Good Morning Britain viewers across the UK woke up on Wednesday to the questionable sight of Ed Balls in a leotard.
The former Secretary of State, who has traded the perils of political life for a more comfortable career in mainstream television, reflected on one of his previous TV endeavors while interviewing professional wrestler and actor John Cena.
With the American star on hand to discuss his varied career, Balls, 56, was asked to reflect on his own less successful experience in the wrestling ring.
In 2018, the host wrestled professional WWE star Johnny Slaughter on an episode of his BBC social commentary series Travels In Trumpland – with decidedly mixed results.
And Balls was keen for Cena, 46, to assess his skills in the unearthed episode, in which he fires up a deeply patriotic American audience before jumping into a wrestling match.
John Cena was asked Good Morning Britain host Ed Balls about his wrestling skills during an appearance on Wednesday’s show
In response, a charitable Cena – who looked perplexed while watching the clip – said: “Look, nice elbow drop! I think you would make a great WWE superstar.”
When asked if he would choose Balls as his tag team partner, he said, “I would have some tough work to do with the other team because I think that’s an area where you might be deficient, but you’re lacking not enthusiasm. and I think we can be a good team.”
On what it feels like to still be a 16-time world wrestling champion, he added: “I will definitely always be a part of the WWE family. I’ve been running for 20 years and haven’t missed a game yet, so that’s a very important statistic for me.
“But I always want to appreciate it and go back home, that’s what I call it.”
Cena is currently promoting new spy thriller Argylle, in which he stars alongside British singer Dua Lipa, who previously admitted she enjoyed working with him.
“That’s great to hear, it really is,” he said. “We actually shot this in reverse, so Argylle was the first time I got to work with her and Barbie was the second.
‘During Argylle it was her first chance to be on screen and she said she was a bit nervous. Now I still don’t know what I’m doing, so I thought, “Ah, I’m not the only one, I’m nervous too,” and we talked about our commonality as touring artists and I really had a great time with her at the set.’
He added: “It’s really good to hear that because when you speak you hope people listen and absorb what you have to say.
While the American star was on hand to discuss his colorful career, he was asked to reflect on his own less successful experience in the wrestling ring
In 2018, the host wrestled professional WWE star Johnny Slaughter during an episode of his BBC social commentary series, Travels In Trumpland.
Balls was keen for Cena to judge his wrestling skills in the unearthed clip from his old show
The former politician is seen riling up a deeply patriotic American audience before getting involved in a wrestling match
“We had a moment on set where we bonded as folk and then fast forward to Barbie, where I tried to sing terribly out of tune for a famous musical artist.
“Now I’m super nervous and she’s coaching me on how to calm down so she could return the favor, which is really cool.”
Commenting on the controversial absence of Barbie star Margot Robbie and film director Greta Gerwig from this year’s Oscar nominations, he said: ‘Unfortunately I can’t give a good answer to that because I’m not involved in that decision-making.
‘What I can say for sure is that I know Margot Robbie personally and that working with Greta was extra special. She creates a beautiful set and that reflects how successful the film was.’
He added: “Personally, I think all I can say is: Awards are not the only barometer of success. I’m very grateful to be part of a universe that literally changed the way movies were made and impacted so many people around the world.
The episode ended with Balls on the deck, but Cena was still impressed with his ability
Commenting on the video, a charitable Cena said, “Look at that, nice elbow drop! I think you would make a great WWE superstar.”
‘I often operate from the idea of control over what you can do, and that is out of my control.’
Cena plays ‘Kenmaid’ in Barbie – a role he admitted was ‘a happy accident’.
‘Margot and I bumped into each other when we were both filming in London and I saw her in a restaurant and she said, “Why aren’t you in Barbie?” and I said, “I tried, but you guys didn’t want me,” and she immediately turned to the decision makers at the table and nodded to them, and the next day I got a phone call.
“I think maybe the production company thought it would be beneath me if I was in it for two seconds. They said, “We have a spot, but you have to be a merman” and I said, “What? I can be a merman, no problem.”