John Cena has sent the WWE Universe into a frenzy once again. The 17-time WWE World Champion is finally set to make his first televised appearance since May 2026, when he appeared at the Backlash Premium Live Event.
Cena retired from in-ring competition last year, tapping out to Gunther in his final match at Saturday Night’s Main Event. His last appearance on the red brand was on November 17, 2025, at Madison Square Garden when he teamed up with Sheamus and Rey Mysterio for a Six-Man Tag Team Match.
Thanks for the submission!
Quoting WWE on X, Cena hyped up his return set for later today. He is set to announce further details regarding the Classic.
“We’ve officially entered the season… the CLASSIC season! There have been many questions asked by patient observers, TONIGHT we lay the foundation for this history-making event. Don’t miss #WWERaw at a special start time of 6pm ET on @netflix!” wrote Cena.
Check out Cena’s post:
The Classic became official at WWE Backlash on May 9 in Tampa, when Cena promised “an entire evening of the best of today competing against the best of tomorrow,” with main roster stars facing NXT talent. The hook is the finish: the WWE Universe votes on the winner, so a superstar can lose their match and still leave as the inaugural John Cena Classic Champion. Cena has admitted he isn’t sure it will work.
John Cena is still an advocate for WrestleMania in London
The Classic is not the only cause John Cena is campaigning for. On the Off Menu podcast with Ed Gamble and James Acaster in October, he made clear his ambassador role has not cooled his push to take WrestleMania to London.
“My role now is way more lax, and I’m still an advocate. I’ll say it right here to give you guys some good information—I’m still an advocate to try to bring WrestleMania to London,”
WrestleMania 43 heads to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in April 2027, the first edition outside North America, which Cena has called “proof of concept that it can be done.” At this time, WWE hasn’t hinted at or confirmed the idea of hosting WrestleMania in London.
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Edited by Soumik Datta
