Tag: Boston

John Cena reflects on final WWE Boston appearance

Posted on by Joseph Currier

After appearing in his home state for the final time as an active wrestler, John Cena sent out a tweet today reflecting on how much the night meant to him.

Cena, whose retirement tour is in its final stages, appeared at TD Garden in Boston for WWE Raw last night. He captured the Intercontinental title on the episode, defeating Dominik Mysterio to cross one more WWE accolade off his bucket list. Cena now heads into his final three WWE shows as IC Champion.

“Thank you Boston. It meant so much to be able, for one last time, to be allowed an opportunity to do what I love, in a place I love, surrounded by those I love,” Cena posted while sharing a brief clip of him holding the Intercontinental title.

“Our performances are only meaningful if YOU the audience invest in us and decide they are. The smile on my face and awe in my eyes in this small clip is an honest show of grateful disbelief & appreciation for all you’ve ever invested in me. Last night meant more than I can ever express. Thank you Boston.”

November 10 was also declared as “John Cena Day” in Massachusetts to celebrate Cena’s last-ever hometown appearance.

Cena will be on Raw again next week for his final New York City date at Madison Square Garden. Following that, he’ll compete at Survivor Series: WarGames on November 29 and then have his last match at Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13.

The identity of Cena’s final opponent is not known yet, but WWE is holding a tournament to decide who will get the opportunity to face him at SNME. Rusev and Sheamus are the first two competitors to have advanced to the next round.

Location & date for final John Cena match revealed

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: WWE

While fans knew that the Hall of Fame run for WWE star John Cena will come to an end this year, there’s now a date and location for that final run into the ring, at least according to his father.

The news has actually been out there since April 24th, but just made its way onto social media Saturday night after Cena retained his WWE Championship against Randy Orton at Backlash.

At the end of a feature done by Boston news station WCVB for their Chronicle show on New England’s contributions to wrestling, the anchors revealed that according to John Cena Sr., Cena’s final match will take place in December at the TD Garden in Boston.

Cena famously grew up in West Newbury, Massachussetts, which is less than an hour’s drive to Boston.

WWE has yet to announce a December event at the Garden as of this writing, leaving it open to speculation as to whether it will take place at a premium live event, Saturday Night’s Main Event, Raw or SmackDown.

The 48-year-old had previously said he hoped to have his final match or appearance in London, England, at the O2 Arena. His career began in 1999 and has lasted more than 2300 matches.

AEW to debut at Boston’s TD Garden

Posted on by Josh Nason

AEW will return to Boston, Massachusetts, this July, but in a much bigger venue than what they have been running.

Revealed during a YouTube preview for tonight’s Dynamite in Detroit, Michigan, AEW will debut at the TD Garden on Wednesday, July 19th, with a live Dynamite and taped Rampage.

The venue is home to the NBA’s Boston Celtics and NHL’s Boston Bruins and is considerably larger than the Agganis Arena which has been their primary destination in the city since their beginning.

It is also the primary Boston home for WWE events in the past which includes last November’s Survivor Series.

Tickets will go on sale this Friday.

Here’s the company’s current announced lineup:

May:

  • Wednesday, May 10: Dynamite/Rampage at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI
  • Friday, May 12: House Rules show at Corbin Arena in Corbin, KY
  • Saturday, May 13: House Rules show at Salem Civic Center in Salem, VA
  • Wednesday, May 17: Dynamite/Rampage at Moody Center in Austin, TX
  • Wednesday, May 24: Dynamite/Rampage at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV
  • Sunday, May 28: Double or Nothing at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV
  • Wednesday, May 31: Dynamite/Rampage at Viejas Arena in San Diego, CA

June:

  • Friday, June 2: House Rules show at Cadence Bank Arena in Tupelo, MS
  • Saturday, June 3: House Rules show at Von Braun Center in Huntsville, AL
  • Wednesday, June 7: Dynamite/Rampage at Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs, CO
  • Wednesday, June 14: Dynamite/Rampage at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
  • Wednesday, June 21: Dynamite/Rampage at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, IL
  • Sunday, June 25: Forbidden Door at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • Wednesday, June 28: Dynamite/Rampage at FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

July:

