John Cena is fully acknowledging both the excitement and criticism around his newly announced WWE John Cena Classic. The discussion becomes pertinent after many questioned the idea of fan voting for champions even if they lose their matches.
The 17-time world champion revealed the concept during WWE Backlash. The John Cena Classic will feature WWE main roster stars competing with WWE NXT talent in a special exhibition-style event. Cena also announced that fans can decide the champion through voting, and every wrestler in the event can receive votes.
The idea started a big debate online. Some fans felt it takes away the importance of winning matches. Others wondered whether wrestlers might care more about standing out individually instead of working together to put on great matches.
John Cena defends WWE’s fan voting system In John Cena Classic
Speaking with CBS Sports, Cena responded to the criticism and admitted he understands why fans are unsure about the idea. However, he said the goal of the John Cena Classic is to bring something fresh and different to WWE.
“In a business where everybody says every story’s been told before, I want to swing for something new. And of course, I believe in sports entertainment meritocracy, and I believe that WWE is an excellent meritocracy. Now, every statement I say, there’s gonna be multiple sides to that. People will have an opinion that agrees, people will have an opinion that disagrees, there might be apathy, and there might be some in the middle,” Cena said.
According to Cena, the idea came from the energy around SNME and his retirement tour. He described the John Cena Classic as WWE’s version of an “All-Star Game,” where fans can see unique matchups and dream matches without needing long storylines behind them.
Cena also stressed that the event intends to help younger WWE NXT stars get more exposure by facing established WWE names on a bigger stage.
“It’s a night of exhibition, so we don’t really have to build any long lead stories into it. It is the current competing with… and that means they might be paired with, who knows, the bracketology is endless, they could be paired with, they could be up against the future of the company, Superstars from NXT,” Cena said.
Cena also reflected on his own early wrestling days back in 2002 while training in OVW. At the time, WWE’s roster was filled with huge stars, making it feel almost impossible for new talent to break through.
“This takes me back to 2002 when we had this young class in OVW. Brock was on a path of his own for sure, but man I was sitting in OVW going, ‘How am I ever gonna get a chance?’ Because the roster was stacked. You had guys like Triple H, Kane, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, The Rock, to everyone…it was stacked, and it’s like, ‘Man, I’m never gonna get a chance.’ I felt like that. Sometimes I know how these NXT talent might feel. They’ve been down there for a year, two years, three years… ‘When am I gonna get my chance?’” Cena said.
“Well for one night, if you can come up, drop your business card, see what happens, show the world what you have. And on top of it, if you steal the show, and maybe you’re not lucky enough to get the 1-2-3 and get your hand raised, every participant qualifies for kind of a fan All Star vote. So you could be recognized as the night’s champion,” Cena added.
At the same time, Cena admitted WWE continues to establish the details of how fan voting will actually function.
“Now, I’ve heard the perspective of, ‘Wins and losses don’t matter.’ That’s a very valid point. I love listening to feedback. We’ve gotta figure out the fan votes. There’s still a lot to be done. But you can vote for the winners. You just can also vote for everybody. And that’s a first-time,” Cena said.
Cena recalled his memories of being “one of the most polarizing figures in WWE over the past 23 years” and concluded by saying that “it wouldn’t be normal if there wasn’t folks that were cheering and folks that weren’t.”
Cena also doubled down on his opinion in a post on X, where he admitted the idea might not work perfectly but said he is willing to take that risk.
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