John Cena Unveils Cena Classic Championship, Names Cody Rhodes First Invitee for December 14

John Cena appeared on WWE Monday Night Raw on Monday, November 2, 2026, and gave the John Cena Classic a date, a place, a championship belt and its first wrestler. The inaugural Classic will take place on Monday, December 14, 2026, at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and Cody Rhodes is the first official invitee.

Cena made the announcements on a special edition of Raw at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The show started at 6 p.m. ET and was the last Raw before Crown Jewel on Saturday, November 7 in Riyadh. Cena had first announced the Classic concept at WWE Backlash in May 2026 and had promised that the full details would come on this Raw.

Two Raw episodes in one day

December 14 will hold two episodes of Raw on the same day. Raw airs first from RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, and a second Raw that evening from the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando hosts the Classic. WWE confirmed the date and the Orlando venue in a post from its official account during the show.

"I have my heart and soul in this event. My name is on this event. This event encapsulates every single thing I stand for: perseverance, hustle, loyalty, respect," Cena said.

A belt that nods to the spinner title

Cena unveiled the John Cena Classic Championship belt in the ring. The design calls back to his famous spinner WWE Championship, with a silhouette of Cena doing his salute on the front plate. This belt does not spin.

Rhodes is, so far, the only name in the field. No other invitees were named on the show. Cena said the rest of the field will be revealed gradually, and he plans to appear on NXT on Wednesday, and on Raw, SmackDown and Survivor Series in Houston over the coming weeks, to personally invite more wrestlers.

"Brooklyn understands why you are number one. Number one sets the pace, sets the tone. There is going to be more invites," Cena told Rhodes.

An apology before Orton interrupted

The segment also carried a personal turn. Cena apologized to Rhodes for comments he made on Busted Open radio, where he said Rhodes was carrying a weight he could not handle. Cena told him the opposite in the ring. "You are just carrying it better than I ever could," he said. Rhodes accepted the apology before Randy Orton interrupted the segment.

The interruption pointed straight at Saturday. Rhodes faces Orton in a Last Man Standing match at Crown Jewel on November 7 in Riyadh. Rhodes goes into that match as the first man invited to the Classic, with the rest of the December 14 field still to be named one invite at a time.