Former WWE star says the John Cena Classic “undermines the fundamental principle of pro wrestling”
The 2026 John Cena Classic will feature exhibition matches between WWE main roster and NXT wrestlers, with Club WWE members voting for the performers they feel had the best showing. A men’s and women’s champion will be crowned based on the fan voting, meaning wrestlers don’t necessarily have to win their matches to earn the distinction.
While speaking to Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline.com, former WWE star Lance Storm discussed the format. Here was the exchange…
Alvarez: “It’s a lot easier to have a bad match than a good one. If me and Lance are doing a match together and we both know the winner is going to get a push, which probably is going to result in them making a lot more money, what benefit, even if Lance is my friend, do I have to make him look really good?
If I feel that Lance is beginning to outshine me in this match, it’s not hard to be a little out of position for one of his moves. It’s not hard to not feed him the leg right for his rolling half crab. There’s a lot of things that I can accidentally do. You know what I’m saying? It’s like, I don’t understand what they’re thinking here. These are workers coming up with these ideas, but it’s so easy to sabotage someone if you think they’re trying to sabotage you. I don’t get it, dude.”
Storm: “It goes against the fundamentals of this industry. It is completely ridiculous.
Because, as you say, the whole point is we’re supposed to make each other look good. But if there’s actually something to be achieved by it—and again, back when you were in the main event, you got paid more money in the territory days. Guys did sabotage each other in matches.
Go back and watch Starrcade ’97, when Hogan completely sabotaged Sting and buried his big return because he didn’t want Sting to take his spot. It’s like that’s what you’re creating here. I don’t know if it’s worse than that, but in addition to that, you’re further undermining fans’ investment in wins and losses.
You’re further trivializing what winning a belt means because it’s just, ‘You got four minutes to vote on WWE.com. We’ll give this guy a belt.’ It’s like, it undermines everything this industry is about. It undermines fan reaction. It undermines fan investment. It undermines the value of being a champion, and it undermines the fundamental principle of pro wrestling.”