  • Wednesday, July 5: Dynamite/Rampage at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
  • Saturday, July 8: “Televised event” at Brandt Centre in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
  • Wednesday, July 12: Dynamite at SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
  • Saturday, July 15: House show at The Saddledome as part of the Calgary Stampede in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
  • Wednesday, July 19: Dynamite/Rampage at TD Garden in Boston, MA

August:

  • Sunday, August 27: AEW All In at Wembley Stadium in London, England

JNPO: The History of UFC in Boston, part 2

Posted on by Josh Nason

In part 1 of my look back at the history of UFC shows in Boston, special guest Jack Encarnacao (Boston Herald, Sherdog, Lapsed Fan) and I discussed how MMA was legalized in Massachusetts, the James Toney-Randy Couture fight, the night Joe Lauzon briefly became a god, and Conor McGregor’s big week in the city as he prepared to fax Max Holloway deep on the undercard.

We move ahead to two Fox Sports 1 events, one headlined by McGregor in his last stop before superstardom and the other headlined by a returning bantamweight star after a multi-year absence due to injury.

We talk about the feeling inside the building when McGregor jumped the cage to confront Jose Aldo, the change in Travis Browne’s demeanor after a controversial win over Matt Mitrione, and our talks with a Boston sportswriter who was relatively new to the sport.

After that, we look at Saturday’s UFC 220 show where Jack argues that heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, and not Francis Ngannou, could be a bigger star in the sport with a win.

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JNPO: The History of UFC in Boston, part 1

Posted on by Josh Nason

The UFC returns to the City of Champions this Saturday for UFC 220, the fifth time they’ve visited Boston, MA, in eight years.

A lot has happened with those shows from James Toney making his way into the Octagon to Conor McGregor main eventing his first UFC show to the debut show on Fox Sports One. Due to Dana White’s native son status, Boston has become a place where interesting things happen when the UFC circus comes to town.

In the first part of a two part series on Josh Nason’s Punch-Out, yours truly and Jack Encarnacao (Boston Herald, Sherdog, The Lapsed Fan) take you on a deep dive through the following:

– The path to MMA legalization in Massachussetts and the UFC’s announcement they were coming to Boston

– A look back at UFC 118 which featured James Toney crossing over into MMA to battle Randy Couture, Frankie Edgar vs. BJ Penn, a mild panic attack I had at the open workouts, meeting Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez, and more.

– A look back at UFC Fight Night: Sonnen vs. Shogun which which highlighted the launch of Fox Sports One, a show that featured Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway, and how McGregor was sowing seeds for future stardom in ways you wouldn’t expect.

Enjoy this show for free now:

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NXT Boston, MA, live results: Roderick Strong vs. Cedric Alexander steals the show

Posted on by F4W Staff

Submitted by Chris Silva from Agganis Arena

– No Way Jose & TM61 def. Sanity

NWJ came out for a match with one of the Sanity. They all beat up Jose, and TM61 came out for the save. William Regal came out and declared it will be a 3-on-3. NWJ gets the pin with a full nelson slam on Sawyer Fulton. We get a post-match celebration with Jose, TM61, and ref Drake Younger.

– Oney Lorcan def. Elias “The Drifter” Samson

The Drifter comes out and plays “Freebird” with modified “Boston Sucks: lyrics. Lorcan comes out to a big hometown pop and “Biff” chant. Lorcan wins after some cool moves including a plancha to the outside and a flying uppercut.

– Nikki Cross of Sanity beat Liv Morgan with a twisting neckbreaker.

– Cedric Alexander beat Roderick Strong with the Lumbar Check.

Great match which the crowd was hot for the whole time. Cool spots including Cedric hitting a somersault plancha to the outside and a powerslam into a falcon arrow.

– NXT Women’s Champion Asuka beat Peyton Royce (w/Billie Kay) and Ember Moon in a 3-way

Moon hit the flying stunner on Royce and Asuka submitted Royce with the Asuka Lock.

– Tye Dillinger beat Bobby Roode with the Tye Breaker. Both wrestlers’ entrances were over big as well as their chants during the match.

– NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura, Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano beat Samoa Joe and NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival

Nakamura pinned Wilder after a Kinshasa.