Earlier this week, John Cena made history in his hometown of Boston by winning the WWE Intercontinental Championship for the first time in his career. This epic moment, featured on “Monday Night Raw,” received widespread praise from fans as Cena officially became a grand slam champion during his retirement tour.
While many praised the match, it wasn’t without some criticism directed at WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque and John Cena himself for various issues. Several former WWE employees shared their honest thoughts about the match, including former WWE writer Vince Russo and manager Jim Cornette.
Russo mainly criticized Triple H’s decision to remain in the ring during Cena’s big moment with Dominik Mysterio in Boston. Cornette, on the other hand, was more critical of certain spots during the Cena vs. Dominik Mysterio match.
In a recent edition of his podcast alongside The Great Brian, Cornette addressed several issues he observed during the match. In his “Official Jim Cornette” video, his most significant criticism was aimed at the referee’s behavior and the use of false finishes.
“They did an unnecessary spot and then did a false finish that was better than the actual finish, and I think they just tried to get too cute,” Cornette said.
He pointed out a moment where Dominik undid the turnbuckle cover and walked away, while the referee focused on retying the cover instead of watching the action in the ring. Cornette claimed this made the referee look “stupid” to the live audience.
Cornette also mentioned how odd the referee looked after Cena and Dominik each tried to blame the other for hitting with a steel chair. According to Cornette, the referee should have started a count with both men down on the mat, rather than looking back and forth between them.
Cornette was especially critical of the match’s finish, where Dominik landed a 619 to knock Cena down, followed by a frogsplash from the corner for a pinfall attempt. Cena reportedly “no-sold” the frogsplash by rolling through it and hitting the Attitude Adjustment to secure the win—something Cornette noted is likely unprecedented with that move.
Despite these criticisms, Cornette acknowledged that the match was “put together very well,” featuring mostly in-ring action rather than high-flying or risky spots involving crashing into tables or other objects.
He also agreed that the crowd reaction to Cena winning the Intercontinental Championship was tremendous. Cornette’s co-host even suggested it might have been the biggest pop for an IC title win since Ultimate Warrior captured the championship in 1988 at Madison Square Garden.
Looking ahead, Cornette speculated that Cena will likely face Gunther in his final match on “Saturday Night’s Main Event” this December—an encounter that could further elevate Gunther before Cena retires.
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**Read more:**
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https://www.newsweek.com/sports/wrestling/former-wwe-star-gets-brutally-honest-about-john-cena-winning-the-ic-title-11052293