John Cena wore his Kowloon sneakers at Wrestlemania, because of course he did

Let’s face it, we didn’t really need another reason to stan John Cena. The 45-year-old West Newbury native is already a WWE wrestling champion, the star of action movies, comedies, and superhero spectaculars, and — perhaps most importantly — the world record holder for Make-a-Wish wishes granted to children with life-threatening illnesses.

So even though he may have lost his totally real Wrestlemania 39 grudge match with Austin Theory — if only the referee hadn’t been sidelined by an inadvertent kick to the face when Theory initially tapped out, before delivering his match-defining low blow! — Cena is still a winner in our book. That’s for all those reasons enumerated above, and also because the North Shore icon took the opportunity to spotlight another North Shore icon during the match: Kowloon restaurant in Saugus, whose limited-edition Nike sneakers the superstar wore into the ring.

You’ll recall that Kowloon teamed up with Sway, the local artist behind Blueswaydshoes, on Kowloon-themed Air Force One Nikes, which feature the restaurant’s name and are painted in the venerable Route 1 eatery’s signature red, gold, and black. Long a popular post-match stop for wrestlers after high-profile Boston-area events, the restaurant made it a point to thank Cena on its various social media accounts Friday.

With Kowloon slated to downsize after 73 years under the stewardship of the Wong family in Saugus, it was a particularly poignant tribute, to the extent that two huge sweaty men fake wrestling with each other can be poignant. Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether Cena will ever reclaim the WWE United States Championship, or if he’ll have to be satisfied with his seemingly never-ending series of successful movies and television shows.