John Cena Reveals Shocking Truth About WWE Retirement Tour And New Cena Classic Tournament Plans
WWE News: John Cena has revealed that both his WWE retirement tour and the newly announced John Cena Classic tournament were his own ideas. The WWE legend also shared how long the company spent developing both projects before making them official.
- John Cena revealed that he personally pitched his WWE retirement tour idea.
- Cena also confirmed that “The John Cena Classic” tournament was his concept.
- WWE is still yet to announce the official start date for the new tournamen
John Cena may have stepped away from full-time wrestling, but he's clearly still shaping WWE behind the scenes. Months after wrapping up his emotional retirement run, the WWE legend is back in headlines after revealing that two major recent WWE ideas actually started with him. Fans already knew Cena played a big role during his farewell year, but many did not expect him to be directly connected to WWE's newest tournament concept too. The 16-time world champion recently opened up about how both his retirement tour and the newly announced “John Cena Classic” took a long time to build before WWE officially approved them. Cena explained that neither project happened overnight, and a lot of planning went into getting everything ready before fans ever heard about it.
John Cena says the retirement tour was completely his own idea
During a recent conversation with Sports Illustrated's Takedown, Cena shared that he personally pitched the idea for his WWE retirement tour. According to him, the process was far longer than most fans probably imagined. He explained that after WWE accepted the idea, it still took around a year and a half for everything to fully come together.
Cena's final in-ring match happened in December 2025, where he lost to Gunther after tapping out in a shocking ending that surprised a lot of WWE fans. Since retiring from active competition, Cena has only made occasional WWE appearances, including serving as the host of WrestleMania 42.
Even though he is no longer wrestling regularly, it's pretty clear Cena still wants to stay involved creatively with the company.
The new “John Cena Classic” tournament was also pitched by Cena himself
One of the biggest surprises from WWE Backlash 2026 was the announcement of “The John Cena Classic.” The tournament will feature stars from both NXT and WWE's main roster, but the twist is what really got fans talking. WWE confirmed that fan voting will help decide the winner, meaning someone could technically lose matches but still win the overall competition through votes.
Now, Cena has revealed that this idea also came directly from him.
He explained that the tournament concept took several months to prepare before he finally presented it to WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H. After that, WWE reportedly spent another couple of months working through the details before moving forward with the project.
As of now, WWE still hasn't confirmed when the tournament will officially begin. Fans are also curious whether Cena will simply present the tournament or become more involved on-screen once it starts.