John Cena, who will host the first John Cena Classic on December 14, revealed that he will disappear completely shortly after the show. Cena wants to take time off starting around December 15 and won’t be back until January 4 or 5, about three weeks later.
In a new interview with Rick Ucchino of The Takedown on SI to promote Chime’s holiday campaign, Cena said the end of the year is all about family.
“I make sure around [December] 15th, I am a ghost and I will resurface about January 4th or 5th,” Cena said. “And in that time, I make sure to spend 10 days in Massachusetts with my family and 10 days in Canada with my wife’s side of the family. I’d say the past six years, that’s been my path of action. And boy, it’s really been rewarding and great.”
Cena admitted that he used to be a workaholic, but said he is now focused on being there for the people he loves.
Before then, Cena is scheduled for Friday’s SmackDown in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Raw on November 16 in Raleigh, North Carolina. After that, he will be at Survivor Series: WarGames on November 28 in Houston, Texas. At this point, the John Cena Classic is the last WWE date on his schedule for 2026.
The John Cena Classic will take place at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World in Orlando as a special episode of Raw that will air live on Netflix. So far, Cody Rhodes and Zilla Fatu are the only two confirmed for the tournament.
Cena officially retired on December 13, 2025, only two days before his usual time away, after losing to Gunther at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event in Washington, D.C.