The upcoming Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13 is being built around John Cena’s retirement, but the show will also feature a special “main roster vs. NXT” theme. According to a new report, that entire concept was a personal idea from John Cena himself.
Cena kicked off the November 10 episode of Monday Night Raw to announce that the December 13 special will highlight WWE’s future by having main roster stars issue open challenges to NXT talent. He compared it to the opportunity he received when he debuted against Kurt Angle in 2002.
According to Bryan Alvarez of the Wrestling Observer, this was not a creative team decision, but “a John Cena call.” The reason for Cena’s pitch reportedly stems from his recent visits to the WWE Performance Center, where he “loved his time” training with the developmental talent.
Cena visited the PC twice last month, posting on social media after his second visit: “Thank you to all the superstars at the WWE PC for sharing with me different perspectives of our business. I spent the week digesting their feedback & was grateful to be able to return today for another chance to learn & share wisdom.”
Cena’s announcement and his reported “push” for the NXT talent came on the same night that he won the Intercontinental Championship for the first time, defeating Dominik Mysterio. The December 13 Saturday Night’s Main Event will be headlined by Cena’s final match, where he will face the winner of the ongoing “Last Time Is Now” tournament.