Tag: john cena classic

John Cena classic reportedly being targeted for the end of the year

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

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.“

Blake Monroe, Lyra Valkyria express interest in John Cena Classic

Posted on by Vincent Verhei

We still don’t know when or where the John Cena Classic is going to be, or how it’s going to work. But we’re starting to get some ideas about who might be involved.

A pair women on WWE’s main roster have expressed interest in participating in the JCC. The first is Blake Monroe, who discussed the possibilities in a conversation with Vicente Beltran of Marca, a Spanish sports news site.

“Of course I want to be part of it,” Monroe said. “It looks like it will be a huge tournament and obviously you need to head it with a huge name like the glamorous Blake Monroe.” 

Cena suggested the event would pit stars of Raw and SmackDown against wrestlers from NXT, an idea that gave Monroe mixed emotions. 

“I just escaped from the women of NXT,” she said. “They were tormenting me. But we have a lot of talent. I would love to face Tatum [Paxley] again because we have pending matters after I got into a coffin. There is also Kendall Grey and many new European additions.”

Lyra Valkyria, who also came to WWE through the NXT system, would also like to compete in the JCC. She talked about it with Dom Smith of Soundsphere. 

“With all the talent in NXT, I feel like it just could be anyone’s chance to really make themselves the next big thing,” she said. “So I’m really excited for this tournament, and to see who’s going to stand out and who’s going to step up.”

She also named an NXT opponent she’d like to face: Kelani Jordan.

“We never crossed paths in the ring on NXT, but we got in the ring a lot together in the Performance Center,” Valkyria said. “I’ve always thought she had such a fantastic work ethic, and she’s very cool. I want to see if she stepped up. I’d love to see what she’s got, if I was able to choose anyone.” 

Lyra Valkyria eager to explore AAA’s wrestling style

Posted on by Rosanne Raphael

Lyra Valkyria is eager to crossover and compete on AAA just like Bayley. She further discussed interest in the John Cena Classic and already has a dream opponent set. 

In an interview with Soundsphere, Valkyria expressed interest to participate in the John Cena Classic and indicated at potentially squaring off against Kelani Jordan. 

“Especially with all the talent, like you just said in NXT, you know, I feel like it just could be anyone’s chance to really make themselves the next big thing. So I’m really excited for this tournament, and to see who’s going to, like, stand out, and who’s going to step up.” 

“I crossed over with time in NXT with Kelani Jordan… we never, we never crossed paths in the ring on NXT, but we got in the ring a lot together in the Performance Center.I’ve always thought she had such a fantastic work ethic, and she’s very cool… I want to see if she stepped up. I’d love to see what she’s got, if I was able to choose anyone.” 

Valkyria further cited interest to compete in Lucha Libre AAA. She defined it as an entirely different experience and a new element to wrestling which she would like to be a part of. 

“I’ve never been to Mexico, so I feel like, oh, it’s a whole new world. The style over there… it’s such a huge element of wrestling that I haven’t even touched.”

John Cena announced the special event for new and established WWE talent at Backlash. 

Meanwhile, Valkyria and Bayley have been pursuing the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles. Bayley made her AAA debut in March in response to Flammer’s open challenge for the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship. 

Blake Monroe interested in John Cena Classic, names potential WWE opponents 

Posted on by Rosanne Raphael

WWE’s Blake Monroe is keen on competing in The John Cena Classic and already has a few opponents in mind for the special event. 

In an interview with Marca, Monroe cited it was imperative for her to participate and demonstrate her wrestling skills in The John Cena Classic. Especially after her NXT feuds and ‘unfinished business’ with Tatum Paxley, naming her as a potential opponent. 

“Of course I want to be a part of it. It looks like it’s going to be a huge tournament, and obviously you need to headline it with a huge name like the glamorous Blake Monroe. As for who I’d like to face… I just escaped the women of NXT; they were tormenting me. But we have so much talent. I’d love to face Tatum again because we have unfinished business after he put me in a casket. There’s also Kendall Grey and a lot of new European additions. I’d love to be a part of it. And if I’m not, I’ll still enjoy watching because it’ll be interesting to see how all these people from different backgrounds clash.” 

