John Cena walked into the ring on the 10 November 2025 edition of WWE Raw and pinned Dominik Mysterio to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship. The moment felt like the final chapter of one of professional wrestling's greatest careers: Cena finally claimed the only major title missing from his résumé, officially becoming a Grand Slam Champion.

However, what should have been a triumphant milestone instead sparked backlash among fans. Many argued that not only did the decision cut short Dominik's rising momentum, it may have also spoiled the emotional payoff of Cena's upcoming final match on 13 December.

In one of his final WWE Raw shows in WWE, in his hometown of Boston, WWE officials especially Triple H wasted no time. After Cena opened the show, Dominik interrupted the proceedings, and a title match was booked on the spot by Triple H.

Then after a decent back and forth, fans shockingly saw Cena pinning Dominik cleanly to claim the Intercontinental Championship, which was the one accolade that had eluded Cena his entire career. And with that victory, Cena became a Grand Slam Champion as he has already won the world titles, the US title as well as the tag team titles earlier in his career, filling what many had seen as his only professional gap. However, Dominik's reign of 204 days came to an abrupt and shocking end, and what seemed like a potential breakout moment for him evaporated.

The fan reaction was immediate as Cena basked in adulation in his hometown and got congratulated backstage by other WWE stars, the title change felt celebratory, but something deeper unsettled the audience as an irony that the very night Cena achieved this milestone might also have spoiled his retirement match.

One of the biggest critiques for Cena's Intercontinental title win revolves around Dominik. He had been holding the Intercontinental title with some momentum and in fact fans were cheering him despite him being a big heel. So in theory, allowing him to continue a run could have elevated him into a top star tier especially given his family lineage and heel persona within the faction The Judgment Day.

A win over John Cena would have solidified him as the future but the title loss at this juncture, therefore, felt like a wasted opportunity. According to a recent report, one of the driving reasons for his defeat was WWE's desire to give Cena the belt before his final match. Fans argue that WWE short changed Dominik by pulling the rug out just as he seemed poised to step up.

Thank You Dominik Mysterio for giving back to the business ❤️#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/N3kM5ckrFA

Cena comes out and talks about how important the future is for when he leaves this business then proceeds to take the title off of the best thing going on Monday Night Raw 😒

Thank you Dom for putting over someone who didn't need it. Got him booed took his title and put him down backstage. How did that help wwe young star at all.