John Cena didn’t get to go to his high school prom — so Ellen Degeneres threw him a super awkward one on TV

Take a deep breath, millennials — this is about to be a serious high school throwback. On Friday, the one and only Ellen Degeneres threw John Cena his own prom, and it honestly put all your high school dances to shame. The wrestler-turned-actor is starring in Blockers, and while the film focuses on prom, it turns out the wrestler never actually got to attend this milestone dance. The star spent his teen years at Cushing Academy, a boarding school in Massachusetts, and decided to stay on campus to earn some extra money at the end of the year.

Unfortunately, this meant taking a pass on the school’s prom night.

Ellen couldn’t believe that Cena missed out on such a key high school experience, and decided to recreate the big dance. The star’s fiancé, Nikki Bella, teamed up with the show to deck out the stage as a traditional high-school prom scene, complete with balloons, a punch bowl, and crowns for the prom king and queen. Bella wore a purple dress, and even had a corsage ready for her date. The whole thing was a secret, and Cena’s reaction was so adorable. “I hate surprises, but this one I like,” Cena said, after introducing Ellen to Bella.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4csQhMHvQWk?feature=oembed

It wouldn’t be a prom night without the cheesy photos, and Ellen came prepared with a photographer. After Bella and Cena put on their crowns, they hammed for the camera in that stereotypical hands-on-hips prom pose that former high schoolers might know a bit too well. The teen awkwardness wasn’t over just yet – and Ellen demanded that the couple slow-dance.

The Commodores “Three Times a Lady” came on, and the couple did the awkward stand-a-foot-apart dance/sway. “We can’t dance like this at our wedding,” Bella joked, and neither star could stop laughing.

Of course, unlike a real prom, the event wasn’t totally missing real romance. Cena pulled Bella in for a kiss, and she had to clutch her crown as the audience clapped and awwww’d. Then, like typical high school hooligans, they snuck a flask in to mix with the prom punch. It was the perfect end to a perfect uh, prom night, and even though it was for TV it honestly looked better than most real high school dances.