John Cena simply can’t be stopped- The WWE superstar has recently been tapped as the host for 2017 Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards on March 11.
No word yet on whether the multi-hyphenate wrestler will get slimed himself or whether he’ll be safe from getting slathered in goo.
The Kids’ Choice awards celebrate what’s new and popular in entertainment among the younger crowd. The awards celebrate what’s what in pop culture and is the only live event where the kids decide the winners.
While this is Cena’s first time hosting the Kids’ Choice Awards in the United States, he has hosted The Australian Kids’ Choice Awards as and has had the distinguished honor of getting slimed on the first UK Kids’ Choice Awards.
Shelly Sumpter Gillyard, the Senior Vice President of Talent and Events for Nickelodeon stated that,
‘John Cena’s energy and larger-than-life personality will bring the most excitement, comedy and fun to this year’s Kids’ Choice Awards…He’s a big kid at heart, and we can’t wait to give kids around the world a front row seat to this year’s show.’
Cena made the announcement on NBC’s Today Show saying,
‘Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards is the biggest party for kids, and I’m so excited and honored to host this year’s show…I have a lot of big surprises in store so bring on the slime!’
In 2016, he hosted the ESPYs as well as the Teen Choice Awards. It seems like 2017 will be a further foray into the mainstream for ‘The Face’ with surely more acting and hosting opportunities on the horizon.
John Cena has been enjoying a wealth of non-WWE related roles in recent years. The WWE performer has been enjoying a steady rise in cameos, making appearances in Amy Schumer’s Trainwreck, Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg’s Daddy’s Home, and Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s comedy, Sisters. And while successful crossovers from the WWE aren’t very common, Cena is quickly rising in beyond the heels of the pro-wrestling world and joining the likes of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, rather than be condemned to the reality-world like Hulk Hogan and the late Chyna.
Cena has been one of the most recognizable faces of the WWE since the early 2000s, being crowned ‘the face‘ of WWE in 2015 by the group. WWE executive Paul Heyman has said of Cena,
‘…no one has had the longevity, the box-office attraction as the main, top level, box-office attraction than John Cena.’
Cena has also been very active in the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He has granted over 500 wishes to children, the most an individual has granted within the organization’s history.