OK, John Cena. We see you.
Some may have been thrown off-guard with the network’s choice to have the wrestler host tonight’s ESPY Awards (something even Cena pokes fun of during the show), but the E! star came out swingin’ with some great one-liners and memorable zingers.
The best was when Cena couldn’t help but laugh at his own jokes. And believe us when we say, nobody was safe from being called out tonight.
Following a somber and powerful speech by NBA’s Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James on the recent tragedies and injustice involving law enforcement and people of color, Cena took the stage to kick off the show with an impressive monologue.
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Right off the bat, the emcee of tonight’s show poked fun at the NBA draft, the 2016 summer Olympics and why he’s hosting tonight, “instead of someone else like Kevin Hart.”
He explains that the WWE is scripted (spoiler alert!) and so, there’s a lot of crossover with professional sports. For example, “Cleveland won something,” he says, and adds that the Cleveland Cavaliers winning the NBA Championship must have been scripted, because there’s no way that actually happened.
Cena also points to Peyton Manning‘s love story with the NFL, Odell Beckham‘s look, Tim Duncan‘s retirement (“He announces it in the middle of the night in the off-season, what a diva right?”) and other various sports moments that seem fit for entertainment.
This all led to the host to conclude, “Maybe on the night when sport meets entertainment, they got the perfect host”
During a skit later in the show, Cena and his casting agent go through auditions to try and find a child like Riley Curry for a memorable press conference, and, well, he couldn’t choose just one, so he had a bunch of little cuties that totally stole the show.
Cena also did an outstanding job in his ability to turn his comedian hat off and get serious.
There were a number of emotional moments throughout the night, including the tribute to Zaevoion Dobson, Jimmy V Award recipient Craig Sager‘s empowering speech, and the musical tribute to Muhammad Ali.
All in all, we’ve gotta say, John Cena may not have been the obvious choice, but he was a good one.
Don’t miss the premiere of Total Bellas on Oct. 5 at 8 p.m., only on E!
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