Peyton Manning Once Took Down John Cena With A Savage Burn At The ESPYs

Published 06/11/2022, 12:30 PM EDT

Pro Football Hall Of Famer Peyton Manning delivered one of the most memorable opening monologues during the 2017 ESPYS. The former Broncos quarterback was not sparing anyone from his roast. He was especially not sparing his predecessor ESPYS hosts in his monologue. The 2016 edition of the ESPYS saw the former WWE superstar and Hollywood actor John Cena hosting the show. Manning wasn’t going to let him have a peaceful evening.

During his opening monologue at the 2017 edition of the event, Manning reveals that it was the event’s 25th anniversary. While talking about why the 2017 ESPYS were even more special, Manning states, “This anniversary show is going to be different because the ESPYS are being hosted by a former athlete…Okay okay, I know what some of y’all are thinking right, John Cena hosted the ESPYS last year, and he’s an athlete. John Cena is an athlete just like Ryan Lochte is a reliable witness.”

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He believes it was an accurate statement to call Cena, an athlete due to a common perception of wrestlers not being “real” athletes. Despite the fact being untrue and cliche, Cena was visibly a good sport following Manning’s comments. He even burst out his ‘U Can’t See Me‘ hand gesture to Manning’s joke as a subtle approval.

Peyton Manning didn’t stop at just joking about John Cena

While calling out John Cena for being a WWE wrestler, Manning took it to another level with his Ryan Lochte joke. The former Colts QB also brought up the Olympian’s Rio Olympics debacle in 2016. He compares the lie of Cena not being an athlete with Lochte lying about his stolen medals following the Olympics.

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It hit home because of the perfect delivery by the 14-time Pro Bowler. His integration of awkwardness into the joke left the audience laughing. It was another perfectionist performance from Manning outside the football field.

Manning even enquires from legendary Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps about his thoughts about the joke. Phelps only responds with a slight chuckle to Manning’s attempts.

NFL fans were only witnessing in retrospect the start of the iconic monologue. It was a well-executed play from the Sheriff himself. The Manning effect was in full flow. Fans continue to remember some of the brilliant moments from the 2017 edition of the show.

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Written by:

An NFL author at EssentiallySports, Anuj Tazhatuveetil is pursuing a Master's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. Initially, he worked as a freelance content writer and later as a part of Sports404. An unquenchable thirst to learn about all things NFL and NBA, adding to a rather healthy obsession with playing outdoor sports like basketball, and soccer with an almost encyclopedic knowledge of this industry make him a sports aficionado.

Edited by:

Gurjyot Singh Dadial

Peyton Manning Once Took Down John Cena With A Savage Burn At The ESPYs

Peyton Manning didn’t stop at just joking about John Cena

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