Bully Ray Believes Next WWE Raw Will Feature 'Special' John Cena Moment

With Boston in the rearview, John Cena is now preparing for what will be his final appearance in New York City's Madison Square Garden, slated for the November 17 edition of "WWE Raw." Given the prestige of the venue surrounding it and it marking Cena's last outing on WWE's red brand, WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray envisions WWE delivering something extra meaningful for the occasion.

"Dom [Mysterio] was the perfect person to try to ruin the party in Boston, perfect pick. Now let's think in terms of KISS. Last night in The Garden, we went in there expecting something special. We didn't get it. We definitely did not get it, and we were definitely disappointed, but I do not think that John Cena and the WWE are going to disappoint us the last night in The Garden for John," Ray said on "Busted Open Radio." "So when it comes to the word special, what can they do special in Madison Square Garden with John Cena?"

Back in 2015, WWE hosted Hulk Hogan Appreciation Night during a live event at Madison Square Garden. As a part of the festivities, WWE officials raised a banner in the rafters to honor "30 years of Hulkamania." The same banner was later removed from MSG, with WWE stating that it was never intended to be a permanent fixture at MSG.

Similar to Hogan, Ray suggested that WWE raise up a commemorative banner marked with Cena's name in the rafters of Madison Square Garden next week. When debating who could potentially make the announcement for such an honor, co-host Dave LaGreca suggested Paul "Triple H" Levesque. Ray initially put out former WWE CEO Vince McMahon as an option, but later withdrew it after taking into account the current controversies surrounding McMahon.

On this week's episode of "Raw," Cena defeated Dominik Mysterio to capture the one title that has eluded him — the Intercontinental Championship. With it, Cena can now call himself a Grand Slam Champion and also potentially round out a stacked WarGames team at WWE Survivor Series.

"You can see Cena's thing getting raised to the rafters, and right as it's there and people are about to applaud [you hear], 'Ladies and gentlemen my name is Paul Heyman.' Layer one with the heels," Bully Ray said. "Then [CM] Punk, Cody [Rhodes] and [Jey] Uso and then we fill in one guy here. Then all of a sudden Brock's music and there's Brock and John face to face again. But the babyfaces need one more guy. Roman's music. Now you've created something that feels as big, if not bigger than as what happened in Boston with Dom."

As it stands, six competitors are confirmed for the 2025 Men's WarGames match: CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, Bronson Reed, Bron Breakker, and Logan Paul. The former three will be part of one team, while the other three have joined the other. According to a report from Ibou of "Self Made," WWE has long considered booking Cena and Roman Reigns on the same WarGames team as Punk and Rhodes, though there was some concern over the specific aligning of Rhodes and Reigns. The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer expects Reigns and Brock Lesnar to return during next Monday's show at Madison Square Garden, with them filling the fourth spot on each team, respectively. 

Cena will reportedly be a part of Team Punk, per Ibou; the possible identity of the final member for Breakker and Reed's team, on the other hand, has yet to be seen.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.