It’s gonna take a whole lotta slime to take down WWE Superstar John Cena at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards — and the SmackDown wrestler is ready for the onslaught.
Cena, who will hosts the awards for the first time on Saturday, took time out from rehearsals at USC’s Galen Center in Los Angeles to dish to TheWrap about how he’s preparing for the big show, why Nickelodeon and WWE aren’t as different as you’d assume — and who he most wants to slime.
“I’m excited because it is a fun night and I truly do love entertaining a live audience,” the “Trainwreck” actor told TheWrap. “This is a different situation to do it, but I think Nickelodeon has a lot in common with the WWE. They do a great job of entertaining their audience and so do we.”
“There are a lot of kids and families, it is high-energy, it is goofy at times, I probably will mess up a lot — but I think the underlying theme here is to have fun,” Cena said.
While hosting the 2016 ESPY Awards, the wrestler ripped into some of the star athletes in hilarious roasts, but he promised he’d go easier during his latest hosting gig. “I was pretty harsh on myself too, so once I made fun of myself, that pretty much opened up the floor to make fun of everybody else.”
“This show isn’t about showcasing the celebrities and the crowd, and while I am very grateful for who ever shows up,” he added. “This is about the kids.”
“Who’re ya gonna slime?” is always the big question going into Nickelodeon’s flagship event — and Cena’s answer might get him sleeping on the couch for a few nights.
“The love of my life, Nicole, is going to be there, and it would be awesome if I could slime her as I know she would hate it/enjoy it and it’d be a cool moment for us,” he said.
Nicole, as you may know, is WWE Diva Nikki Bella. We’re pretty if she gets slimed, she’ll have nor problem getting revenge on him at home, or in the ring.
Expect the audience to get messy, too. “The kids enjoy it so much, they cheer and go crazy and want more. It’s what ‘Kids Choice’ is all about — so if you’re a parent, bring an extra set of clothes for your kid,” he warned.
Having faced off against WWE giants like Big Show, Triple H and The Miz, gentle giant Cena isn’t scared of a little slime … is he?
“The worst thing about the slime is thinking it won’t happen … and it does. Once you embrace the fact, then it’s fine,” Cena said. “But once you get covered in it, it’s really slippy — I am not as graceful as I used to be, so I will probably end up falling down on stage if I get slimed.”
Cena has gone from dominating the WWE to being huge in Hollywood, showing up in “Sisters,” “The Wall” and “Parks and Recreation.” He’ll reprise his role in “Daddy’s Home 2,” alongside Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg.
Would he helm a regular show for the network, like Patriots’ star Rob Gronkowski hosts “Crasheletes”? Cena said he would happily “sit down with the people at Nickelodeon … and talk about how I can further work with them in the future.”
The Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards airs Saturday at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, on Nickelodeon, of course.