John Cena vs. Roman Reigns Just Headlined Madison Square Garden

WWE rewarded all of the New York City faithful who came out to Madison Square Garden on the day after Christmas with a huge live event.

The big show on Tuesday night by the RAW brand was headlined by a dream match of sorts: John Cena vs. Roman Reigns. The crowd for the event was reported to be close to a sell-out, with the fans into the show throughout.

For the Cena vs. Reigns match, one report noted that Cena received a mixed reaction from the crowd while Reigns was nearly universally boo’ed. No word on whether the fans who boo’ed both men made it through the bout without having a coronary due to misplaced rage.

The match went close to 17 minutes, with Reigns winning clean after a Spear to retain his WWE Intercontinental Championship. Both men kicked out of near falls throughout the bout. The finish came when Cena went for a second AA, but Reigns escaped, bounced off the ropes, and hit the Spear for the win.

Following the match, Cena put over Reigns to the live crowd by raising Roman’s hand in victory.

Elsewhere on the WWE at MSG show:

• Matt Hardy defeated Bray Wyatt.
• Absolution defeated Mickie James, Bayley, and Sasha Banks.
• Elias (along with Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows) sang “Freebird.”
• Rhyno, Heath Slater, Titus O’Neil, and Goldust defeated Curtis Axel, Bo Dallas, and the Revival.
• Enzo Amore defeated Kalisto.
• Samoa Joe defeated Finn Balor.
• Asuka and Dana Brooke defeated Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax.
• Braun Strowman defeated Kane.
• Jason Jordan and Seth Rollins defeated Cesaro and Sheamus.