Survivor Series that’s bound to be action-packed with WarGames.
The tournament to determine Cena’s final opponent also continued to unfold, with more participants being revealed throughout the night.
So, what went down on this episode? Let’s take a look:
John Cena’s Time Is (Still) Now
While Boston once seemed like the ideal place for John Cena to end his WWE in-ring career, that didn’t turn out to be the case. Still, he got one last moment in his home-adjacent hometown, where the crowd went wild after a long, meandering introduction from Triple H that eventually gave way to Cena’s entrance.
It’s always special to see these Cena reactions, especially knowing we don’t have many left. This one felt different, like the moment when it truly began to sink in that this is the end. For two decades, Boston has been one of the places where Cena has been most beloved, and this was the last time he would receive that kind of reaction as an in-ring performer.
Cena’s promo wasn’t just crowd-pleasing nostalgia. He announced that his final match at Saturday Night’s Main Event will serve as a showcase, pitting main roster talent against NXT stars. That’s a prime opportunity for names like Oba Femi and Trick Williams to gain main roster exposure ahead of their eventual call-ups. It could have been the same for Je’Von Evans, and maybe it still will be, but Evans already has a moment coming up on WWE Raw at Madison Square Garden on November 17, where he will face a returning Gunther in the Last Time Is Now Tournament. Even aside from the tournament implications, that is an incredible matchup to feature on Raw, let alone any show.
Back to Cena, this night became about him checking off one of the few remaining boxes in his storied WWE career: becoming a Grand Slam Champion by winning the Intercontinental Championship.
Pairing Cena with Dominik Mysterio felt like a perfect late-career match, a legend of his era facing one of WWE’s top young stars. As Mysterio continues to trend toward becoming an Eddie Guerrero-style babyface, he brought back that trademark nuclear heat for one night because there was no way Cena was getting booed in Boston, not this time.
All of it created the perfect recipe for a feel-good Cena victory. It did not hurt Mysterio either, who seems headed for another clash with his father, Rey Mysterio, possibly at Survivor Series in San Diego for the AAA Mega Championship. For Cena, he can defend the title at MSG next week, maybe again at Survivor Series, before ultimately facing the winner of his final opponent tournament at Saturday Night’s Main Event with the title on the line.
Line it up. It all makes sense.
Both WarGames Matches Lack Depth
The concept of WarGames is fine and fun, and it will almost certainly deliver excitement at Survivor Series. But as with any gimmick wrestling match, a strong story helps give it meaning, making it feel like more than just a spectacle.
Unfortunately, there isn’t much narrative weight behind either the men’s or women’s WarGames matches this year. Both feel somewhat rushed and thrown together. The men’s bout revolves around Logan Paul being inserted into The Vision following Seth Rollins’ injury, yet the group has oddly lost steam and failed to build on their early post-turn momentum. The women’s match faces similar issues, relying on loose story threads to justify the lineup rather than a cohesive, emotionally driven feud.
WarGames will no doubt deliver in-ring chaos and highlight reels, but without stronger storytelling, it risks feeling like a great concept in search of a reason to exist.