Monroe was further asked about Asuka’s teased retirement and praised her impact on women’s wrestling. She recalled watching Asuka win the inaugural women’s Royal Rumble in 2018, and was inspired by her wrestling career. 

“For me, Asuka is one of the best wrestlers in the world. I remember watching her after she won the Royal Rumble against Charlotte Flair and thinking, ‘Wow, she’s something special.’ I feel like she came to WWE and raised the bar for the NXT women’s division and the main roster as well. I don’t know what her decision is or where her heart is right now, but I would love to wrestle her someday. So I’m kind of devastated if this really is the end, though I also have enormous respect for her career. It’s incredible.” 

Monroe signed with WWE in 2025 officially joining the NXT roster. Last month, her transition to SmackDown was confirmed however she is yet to make an appearance.

John Cena admits WWE John Cena Classic still ‘a work in progress’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

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.

Three Big Issues With The John Cena Classic/Cena’s Brawl For All | Opinion

Posted on by Jeff Moss

At Backlash this past weekend, we were told that John Cena would make an announcement that would that would shake the “foundation” of WWE. What we got was more like a powerpoint presentation to a shareholders meeting. 

To bring you up to speed, The John Cena Classic will be an event that features matches that showcase up and coming NXT talent in the ring against WWE Main Roster talent, competing for the ridiculously named John Cena Championship. If it sounds like an interesting idea, it gets worse. The fans will vote to see who wins the title based on performance, not who wins or loses. 

I survived living through the Brawl-For-All in the year of our Lord 1998 and I don’t think I’ve seen an idea more poorly thought out until now. I’m sure there are those that would jump at the chance to directly influence outcomes in WWE (The Road Dogg comes to mind) but there are some glaring issues with this concept that are simply just bad ideas for both talent and the audience. 

There Are Too Many Unanswered Questions

One of the things I’ve had the pleasure of doing over the last two years here at F4W is covering Ring of Honor. Every week, there are some really killer matches from a really good roster that largely flies under the radar because it lacks one simple thing that would put it into an NXT or TNA level: there’s virtually no stories. 

The John Cena Classic is reminding me of that. Granted, we don’t know when this thing is happening or who will be participating in it, but as it stands now there is zero actual reason behind it. It’s just a thing that’s happening that has Cena’s name on it. Which begs the question, why are we doing this? 

What does the “Champion” of this Classic get aside from another belt that everyone will forget about in a month? Will they defend it? How are the matchups determined? Is it a dedicated PLE or will it happen across TV shows? Live? Taped? Are we on the precipice of another Cruiserweight Title/205 Live, 24/7 or SPEED situation? 

In his announcement, Cena stated that the intent was to showcase new and up and coming talent, but if they are being put in the ring with Main Roster talent who are arguably supposed to be at a higher level than them, what reason do I have to watch? To see someone maybe win a match, but then actually lose it because the fans didn’t like their trunks? 

Lance Storm Is Right

When it comes to said Main Roster talent, Lance Storm made an excellent point on this week’s Wrestling Observer Live, saying “If I’m a $500,000 main roster talent and I’m in there with a $75,000 a year NXT guy, why would I use my skill and my experience to make him look good? If he wins the popularity contest and wins and gets the push to the championship, I could lose my job.” 

This absolutely makes sense and puts WWE talent in awkward positions where they are being asked to choose between protecting themselves, and their value as Independent Contractors, or putting over a newer talent. Given the amount of unguaranteed contracts and talent in WWE right now it seems entirely unnecessary to put anyone in a position to willfully lower their perceived value

Plus, as Storm points out “There is going to be a TKO executive saying, ‘well why are we paying this guy that lost the fan vote and is less over than this NXT guy that works for way less money?’”

What is a WWE Talent to do? Refuse to lose and be branded as “difficult?” Or be a team player and put over someone who may not be ready and could potentially replace them? When put in that context, this seems way less like a wrestling event and way more like middle management trying to see who’s a team player. 

