John Cena admits WWE John Cena Classic still ‘a work in progress’
John Cena is “fully invested” in WWE’s John Cena Classic, while admitting that the event is still a work in progress.
At Backlash, Cena announced that WWE will hold a show, named after him, where main roster talent will face off against wrestlers from NXT. A fan vote will be held to determine the John Cena Classic Champion, with fans able to vote for whomever impressed them most — even if that person lost their match.
Cena spoke with Adam’s Apple following Backlash and said he’s “super excited” about this idea. He’s looking forward to seeing how everything comes together. Locking in a date and location is the first step in that process.
“Oh my God, I’m super excited. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time,” Cena said. “And, again, we’re still working things out. And I like that, I like that it’s a work in progress. But this is absolutely from me. I can’t tell you how excited I am about it. I am fully invested in this. I can’t wait to see what it is. I can’t wait until we announce the date and location. That’s obviously step one, and we’ll go from there.”
When asked if there are any participants he has on his radar, Cena said he’s trying to shut his radar off and see what everyone can do, because wrestlers like himself, CM Punk, Seth Rollins, and Becky Lynch once weren’t obvious choices to reach the level of stardom they ultimately achieved.
WrestleVotes reported today that Netflix is interested in streaming the John Cena Classic, but there are no concrete plans yet for when and where it will take place.
Cena retired from active competition in December 2025 but still maintains a presence in WWE as an ambassador. He hosted both nights of WrestleMania 42 last month before appearing again at Backlash. Along with that, he’s been involved with the upcoming launch of the Club WWE membership program. There’s no word yet if Club WWE will have any tie-in with the John Cena Classic.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.