Fans were shocked when John Cena, in a toga costume, shook hands with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson on the night of the 96th Oscars at Dolby Theatres in Los Angeles, California. The meeting of these two former WWE Champions sent the fans on X (formerly Twitter) on overdrive.
But why was John Cena in a toga? The wrestler-turned-actor was called on to the stage by host Jimmy Kimmel for a segment in which John Cena was meant to appear rude. This was in reference to the 1974 Oscars, when a male streaker disrupted the event.
However, Cena informed Kimmel at the last moment that he wasn’t proceeding with the segment, and walked on the stage with an envelope covering his midsection, thus sending the audience laughing at the former WWE Champion.
Backstage, Cena had met The Rock, his WWE former rival and now a Hollywood co-actor. Though The Rock is a heel character in WWE these days, he was seen laughing and shaking hands with Cena at the Oscars.
Fans React
This brought hilarious reactions from the fans on X. One user said, “John Cena is a national embarrassment.” Another said, “You’re telling me we have The Rock and John Cena at the same live event, and they’re not going to throw at least a few punches?”
A third said, “That’s clearly The Rock meeting his personal hero Ricky Stanicky!!!”. A fourth fan said, “The Rock vs The Frock.” Another user said, “Buddhist monk John Cena is a surprise….”
Fans also commented on The Rock, Cena, Bad Bunny’s presence at the Oscars, saying it;s like WWE dominating Hollywood.
John Cena and The Rock had a long-term rivalry that led them to the main event of WrestleMania back-to-back. While The Rock won the bout at WrestleMania 28, John Cena beat The Rock for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 29.
The two also shared the stage at WrestleMania 32, when the duo had a brief fight with ‘The Wyatt Family’. After that, the two didn’t meet at WrestleMania. At WrestleMania 40, The Rock will team up with Roman Reigns to face Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes on Night 1 of WrestleMania 40.