Charlotte Flair and New John Cena Classic Invitees Revealed on WWE SmackDown in Trending Video

Charlotte Flair accepted her invitation to compete in the inaugural John Cena Classic on Friday's episode of SmackDown.

Cena showed up to Amerant Bank Arena to officially invite Flair before she chose to accept the offer.

Flair wasn't the only one to join the John Cena Classic on Friday, as Fatal Influence was also added to the event by Cena.

Here's a look at the updated list of participants in the John Cena Classic:

• Cody Rhodes
• Zilla Fatu
• Noam Dar
• Romeo Moreno
• Kelani Jordan
• Charlotte Flair
• Fatal Influence

While Cena formally retired from in-ring competition in Dec. 2025, the WWE legend showed up to WWE Backlash to announce the John Cena Classic on May 9.

Cena eventually revealed that the event will feature matches between WWE Superstars and NXT Superstars. A men's and women's champion are set to be crowned at the end of the John Cena Classic, with Club WWE members selecting the winners in an American Idol-style voting format.

Flair has already established herself as one of the most decorated women's wrestlers in WWE history, as she's a 14-time women's world champion.

The daughter of WWE icon Ric Flair has been active this year, competing in a Fatal 4-Way Match at WrestleMania 42 before she was involved in a ladder match at SummerSlam.

While Flair had a brief absence following an Oct. 9 episode of SmackDown in which she was replaced by Tatum Paxley in a women's tag team title match against Fatal Influence, she returned to attack Jade Cargill on Nov. 6.

Now, both Flair and Fatal Influence will be competing in the John Cena Classic on Dec. 14.