SPRINGFIELD – John Cena may hail from West Newbury, but the WWE superstar and actor made sure to tell the crowd in Springfield Monday that the foundation for his career was built in Western Mass.
With “Monday Night Raw” at the Mass Mutual Center, Cena opened up the broadcast portion of the show with a segment setting up his upcoming match against Brock Lesnar.
But before that, he made a point to remind the younger fans of his ties to the city.
“Some of these young fans may not know this, but I spent a whole lot of years playing football up the street over at Springfield College,” Cena said as part of his in-ring promo.
For most fans, the number most attached to John Cena is 17 – for his record 17 world championships he’s won in WWE.
But during this particular episode of Monday Night Raw, the number fans kept seeing was No. 54. That would be Cena’s football number for the Spirit. It could be spotted on shirts and jerseys throughout the arena.
Cena said he isn’t surprised that many fans weren’t aware of his football career. That’s because he was an offensive lineman, a job he says involves getting his butt kicked and coming back the next day to do it again.
It wasn’t the most glamorous college run. But Cena says it helped his career in the long run.
“Springfield College prepared me for life in the WWE,” Cena said.
Cena said that he had a number of his Spirit teammates in attendance, noting that they’d been friends for over 30 years.
Monday night’s show at the Mass Mutual Center was the first time “Monday Night Raw” had taken place in Springfield. It also marked one of the final appearances of Cena’s in-ring career. After 23 years in WWE, Cena plans to retire at the end of 2025.
By his own admission, Cena only has six more appearances left in his career. One of those will be this weekend when he faces Lesnar at Wrestlepalooza. Another will be his final show in Boston, set for Monday, Nov. 10 at TD Garden.
During his farewell tour, Cena has been wearing special hats and shirts with different color combinations for different cities. Springfield’s colors were maroon and white, the same colors as Springfield College.
The opening segment marked Cena’s only appearance in the show, but provided an early highlight for fans who poured out to see the Massachusetts native in the flesh.
Monday’s show featured plenty more ties to Massachusetts. Fan favorite Jey Uso showed up to the arena wearing a Garrett Whitlock Red Sox jersey.
Ivar, who hails from Lynn, made a brief appearance during a video segment during the show.
Kofi Kingston, who grew up in Massachusetts and went to Boston College, had a match Monday against Penta.
Kingston, who’s currently playing a heel (a bad guy), reminded the crowd that he was from a much better part of the state out near Greater Boston. He later lost his match to Penta, a fan-favorite.
Kingston drew plenty of boos, which is part of his current job. As for Cena, his job Monday night was to shout out his alma mater and give fans in Western Mass. something to remember during the final year of his in-ring career.
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