John Cena has granted over 600 wishes — a record in Make-A-Wish’s history — as part of his philanthropic activities.
The former Undisputed WWE Champion was recently profiled by PEOPLE for their “My Life in Pictures” series on YouTube. During the interview, Cena was shown a photo from his Make-A-Wish greet in 2015. He fondly remembered his involvement with the foundation before putting over fellow WWE superstars for their contributions to the charity.
“I’m so grateful for the time I’ve been able to spend on Make-A-Wish,” John Cena said. “I’m even more grateful that my fellow superstars, my coworkers, my colleagues, now look at it as an aspirational thing. Because they’re only gonna want to meet John Cena for a little bit.
“The reason I just drop what I’m doing in that environment and do whatever I can is because the experience can truly make a difference. To talk with the families just like I’m talking to you right now, you get to kid them up for the night, you get to give them stuff that like I came to see this person, well here’s all the stuff I have.”
John Cena explains how he makes wrestling special for Make-A-Wish kids
“With me, it’s a great lineup because it’s my ring gear. I’m not giving them like a t-shirt that looks like me in wrestling tights. I’m like ‘Hey, this is the stuff I’m gonna wear. Here you go.’
“And then I’ll ask them for advice. They’re like, ‘Oh you should do this move,’ and I’ll just go put it in the match. Because we’re entertainment. I think that’s the absolute magic of sports entertainment.
“No one in the audience knows that that young person was like, ‘Hey, I want you to do this move.’ And it will seamlessly be put into the performance. But it will affect both of us on a plane that’s indescribable.”
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