‘The John Cena Classic’ WWE Vs. NXT Event Announced At Backlash 2026, Fans To Choose The Champion

Published: 18 minutes ago by Liam | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago by Liam

Liam has been reporting & analyzing wrestling news for over eight years, and is currently the Managing Editor at WrestleTalk.com. Immersed in wrestling for 18 years, he has over 11,000 published articles in addition to leading and overseeing WrestleTalk.com's coverage.

‘The John Cena Classic’ WWE Vs. NXT Event Announced At Backlash 2026, Fans To Choose The Champion

John Cena made his self-dubbed “history-making” announcement at WWE Backlash 2026 tonight – The John Cena Classic event.

Cena said the event will rejuvenate the concept of his retirement show in December where NXT stars faced main roster stars, with Oba Femi, Sol Ruca and Je’Von Evans all having been part of that show and now being firmly established as main roster names in recent months.

He also said the John Cena Classic Championship will be introduced, and perhaps most notable of all, the winner of the championship will actually be voted for by fans rather than being determined by the results of the matches.

Cena also mentioned that he doesn’t want this to just be a one-off but a recurring event on the WWE calendar. There were no details announced as to where or when the event will be held.

Many expected Cena’s announcement to have something to do with Club WWE, which he has been heavily involved in promoting in recent months, but he didn’t make any mention of that as part of this new event.

How Will Club WWE Change WWE’s Product?

WWE has been advertising Club WWE since prior to WrestleMania, with a lot of fans wondering how, if at all, the official announcement could change the product we see on screen.

The company has already begun the process of copyrighting clips from external sources on social media, which many believe to be in direct correlation to the upcoming launch of Club WWE, which the company is marketing as the ‘official WWE fan hub’.

The launch of the WWE Network back in 2014 was a revelation for the company, being one of the greatest decisions the company made, with a lot of fans still looking back fondly on the Network.

With part of Club WWE’s marketing being that it will offer more looks behind the scenes at the promotion, we could see more shows like Unreal in the future.