According to Viper Reports, John Cena is scheduled to open tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown at the Amerant Bank Arena in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Cena hasn’t appeared on SmackDown since September 5, 2025, when he bid farewell to the brand in Chicago, a little over three months before his retirement.
WWE has announced that Cena will be on SmackDown to invite more names to the John Cena Classic. Five wrestlers have been invited to the event so far. Cody Rhodes was invited on the November 2 episode of RAW, Zilla Fatu on the November 4 episode of NXT, and Noam Dar, Romeo Moreno and Kelani Jordan on Tuesday’s NXT.
Assuming everything goes through as planned, tonight will be the first time Cena has invited a wrestler to the event on SmackDown, as four of the five were invited on NXT and only Rhodes on Raw.
After tonight, Cena is also advertised for Monday’s RAW in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Survivor Series: WarGames on November 28 in Houston, Texas.
The John Cena Classic will take place on Monday, December 14, at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World in Orlando.
THE GOAT IS HERE! @JohnCena returns to #SmackDown to discuss the John Cena Classic 🫡 📍: Fort Lauderdale, FL 🎟️: https://t.co/i8iLkidMtn 📺: 8 ET/7 CT on @USANetwork https://t.co/01C6PDSWNi
— WWE (@WWE) November 13, 2026