The John Cena Classic might be getting a pretty personal venue if WWE goes with the December 19 date that’s been floating around.
During a Q&A session, WrestleVotes revealed that they heard over the weekend that SmackDown is scheduled to return to the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut, on Friday, December 18. If WWE follows that by holding the John Cena Classic on December 19, there has apparently been talk of staging it at Cena’s college, Springfield University, located just a few miles away.
“I heard over the weekend, SmackDown’s coming back to the XL Center on Friday night, December 18. I heard that if they do the 19th, then Cena wanted to do this John Cena Classic at his college, Springfield University, which is just a few miles up the road from Hartford, CT.”
WrestleVotes stressed that this isn’t a confirmed venue or date. However, the combination of SmackDown being held nearby one night earlier and the December 19 date already being discussed apparently raised some eyebrows when they started making calls about the situation.
“The date raised some eyebrows and makes sense. The location of that SmackDown beforehand makes sense. We called a lot of people. That was an idea we heard over the weekend.”
December 19 had already emerged as a potential date before this latest venue talk. Dave Meltzer previously pointed to it as the favorite based on WWE’s packed December calendar, although December 5 remains another possibility.
Going with December 19 would also create some interesting competition because AEW Worlds End is scheduled for the same night. That means WWE could potentially have Cena’s tournament running opposite one of AEW’s major pay-per-views. Cena has promised to finally provide actual details about the tournament during his November 2 appearance on RAW at Barclays Center. He previously made it clear that the waiting and speculation would end when he returned to Brooklyn.
“Make sure not to miss #WWERaw next week. SPECIAL START TIME OF 6PM EST! The wait is over, the speculation ends 11/2. Let’s build this ‘Never Seen’ CLASSIC! OUR time is NOW!”
The latest piece of the puzzle makes the John Cena Classic feel considerably more personal than just another WWE tournament. If Cena really gets his preferred location, WWE could build the event around his own history while conveniently moving talent from nearby Hartford after SmackDown the previous night.
Would holding the John Cena Classic at Cena’s own college make the tournament feel like a bigger deal, or would you rather see WWE take it to a traditional arena? Let us know what you think in the comments.
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