Why John Cena Wanted To Do The “John Cena Classic” In WWE

John Cena admits he’s “super excited” about the new tournament he’s bringing to WWE.

As a 17-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion who has won more major championships than anyone in WWE history and has spent 20+ years as a main-event talent, John Cena is in rarefied air. That’s why many people refer to Cena as WWE’s GOAT – Greatest of All Time.

At the WWE Backlash PLE in Tampa, John Cena appeared to announce the launch of the John Cena Classic, believed to be a tournament in which the winner will earn a new championship.

Cena went on to say that WWE fans will play a big role in the John Cena Classic by voting for winners, and noted that even match losers could be winners if they earn the fans’ respect. Cena also spoke about how it would pit some NXT wrestlers against WWE main roster stars as part of the Classic.

There are still details that need to be announced, but Cena told Adam’s Apple that he’s excited about it.

“Oh my god, I’m super excited. It’s awesome. 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 can’t wait till we announce the date and location. I think that’s obviously step one, and we’ll go from there.”

Cena went on to explain what he’s looking for.

“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.” (H/T Ringsidenews)

John Cena Classic Could Have Issues

Jeff Jarrett is a legendary WWE Hall of Famer who works for AEW, and spent many years as an owner/promoter of TNA Wrestling as well.

Speaking on his My World podcast, Double J explained why WWE’s Cena Classic isn’t a great idea.

“I get it from a business perspective. It’s the funnel to get people engaged and there’s going to be an X poll, there’s going to be a TikTok poll, they’re going to be on every social media platform. There’s going to be all kinds of social custom content and, I don’t know if they announced the sponsor for this, but that’s probably going to be one of John’s VO accounts that he has.

But from the storytelling component of this, you can become champion and you don’t have to win your matches…we may be all kind of overthinking this, and it is what it is, because the whole world knows we’re scripted entertainment, but we at least want to get lost in the story, someone trying to WIN the title.

It takes that component out, the suspension of disbelief, what matters in our world, as we’re watching this two hour or three hour episode or three hour premium live event. [If we don’t need to] get immersed in the story, why do we care when a hip toss happens or a false finish happens or there’s a spectacular move off the top rope?”

While Jarrett may have some valid points, it’s also hard to criticize without knowing all the details yet. There should be plenty of those details in the coming weeks and months.

Also Read: Mastermind Behind Blockbuster John Cena Feud In WWE Finally Revealed