John Cena States That WWE John Cena Classic Is A ‘Work In Progress’
John Cena speaks more about his announcement.
It was advertised for WWE’s 2026 Backlash Premium Live Event that 17-time WWE World Champion John Cena would be making a major announcement.
Cena showed up to unveil the John Cena Classic, which will see established WWE talent taking on the rising stars. There will also be a championship awarded to the tournament winner, which is going to be decided via fan polling, and that includes wrestlers who were bounced out of the tournament.
Adam’s Apple caught up with Cena and asked him about the tournament. Cena said it’s a work in progress.
“Oh my God, I’m super excited… It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time, 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, so, I can’t wait to see what it is, I can’t wait till we announce the date and location and I think that’s obviously step one and we’ll go from there.”
To follow up on that, Cena was asked who is on his radar for the John Cena Classic, and he said the following:
“Here’s an interesting perspective… I try to shut my radar off. Because I wasn’t on anybody’s radar, and I managed to have a wonderful career. Guys like CM Punk, and even Seth Rollins, might not necessarily be on somebody’s radar. Becky Lynch is a story about someone who was not necessarily on somebody’s radar and made something. There are sure shots. Brock Lesnar was born to do what we do. I think Joe Anoa’i, Roman Reigns is another one… I like turning the radar off and I like seeing what people can do. I like seeing potential when the bright lights are on and maybe that’s the nucleus of the John Cena Classic. It’s how I got my start.”
Bayley and NXT Women’s North American Champion Tatum Paxley had an interaction about a potential match in the John Cena Classic.
If the quotes in this article are used, please credit Adam’s Apple with an H/T to Fightful for the transcription.
