The men’s and women’s winners of the John Cena Classic will be decided by a fan vote, according to Wrestling Observer Radio. The event takes place on December 14 and features main roster wrestlers against NXT talent.
Club WWE members will vote after the matches. Fans will have about four minutes during a commercial break to make their picks, which means a wrestler could lose a match and still be named the winner.
On Wrestling Observer Radio, Bryan Alvarez criticized the format, saying the match results may not matter if the winner is decided by popularity. Dave Meltzer said the wrestler with the most votes will win, even if that wrestler lost the match.
Meltzer said winning the Classic will not guarantee a championship match, a storyline or a main roster push. WWE has described the matches as exhibitions.
Meltzer also said WWE could use the event to feature NXT wrestlers who are already close to a call-up, but those decisions would likely come from WWE’s existing plans rather than the vote. He did not claim WWE would influence the result, but said it would not surprise him if the company did so if fans backed a wrestler it did not expect.
Zilla Fatu and Cody Rhodes are the first two entrants. Cena has said he wants the Classic to become a yearly WWE event that gives rising talent a chance to work with established stars.
