The time is now for the John Cena Classic. Or so it seems.

WWE made news on this week's episode of WWE Raw on Netflix when they announced that John Cena would be making his return to the company on next week's edition of the show. Next week's Raw emanates from Brooklyn and Cena is being promoted for that event, which will have a special start time.

When WWE made the Cena announcement this week, it didn't provide details about his appearance. Cena changed that on Tuesday morning.

WWE Raw special start time and announcement

Cena took to social media on Tuesday and announced that details of the long-awaited John Cena Classic tournament would be revealed by him when he appears on Raw next week. Cena announced the John Cena Classic tournament earlier this year at Backlash PLE, but specifics and the date of the event weren't revealed.

"Make sure not to miss WWE Raw next week. Special start time of 6pm EST. The wait is over. The speculation ends 11/. Let's build this "never seen" classic. Our time is now!"

John Cena on X

Make sure not to miss #WWERaw next week. SPECIAL START TIME OF 6PM EST! The wait is over, the speculation ends 11/2.

Let’s build this “Never Seen” CLASSIC!
OUR time is NOW! https://t.co/Th5rwBhTIQ

— John Cena (@JohnCena) October 27, 2026

2025 was the year of John Cena. He became the world champion for a record-setting 17th time and also embarked on a worldwide retirement tour. In December of that year, Cena lost to Gunther in his last match at Saturday Night's Main Event. Cena has maintained that he would not wrestle another match after retirement, but left the door wide open for non-wrestling WWE appearances.

Will Cena manage tournament backlash next week?

After retiring, Cena made his first appearance at WrestleMania as the special guest host of the two-night event in Vegas. He then appeared at Backlash and announced the tournament.

"This one night is an exhibition, Cena told The Takedown on SI in an exclusive interview. "We don't have to lead up to it. We don't have to get any involvement. I'm gonna personally invite these people into the event, and we're gonna have the event. It's literally a standalone thing."

WWE fans pushed back on the tournament announcement because it seemed to discount wins and losses in a product built on both. In the interview, Cena addressed those concerns and said that the wins and losses absolutely still matter, but that the door would be open for match losers to get noticed based on how they performed and their connection with the audience.

WWE has not announced a date for the Cena Classic and reports last week indicated that there may be a scheduling issue with it. John Cena will be on Raw next week to address the entire situation.

Next week's Raw will also feature Royce Keys vs. Solo Sikoa in a singles match. The Bloodline and 946 have been at odds for months.