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John Cena has cleared up what the John Cena Classic will actually be, and it will not be a tournament at all.
Speaking to The Takedown on Sports Illustrated, Cena said the December 14 event at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando will be built around exhibition matches, with WWE main roster stars facing NXT stars. There will be no bracket, and no one will advance through rounds to a final.
Instead, the night will crown two champions, one man and one woman, decided by a fan vote. Club WWE members will vote after the matches, in the same way fans vote on American Idol, and the winners will be announced before the broadcast ends.
“They are all gonna be current main roster stars versus NXT. It is very much like Saturday Night’s Main Event, and I love that December 14th is the date, because that is one year and one day from my last match,” Cena said.
Cena retired on December 13, 2025, losing to Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event. He said he started thinking about the Classic on the way home that night, and he wants it to be a yearly event in the style of the Arnold Classic, built around giving NXT wrestlers a big stage.
Only two entrants are confirmed so far. Cody Rhodes was named the first invitee on Raw, and Zilla Fatu was handed an invitation on NXT. Cena said Rhodes was the obvious cornerstone for the event, and Fatu got his spot as the son of Umaga, one of Cena’s old rivals.
Cena also warned the event may not come back. He said Paul Levesque and Nick Khan agreed to try the idea, and if it does not work, there is no need to do it again next year.
What is confirmed is the December 14 date, the exhibition format, the two champions, and the Club WWE vote. What is not confirmed is the rest of the field, or whether the Classic becomes a yearly event.
