Sunday night's Oscars performance saw the actor and former WWE champion wear even less than in wrestling.
While prepared to reveal the 2024 Oscar nominations for best costume design, Jimmy Kimmel remembered a 50-year-old streaking incident in which actor David Niven was stunned by a nude man sprinting across the stage.
"Can you imagine if a nude man ran across the stage today?" Kimmel asked as Cena emerged from a wall.
Changed my mind. I'm done with streaking "Cena murmured to the late-night host as they feigned to fight about the apparent previous agreement. "The male body is not a joke."
The former WWE champion was nude but for an Oscars envelope as he stood up to the microphone.
"Costumes," Cena declared as the Dolby Theatre whooped, "are so important."
After he refused to remove the envelope to read the candidates, Kimmel cued the clip.
Chris Gardner of The Hollywood Reporter tweeted a video on X showing a stage crew going on stage to drop a beautiful curtain over Cena as the film played.
The Emma Stone-starring film "Poor Things," directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, won for best costume design.