John Cena classic reportedly being targeted for the end of the year
A major new report has emerged on the possible timeline of the John Cena Classic.
Earlier this year at Backlash 2026, Cena returned and shared the announcement of the John Cena Classic, where wrestlers from both NXT and the main roster will compete for a title. The tournament is WWE’s newest addition and comes with a set of unique, new rules.
While Cena announced the concept at Backlash, there was no further information provided on the list of participants or the tournament’s start date. Now, according to a recent report by PWInsider, an estimated timeline has emerged.
As per the report, it was noted during today’s WWE Town Hall that the John Cena Classic is currently being targeted for the latter part of 2026. A person close to PWInsider claimed that the tournament is being targeted to take place by the end of the year.
John Cena comments on the upcoming John Cena Classic tournament
Recently, speaking to CBS Sports and SHAK Wrestling, Cena addressed the recent criticism surrounding the John Cena classic. He shared his belief that the tournament could become WWE’s version of the All-Star Game.
“I was there in the arena, the night rocked. It was great. The crowd was fantastic. Sure, the retirement match had a lot of buzz behind it, but they were on their feet for all the matches. So my brain started working, I’m like, ‘We should do something like this.’ I guess to sum it up in a sentence, I know I dropped a lot of information at Backlash, I think to sum it up in a sentence, it could be a version of WWE’s All-Star game.“
Shounak Chakrabarti is an experienced sports journalist with a lifelong passion for athletics and storytelling. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Journalism from the University of Leeds and joined F4WOnline in 2025.
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