The John Cena Classic announced at WWE Backlash on Saturday is still being developed in real time, with Dave Meltzer reporting in the Wrestling Observer Daily Update that WWE had not yet determined what the event would actually look like before making the announcement in Tampa.

According to Meltzer, the John Cena Classic has been described to him as a work in progress, with WWE wanting to make the reveal at Backlash and proceeding with the announcement before the full details had been ironed out. No date, location, or definitive format for the event has been confirmed by the company.

Cena described the concept during his Backlash segment as a series of main roster versus NXT matches in which a fan vote determines the winner of a new John Cena Classic Championship, regardless of the actual match result.

Speculation about the format has split in two directions since the announcement. One theory is a tournament structure where advancement is determined by popular vote rather than in-ring result. The other is a standalone card of main roster versus NXT bouts, with all participants eligible for a championship vote at the end. Meltzer noted that neither reading has been confirmed and both remain speculative.

Questions have also surfaced about the fan vote mechanics, specifically whether voting will be open to the general public or restricted to members of the Club WWE membership program that Cena announced alongside the Classic concept at Backlash. Cena has since acknowledged publicly that the concept carries the risk of being a complete failure.