Dave Meltzer Reveals WWE Considered Aspects Of John Cena Classic For 15 Years

John Cena sparked plenty of discussion following his Backlash announcement of the proposed John Cena Classic, a crossover tournament involving both WWE main roster and NXT Superstars. The concept has drawn attention because of its unusual format, including fan voting elements and a structure that could allow losing wrestlers to continue advancing.

According to the reveal, fans will play a direct role, voting to determine the eventual winner of the new championship and the tournament. The format immediately raised questions online about how match results would factor into the competition.

Dave Meltzer addressed the situation on Wrestling Observer Radio, describing the idea as something WWE has discussed internally for years without officially launching it. He said the company has explored variations of the concept for roughly 15 years. He characterized the current version as a work in progress rather than a finalized system already locked in (via Wrestling Inc).

“This isn’t the first time I’ve heard this one,” Meltzer said. “There’ve been people talking about this kind of thing for, god, fifteen years. It’s just no one ever actually went with it, you know?”

Meltzer could not provide any explanation for why this particular version was selected, but he asserted that it was inevitable since WWE’s mindset is not to take wins and losses seriously.

“They’ve been going in that direction for years anyway,” Meltzer said. “But this is…yeah. This is the ultimate [example] that the finish means nothing.”

The crossover between main roster and WWE NXT performers has added further intrigue, especially as younger talent could share the spotlight with established stars.

Cena’s announcement became one of the major talking points coming out of Backlash weekend, largely because of the tournament’s unconventional structure and WWE’s apparent willingness to experiment with a different format.