Are we sure John Cena is retired from WWE?

Cena is all over the WWE calendar as 2026 wraps up. He retired from in-ring competition last year at WWE Saturday Night's Main Event. Though he is no longer an active participant in the ring, he is keeping up his relationship with the WWE Universe.

For the first time since this year's Backlash event, Cena appeared on WWE television during Raw from inside the Barclays Center in New York, where he was on hand to announce details about the upcoming John Cena Classic tournament. He also revealed the John Cena Classic title belt and Cody Rhodes as his first invitee into the tournament field.

The John Cena Classic is scheduled to take place as part of a special two-day event with Marvel Studios beginning on December 14 in Orlando. The goal will be to crown a tournament champion and the audience will have a say in who the winner is.

WWE announces new television dates for John Cena

After his announcement on Raw, WWE released additional televised dates for Cena for the rest of 2026. Cena will be appearing in person at the following events:

• November 13 for SmackDown in Ft. Lauderdale

• November 16 in Raleigh for Raw

• November 28 in Houston for Survivor Series

Cena will, of course, be in attendance for the actual John Cena Classic event on December 14. In addition to that, he's scheduled to appear on this week's special Wednesday night edition of NXT. The show was forced to move from its usual Tuesday slot due to election coverage in the United States. Cena and NXT will be taking on AEW's Blood and Guts edition of Dynamite in a head-to-head ratings battle.

Cena's role on NXT is still unknown. Other main roster talent is scheduled for the show in an effort to defeat the competition. CM Punk will wrestle Grayson Waller for the NXT Championship and Cody Rhodes will crown the winner of the 2026 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

Cody Rhodes is the first entrant in the John Cena Classic, but making it to tournament day will be difficult for the American Nightmare. On Saturday night at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia, Rhodes is scheduled to face Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing Match. Orton and Rhodes have been feuding since WrestleMania this year.

Other announced matches for Crown Jewel include Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn and Liv Morgan vs. Chelsea Green for the WWE Crown Jewel Championships. Cena is not being advertised for this PLE.