Former WWE Superstar Lance Storm has strongly criticized the format of the upcoming John Cena Classic, arguing that the fan-voting concept goes against the fundamental principles of professional wrestling and could create unnecessary competition between performers.
The 2026 John Cena Classic is scheduled to feature exhibition matches involving wrestlers from WWE’s main roster and NXT. Rather than determining the tournament’s champions through traditional match results, Club WWE members will vote for the performers they believe delivered the best performances.
Both a men’s and women’s champion will be crowned based on those votes, meaning participants could potentially lose their matches and still win the competition.
During a recent discussion with Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline.com, Storm questioned the concept after Alvarez raised concerns about how the format could affect cooperation between wrestlers.
Alvarez argued that professional wrestling depends on performers working together to produce entertaining matches. However, he suggested that introducing individual rewards based on fan voting could create situations where wrestlers have an incentive to make their opponents look less impressive.
“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 agreed with Alvarez’s concerns, arguing that the format creates a conflict with wrestling’s traditional emphasis on performers cooperating to make one another look credible.
“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.”
Storm pointed to historical examples of backstage competition affecting in-ring performances, specifically referencing Hulk Hogan and Sting’s controversial match at WCW Starrcade 1997.
He argued that introducing a format where wrestlers are individually rewarded for outperforming their opponents could encourage similar problems, even if the matches themselves are presented as exhibitions.
“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.”
Beyond the potential for competition between performers, Storm expressed concern about the significance of championship victories when titles are awarded through fan voting rather than match results.
He believes the concept risks diminishing the importance of wins, losses, and championship accomplishments, which he considers essential to maintaining audience investment in professional wrestling.
“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.”
The John Cena Classic is scheduled for December 14, 2026, at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, as part of a special edition of WWE Raw.
While WWE’s approach places greater emphasis on audience participation and individual performances, Storm believes the format could ultimately weaken the traditional storytelling elements that make wrestling championships meaningful.
It remains to be seen how the fan-voting process will play out and whether the competition will address the concerns raised by Storm and Alvarez.
