Former champion jokes he was asked to appear naked at the Oscars before John Cena

John Cena has successfully carried his pro wrestling success to Hollywood. The 16-time World Champion is considered one of Tinseltown's favorite leading men. Cena's acting prowess has won him considerable praise from critics as well, with his performance in Peacemaker (2022-ongoing) and Ricky Stanicky (2024) getting rave reviews from movie pundits.

Earlier this year, Cena appeared at the Oscars to present the award for Best Costume Design. The superstar pulled off a hilarious stunt by presenting the award in the nude, leading to a standing ovation from the attendees. Cena's social media following also grew massively in the wake of his Academy Awards skit.

WWE Hall of Famer JBL was asked to comment on John Cena's Oscar skit in a recent edition of What Were They Thinking? on Backstage Pass. The former WWE Champion joked he was approached first to the naked appearance at the Academy Awards before Cena.

"I was asked first to do the nudity at the Oscars. True story. It wasn't that I didn't wanna do it. I didn't have time. I dropped it and John (Cena) ran with it. I was supposed to do the thing at the Oscars, and I couldn't do it. John did it. That's kind of how this whole thing happened. He did a wonderful job with it, by the way. But I was the one that was supposed to run naked with Jimmy Kimmel at the Oscars," said JBL. [37:11 onwards]

Elsewhere on the podcast, JBL provided his two cents on segments involving nudity in pro wrestling. He and Brisco discussed the controversial Miss Kitty (aka The Kat) segment from Armageddon 1999 as well as fan reaction to the 'Naked Middeon' gimmick during the Attitude Era.

JBL would love to see John Cena win his 17th world title in WWE

John Cena won his first WWE Championship at the expense of JBL. The two battled over SmackDown's top title in the penultimate match at WrestleMania 21. The conclusion of the match saw Cena hit the Attitude Adjustment on Bradshaw to claim the title for himself.

The former Chain Gang leader would add 15 world titles to his resume in the years to come, tying Ric Flair's record of 16 world championship runs. With Cena's retirement tour looming, fans are actively rooting for their hero to beat The Nature Boy's record.

Cena hasn't won a world title since 2017. Fans believe he should win a world title before retiring for good in 2025. JBL shares a similar opinion as it pertains to his former rival winning his 17th world title. Check out what the Hall of Famer had to say about John Cena potentially embarking on a title run below.

"I would, too, 100 percent. John Cena had the hardest role in wrestling history. He followed the Attitude Era, where you can flip off your boss and drink beer on television. You know, girls were out there sometimes wearing nothing. And he had to have a PG to G-rated era, and to be champion in that era, I don't know if anybody in the business would have done that except John Cena. It's incredible what he did. But yes, I'd love to see him win the 17th." [22:41 onwards]

Check out more of JBL, Gerald Brisco, and other wrestling legends on Backstage Pass.