WWE Backlash 2026: 10 Things That NEED To Happen

4. John Cena’s Announcement Is Worthy

WWE WrestleMania 42 John Cena
WWE.com

It's tough to tell whether or not John Cena genuinely enjoyed himself whilst messing around with Danhausen and others at 'Mania. Generally, whether he was announcing attendances or chuckling at the misfortunes of The Miz and Kit Wilson, Cena wore a disingenuous smile the entire weekend. Perhaps the only time he broke that and seemed truly into things was when Bianca Belair announced her pregnancy.

That was a special moment, to be fair.

Listen, John's "history-making news" at Backlash has be something fabulous. If it turns out to be a reveal for the 2026 WWE Draft or something about Club WWE, then fans will be disappointed and wonder why they bothered hyping this up. Unthinkably, Cena could even get booed harder than at any point throughout his botched heel run last year if that's the case.

Again, JC said he’d “break some history-making news”, so this needs to land. It has to be worthy of that hype rather than another Tony Khan-esque, 'We're going live with Collision this week in ***checks notes*** Bumblecrap, TN'. That won't cut it, and there will be nowhere for Cena to hide if the live crowd rebel against WWE's segment here.

The problem is this: People are having a hard time guessing what the reveal will be because nothing actually stands out as missing. Y'know, unless TKO are about to have a total change of heart and tell people that tickets for every remaining show in 2026 are gonna be free. Yeah, as if that's ever going to happen!

Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.