WWE Backlash 2026 saw the announcement of the first-ever John Cena Classic. The event—presumed tournament— will feature wrestlers from the main roster facing wrestlers from NXT. Announced by John Cena himself. The tournament will continue the legacy of the wrestler it was named after by doing what he always did: giving a chance to younger talent. Always, in this case, meaning his last December at Saturday Night’s Main Event.
There’s nothing offensive about the tournament when presented like this. After all, December’s SNME was a financial and critical success.
The problem lies in the way wrestlers will advance in the next steps of the tournament. From the dawn of time, the rules in wrestling tournaments stated that the wrestler who wins goes to the next stage.
It won’t be the case for the JCC.
Fans will be given the opportunity to choose which wrestler goes to the next stage via a vote. This raises some obvious questions. How much of the vote will be accurate? Whenever WWE experimented with giving fans a direct say in creating decisions, it has either backfired or the choice was a mirage.
Should this match be Extreme Rules, Hardcore, or Street Fight? You choose the rules.
What’s more, would WWE really accept that someone they view as a jobber beat one of the talents they’re keen on protecting based on their status and the money they generate? What if the WWE Universe Club WWE decides that Kit Wilson is to go through after a 3-minute squash to Oba Femi? Or, worse even, that Finn Bálor goes over a former World Champion? No way they would allow that.
However, giving thought to these questions already gives too much credit to the concept.
While professional wrestling started as a legitimate competitive sport, it evolved into a pre-determined affair which demanded collaboration between the two parties. What it has never been, however, is a jury sport.
Collaboration means that, regardless of the result, the two or more parties involved need one another to look good. Even a small amount of non-collaboritivity will ruin the spectacle.
Having results determined based on the crowd’s perception disregards this aspect and turns wrestling into a jury sport like ballet or ice skating. The fundamental difference between those sports and professional wrestling is that the goal is not to beat the one you’re dancing with. When two people are dancing together, they’re a team—they get eliminated or go through together.
The rules of the John Cena Classic make it so there is no incentive for a wrestler to go out of his way to elevate his opponent.
Ric Flair was renowned for making his opponents look better than they are. His matches with Sting helped make him a star after JCP’s higher-ups wanted him to take the role of Ric Flair as the face of the promotion. STing had the physique and charisma, but was still green in the ring. Paired with the experience of Flair, he looked like a million bucks. With Flair gone, Sting was not able to carry similarly green wrestlers like Lex Luger and was ultimately unable to carry the brand.
Had the rules been that fans would pick who looked better to go over, Flair would have been a jobber, given his ability to elevate his opponents.
You don’t entertain people by giving them what they say they want on a plate. People are entertained when presented with stakes nd giving them a chance to be satisfied or upset.
This being said, John Cena admitted his eponymous classic is imperfect and still a work in progress. This probably tells us that the John Cena Classis will end up as nothing more than a regular tournament once people in the office with their compounded wrestling minds realise it’s a terrible idea.
