By now most people would say that wrestler John Cena is a master showman. But, that doesn't mean nothing makes the man nervous. He's about to host the ESPY Awards in a couple of weeks and, while he's looking forward to the gig, Cena's admitted that he does have some trepidation. And, here's why:
I know live entertainment, but this is something different for the first time. This is different, so I'm pretty terrified, but if I wasn't nervous, I wouldn't care. Usually I'm so used to kind of winging it. I know how to go out there and hold an audience for seven to 20 minutes. I can even go for an hour, but this is different. It's truly improvisational.
John Cena spoke with USA Today's For the Win about his upcoming hosting duties on the July 13 broadcast of ESPN's ESPY Awards, and wasn't afraid to let everyone know that even though he's a pretty tough guy, he gets butterflies when it comes to doing new things just like most of us mere mortals. Cena's certainly right that he knows live entertainment. He's spent 14 years in the WWE and has probably entertained millions of people in those live audiences by now. But, as he says, he's doing something totally different in hosting an award show. He mentions that he's skilled at holding an audience for up to an hour if necessary, which makes sense when you consider that most of his time in front of live audiences is fighting, not talking or telling jokes. Of course, the whole point of hosting any award show is introducing presenters and pre-taped pieces, and telling jokes off-the-cuff.
Any award show host should need to know how to improvise, at least a little. One of the things that makes these extravaganzas fun to watch, even though they typically last for around three hours and wait until the end to present the most coveted awards, is seeing the host take gentle (or sometimes not so gentle) shots at presenters, winners and losers. John Cena will need to be able to do some of that to help keep the show flowing and make the down time not seem so boring.
After making action-heavy films like The Marine and 12 Rounds, John Cena has started to branch out into comedy with appearances in films like Trainwreck, Sisters and Daddy's Home. Recently, he also had a couple of hilarious skits on the summer variety show Maya & Marty which showed, if nothing else, that's he's always game to make fun of himself. Cena might be nervous about hosting the ESPY Awards, but that doesn't mean that he thinks his nerves will actually get in the way of audience enjoyment.
It'll be greatest show in the history ... this is going to be three hours of shit your pants entertainment, you want to watch with a bathroom nearby.
See? John Cena is totally ready for the ESPYs. Now the only question is, are you ready to shit your pants watching them?