Hot Take: I Blame TKO

It’s obvious to anyone watching WWE right now that the TKO corporate entity is what’s driving everything happening in WWE. This is, I suppose, inevitable in our megacorp-driven society. But what makes the proposed The John Cena Classic different is that it  feels like one thing to me: It feels like TKO is saying to WWE fans “you know wins and losses don’t matter because it’s not real, right?” 

TKO is removing all the fun of watching and following wrestling, squandering an opportunity to let WWE potentially make some new stars and doing it under the guise of “putting it in the fan’s hands” in a convoluted manner that says to this fan “fine, how about you decide who wins because it’s all pretend anyways.” Can you imagine them ever taking this kind of attitude with a UFC event? 

Wrestling at its best makes the viewer suspend their disbelief without even realizing they are doing it. When the incredible performers that make up the business can achieve that, wins and losses do very much matter. As a viewer, I would be completely disappointed if I watched a barnburner of a match, but then “the internet” decided someone else won.. 

It’d be like watching the Daytona 500, but in the middle of the winner’s celebration, someone stepped onto the stage and said the person who crashed out on the 30th lap actually won because their crash was more spectacular. 

I would absolutely love a John Cena Classic tournament that was heavily promoted, featured exciting matchups and told a story about what Cena embodies; working hard and not giving up. Unfortunately, his Classic as it stands now doesn’t really feel like it’s about either. 

Jeff Jarrett reveals his issues with John Cena Classic concept

Posted on by Jake Skudder

Former WCW, TNA and current AEW name Jeff Jarrett recently discussed his issues with the new John Cena Classic format, saying that he is a massive fan of Cena as a performer but there are glaring problems with the new concept itse

In comments that were somewhat echoed by Lance Storm earlier this week, Jarrett would note on his My World podcast that the suspension of disbelief needed when watching pro wrestling will become an issue when wins and losses don’t inherently matter. Which is in part of what this new format will entail due to the social voting element determining the “champion.”

Jeff Jarrett on John Cena Classic

“I get it from a business perspective. It’s the funnel to get people engaged and there’s going to be an X poll, there’s going to be a TikTok poll, they’re going to be on every social media platform. There’s going to be all kinds of social custom content and, I don’t know if they announced the sponsor for this, but that’s probably going to be one of John’s VO accounts that he has,” Jarrett would begin.

“But from the storytelling component of this, you can become champion and you don’t have to win your matches…we may be all kind of overthinking this, and it is what it is, because the whole world knows we’re scripted entertainment, but we at least want to get lost in the story, someone trying to WIN the title. It takes that component out, the suspension of disbelief, what matters in our world, as we’re watching this two hour or three hour episode or three hour premium live event. [If we don’t need to] get immersed in the story, why do we care when a hip toss happens or a false finish happens or there’s a spectacular move off the top rope?”

If you use any of the transcriptions on this page then please credit F4WOnline and link back to this page.

Lance Storm points out potentially glaring issue with The John Cena Classic format

Posted on by Jake Skudder

John Cena recently revealed that The John Cena Classic Championship will be making its way to WWE programming in the near future, with a unique format featuring matches with main roster and NXT stars. The USP with the JCC is fans voting to determine who will be the John Cena Classic Champion.

What that means is, essentially, that wins and losses in the tournament do not ‘matter.’ You can lose a match in the Classic and still end up becoming the Champion….but only if the fans like you enough to vote for you.

Lance Storm on The John Cena Classic

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Live, F4W’s own Lance Storm pointed out a potentially glaring issue with the new format and why it might lead to talent not wanting to put over their colleagues on TV:

“If I’m a $500,000 main roster talent and I’m in there with a $75,000 a year NXT guy, why would I use my skill and my experience to make him look good? If he wins the popularity contest and wins and gets the push to the championship, I could lose my job” Lance noted. “Because there is going top be a TKO executive saying, ‘well why are we paying this guy that lost the fan vote and is less over than this NXT guy that works for way less money?'”

One of the biggest elements to making a pro wrestling match work is the talent working together, which is something Lance points out could be thrown out the window: “If I know ahead of time, ‘Hey, you’re getting a push, we wanna protect this guy,’ I’ll make him look good. But if I don’t know who’s winning or losing the actual fan vote, it’s no longer in my interest to make the guy look good.”

