Cena launches fan-voted classic blending WWE, NXT talent
John Cena announced the John Cena Classic during WWE Backlash in Tampa, Florida, on May 9, 2026. The event will showcase wrestlers from WWE's main brands and NXT, with fans voting to crown the champion. Participants who lose individual matches remain eligible for the overall title.
Cena described the event as an evening pitting "the best of today" against "the best of tomorrow," with WWE superstars and NXT talent competing for a championship bearing his name. He emphasized striving for excellence to make it special and called the audience WWE's "biggest star."
The announcement followed Cena's tease of "history-making" news ahead of Backlash. He had recently featured NXT talents on the card before his final match in Washington, D.C., in December 2025, where he lost to Gunther. Those matches included Sol Ruca beating Bayley, Oba Femi facing Cody Rhodes, and Je’Von Evans and Leon Slater against AJ Styles and Dragon Lee.
Since then, Femi defeated Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 42, Evans nearly won the Intercontinental Championship there, Ruca joined Raw to challenge Becky Lynch for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship, and Slater nears a record X-Division Championship reign in TNA. No date has been set for the John Cena Classic amid WWE's busy summer schedule.
