WWE is taking over Walt Disney World. WWE and The Walt Disney Company announced Tuesday a two-day takeover of ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, Florida, on December 14 and 15, headlined by the first-ever John Cena Classic and a Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Doomsday-themed edition of Worlds Collide.
The deal is the biggest step yet in a partnership that started on the ESPN App. This time Disney is bringing its own franchises into the ring: Marvel branding on a WWE show, Avengers co-branded title belts in Disney stores and two nights of WWE inside Disney’s sports complex.
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Marvel Gets Its Own Worlds Collide
The Avengers: Doomsday edition of Worlds Collide takes place on Tuesday, December 15 with talent from WWE, NXT and AAA. The timing is built around Disney’s release calendar, since Avengers: Doomsday opens in U.S. theaters three days later on December 18.
WWE will also produce Avengers: Doomsday co-branded products, title belts included, and sell them at WWE World, WWEShop.com and select Disney retail stores. WWE World is a two-day fan event that WWE and Fanatics will run on site, with exclusive merchandise plus photo and autograph opportunities with WWE Superstars.
It’s a much bigger stage for Worlds Collide than its last outing. The September edition premiered on WWE’s YouTube channel four days after it was held, in a slot that put the stream up against AEW Dynamite. WWE has not yet said how the December 15 show will air.
Why Disney Is All In
The Walt Disney Company and WWE first partnered in 2025, when the ESPN App became the exclusive U.S. home of WWE Premium Live Events for ESPN Unlimited subscribers. This deal moves the relationship off the screen and into Disney’s parks, retail and film business, something SEScoops reported in September that WWE had been exploring with Disney, including Orlando venues and fan festivals.
ESPN Wide World of Sports is no stranger to big events. The complex has hosted the 2020 NBA bubble season, the Special Olympics USA Games, the Invictus Games and Pro Bowl skills competitions. Wrestling has already made its way into the parks in another form, too, with Disney adding pro wrestling to its Carousel of Progress overhaul.
Fans Will Pick The John Cena Classic Winner
The John Cena Classic opens the takeover on Monday, December 14, streaming live on Netflix as a special edition of Monday Night Raw. It puts the biggest names from Raw and SmackDown against the top future Superstars from NXT, and the night ends with WWE crowning its top Superstar as chosen by the fans.
That vote runs through Club WWE, the company’s paid membership program, with members voting in real time for their favorite performance. Fans can register at WWE.com/ClubWWE to take part. Cena helped launch the program in July, saying at the time that it “creates a year-round destination that rewards our most passionate fans.”
Cena laid out the rest on Raw in Brooklyn on November 2, when he unveiled the John Cena Classic Championship, a new belt built on the design of his old spinner title, and named Cody Rhodes as the first invitee. The Orlando show is one of two Raw episodes on December 14. The other comes earlier that day from RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. No matches have been announced for either Disney night.
Cena’s next stop on the road to Orlando is Survivor Series: WarGames in Houston on November 28, where he plans to scout more names for the field. Tickets for Survivor Series: WarGames in Houston are available now through Ticketmaster.
Two-day combo tickets go on sale Friday, November 13 at 10 a.m. ET through Ticketmaster, with a general presale beginning Thursday, November 12 at 10 a.m. ET. Fans can register for event updates at WWE.com/CenaClassic, and WWE says more event and fan experience details will follow in the coming weeks.