Bayley teases match with WWE NXT name for The John Cena Classic 

Posted on by Rosanne Raphael

At Backlash, John Cena announced The John Cena Classic – a new event and championship to launch the next big star in WWE basis fan votes. 

A fan posted on X showcasing interest in voting for Bayley vs. Tatum Paxley. Bayley tagged and called out Paxley in the post thread whether she was ready for a match. Paxley responded that she was. 

Paxley is the NXT Women’s North American Champion. She signed with WWE in 2021 and has been actively competing on the NXT brand. Last year she defeated Jacy Jayne to win the Women’s Championship despite being for a short reign of 24 days. 

Bayley’s eagerness to foster and mentor talents has been evident in WWE and beyond. She hosted a couple of Lodestone Wrestling Seminars to give back to the industry and uplift the next generation of talents. 

Last year, she teamed up with Lyra Valkyria and competed for the Women’s Tag Team Titles. They participated in the fatal four-way tag team bout at WrestleMania 42 for the titles eventually won by Brie Bella and Paige.

Bayley returned to AAA last weekend and assisted Lola Vice and La Catalina from Las Toxicas’ ambush.

John Cena says new event concept ‘isn’t perfect’ but is ‘authentically me’

Posted on by Bryan Rose

John Cena realizes his new concept isn’t perfect, but then again, neither is he.

The multi-time WWE Champion took to social media on Sunday to explain his thoughts on the new John Cena Classic event he announced at Backlash, saying it represents himself authentically.

“When asked to give advice, especially with WWE, I often reply ‘be authentic’, ‘do not fear failure’, ‘know your why,’ Cena wrote. “The John Cena Classic may not be perfect by any means yet it’s authentically me (I am not perfect either) and reflects my values and beliefs. I’m aware that there is the risk it might be a total failure and I’m not afraid of that and believe it’s still worth stepping ‘in the arena.’”

Cena wrote further that his goal was to be as useful as possible by creating new opportunities for NXT wrestlers.

“My ‘why’ in WWE is to consistently be as useful as possible for as long as possible, with my in ring career at an end, my ‘why’ is to use whatever energy or relevance I have left in hopes to create a launchpad of opportunity for all talent to show their skills while simultaneously creating a unique experience for our dedicated fan base. At the very least..we all learn something. At the very best..we all create something. I’m ready for wherever the road takes us. Thank you WWE for this opportunity. More details to come as we figure all this out!”

John Cena had been hyping a Backlash announcement all last week

At Backlash, the WWE icon revealed the John Cena Classic as an event that would see NXT wrestlers and WWE main roster stars compete against one another, similar to the undercard of his final match in December. He said that the new champion from the event would be determined via fan vote, noting that even those who lose their match on the show would still be eligible to become champion.

Prior to his reveal, Cena had been promoting his Backlash appearance hard in the last week, saying it would be a ‘defining moment’ in his career.

WWE reveals new event, championship named after John Cena

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The John Cena Classic is coming.

John Cena revealed on Saturday during WWE Backlash that a brand new event and championship would be coming to WWE, the John Cena Classic. This event would feature both NXT and WWE stars doing battle with the intention of winning the new John Cena Classic Championship. 

Cena explained that he would look for a certain level of excellence as he is personally putting his name on the project. He also emphasized that the audience will vote to crown the champion of the event. Every participant will qualify, meaning that even if someone loses, their hustle could get them the championship.

The WWE legend said he hoped to do this event for a long time to come and thanked the likes of Oba Femi for making something like this a reality. He also thanked Tampa Bay before sending it to the main event between Jacob Fatu and Roman Reigns. 

Cena hyped up his announcement in the last week

In the week prior to Backlash, the Benchmark Arena in Tampa had advertised John Cena would be making an appearance. Cena confirmed the news shortly thereafter, saying his announcement at the show would “shock the very foundation of WWE” and would be ‘another defining moment of my WWE career.’

Once he arrived on Saturday, Cena put over his final match undercard at Saturday Night’s Main Event back in December, saying he was happy that the event was a showcase of the future. He put over stars like Sol Ruca, Je’Von Evans, and Oba Femi, saying they got the spotlight that night.