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It’s hard to think of what John Cena hasn’t accomplished in his legendary WWE career.
He holds the WWE record of 17-time WWE Champion, which he set at WrestleMania 41 when he defeated Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship. After he lost the title at SummerSlam, it didn’t look like there would be any more gold around his waist for the rest of his schedule.
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John Cena enters the ring during SmackDown at The 3Arena Dublin on August 22, 2025 in Dublin, Ireland. (Joe Maher/WWE via Getty Images)
That changed on Monday on RAW when Dominik Mysterio stepped up to face Cena in Boston – just miles outside his hometown of West Newbury, Massachusetts. WWE’s Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque created the impromptu match between the two with the Intercontinental Championship on the line.
To Mysterio’s credit, the son of the legendary Rey Mysterio controlled most of the match. But his “dirty” tricks didn’t fool any WWE official. He tried to finish Cena with a 619 and a frog splash. But Cena caught him.
Cena picked Mysterio up and hit the Attitude Adjustment before pinning him for the win. He became the newest Intercontinental Champion.
“Thank you so much to Boston, because of you, tonight, the champion is here,” he told the TD Garden crowd before pyrotechnics went off to celebrate his victory.
Dominik Mysterio celebrates after defeating Bron Breaker, Penta and Finn Balor to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship during WrestleMania 41 at Allegiant Stadium on April 20, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
JOHN CENA WAS ‘BATTLE TESTED, ALWAYS DELIVERED AND JUST A REAL CHAMPION’ BY WWE, MLW FOUNDER SAYS
Cena was congratulated backstage by his fellow WWE Superstars.
While Cena’s reigns as WWE Champion and World Heavyweight Champion have been the most talked about during his career, he was also a five-time United States Champion and four-time Tag Team Champion, teaming with The Miz, David Otunga, Batista and Shawn Michaels.
Cena’s Intercontinental Championship victory makes him the latest Grand Slam champion WWE has to offer. The modern Grand Slam Champions of WWE have held the WWE, Intercontinental, United States and World Tag Team Championships. The last two to achieve the feat were Kevin Owens and Finn Balor – both in 2013.
John Cena makes his debut during Crown Jewel at the RAC Arena on October 11, 2025 in Perth, Australia. (Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty Images)
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It is unclear who will be the #1 contender for Cena’s title. The Last Time is Now tournament started later on Monday night. The tournament will determine who Cena’s final opponent will be.
