John Cena, Cody Rhodes and CM Punk confirmed for WWE NXT special on November 4, 2026

John Cena, Cody Rhodes and CM Punk are confirmed to appear on the November 4, 2026 special edition of WWE NXT, which will be broadcast live from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. The episode will air in the United States on Wednesday night, November 4, and in India on Thursday, November 5.

CM Punk will challenge Grayson Waller for the NXT Championship on the special, Cody Rhodes will present the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic trophy to the tournament winners, and Kelani Jordan will issue an NXT Women’s Championship open challenge; the show will also include a six-man tag team match. NXT’s broadcast on Wednesday will go head-to-head with AEW Dynamite’s Blood & Guts special. Cena’s appearance follows his return to Monday Night Raw on November 2, where he made three major announcements on Raw, including revealing the tournament’s championship and confirming Cody Rhodes as its first invitee.

The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic concludes on the show with Noam Dar and Romeo Moreno facing Hank Walker and Tank Ledger in the final. Cody Rhodes, whose father Dusty Rhodes inspired the competition, will be on hand to present the trophy to the winning team after both pairs progressed through the tournament field.

CM Punk’s NXT Championship challenge of Grayson Waller was issued after Waller retained the title against Tony D’Angelo at Halloween Havoc. The promotion posted: "PUNK VS WALLER 🙌@CMPunk challenges @GraysonWWE for the NXT Title NEXT WEDNESDAY on #WWENXT! pic.twitter.com/GjU3tgPBgp" The match will mark Punk’s return to an NXT ring after more than 16 years, and Waller will defend the championship.

Kelani Jordan will defend the NXT Women’s Championship in an open challenge after retaining her title against Wren Sinclair at Halloween Havoc; the identity of her mystery opponent on the special episode has not been revealed. In the announced six-man tag, Chad Gable will team with Rey Fenix and Dragon Lee to face The Vanity Project, represented by Jackson Drake, Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes.

The announced card for the live November 4 broadcast from the WWE Performance Center lists CM Punk vs Grayson Waller for the NXT Championship, Kelani Jordan’s Women’s Championship open challenge, the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic final between Noam Dar & Romeo Moreno and Hank Walker & Tank Ledger, and the six-man tag pitting Chad Gable, Rey Fenix and Dragon Lee against The Vanity Project.