John Cena Makes for a Very Respectful Host on ‘American Grit,’ But Is He Any Fun?

With their new reality series American Grit, FOX is banking on American audiences’ affection for physical competition, military heroism, and WWE superstar John Cena. After watching the first episode, which airs at 9PM tonight, they seem to have nailed the first two. As for the third one … ?

John Cena is an interesting character in the WWE firmament. The one-sentence summary of his appeal to wrestling fans is that kids love him and adult fans can’t stand him. In an article last summer, Vice called him “the most hated Good Guy on Earth”:

On a good day, then, every Cena appearance is engulfed by two salvos competing for decibels. There is a “LET’S GO CENA,” uttered exclusively by adult women and children under the age of 14, and there is “CENA SUCKS,” which is frothed out by everyone else.

And yet, John Cena is poised to be the biggest breakthrough star the WWE has had since Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson busted through into the mainstream at the beginning of the 2000s. And much like The Rock, Cena’s forays into the mainstream have thus far been predicated on his personality. Yes, half of what made Cena’s role in the Amy Schumer comedy Trainwreck so memorable was his massive physique, but it’s no coincidence that all three of Cena’s big-screen efforts in 2015 were comedies: Trainwreck, Sisters, and Daddy’s Home. The man looks bigger than the bear that mauled DiCaprio in The Revenant, but he’s absolutely being sold to the public on his comedic potential.

Except on American Grit. The show gathers sixteen contestants looking to prove their toughness. There’s a lumberjack, a cop, a few athletes, some bodybuilders, a roller-derby queen, the Instagram celebrity who everybody’s going to hate, and the personal trailer who everyone already does hate. They’re divided into four teams, each one coached by a member of the U.S. military: a Navy Seal, an Army Ranger, et cetera. It’s a competition to see which of these men and women can prove themselves to be as tough as their military heroes. It’s also, seemingly, a competition to see how respectful John Cena can be of those same military heroes.

We’re not getting Fun Cena here. Not Trainwreck Cena or Sisters Cena. It’s not even Make-a-Wish Foundation Cena. This is “I Respect Your Service and Thank You For Keeping Us Free” John Cena, and he’s out in full force in the premiere. There’s a solemnity to Cena’s hosting that’s at odds with the kind of celebrity it seemed like he was going to be. It’s tough to imagine The Rock hosting a show like this without that playful glint in his eye. It’s a military-themed competition, sure, but it’s not like the roller-derby mom and the lumberjack are being sent out to an actual battlefield. They’re traversing obstacle courses with a log across their shoulders. But American Grit, and Cena as its extension, is constantly keeping an air of intense reverence for these training exercises.

In the premiere’s standout moment, Cena takes the episode’s biggest problem child — personal trailer Chris, who’s a cocky showboat of the first order — to task over the disrespect he’s shown his instructor, Marine gunnery sergeant Tee Hanible. “When you were getting your driver’s license,” Cena lectures, all disappointed-Dad, “she was in Iraq in combat.” It’s a welcome smackdown to a contestant who was working everybody’s last nerve, but it’s also a clear message about the kind of host that Cena is going to be. He’s going to make damned sure you’re aware of just how much he respects these American military heroes. Fun’s over. It’s Cena time.