The Staggering Number Of Make-A-Wish Visits Granted By John Cena
John Cena has just about done it all. He's a 16-time WWE World Champion, a rap artist, a New York Times best-selling author, and now a recognized movie star taking over both Hollywood and the world of streaming television. Despite all of his professional success, there's one thing that sets him apart amongst the rest. Not the colorful pro wrestling merchandise that was once compared to Fruity Pebbles by fellow wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, but rather his incredible philanthropic work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Cena has granted over 650 Make-A-Wish requests from children with critical illnesses, which put him at the top of the list when it comes to the most wishes granted in the organization's history. In one of his most recently granted wishes, Cena traveled to Amsterdam to meet with Misha Rohozyhn, a 19-year-old teenager with Down's syndrome who had recently fled the war in Ukraine with his mother.
Cena: 'If you're not moved, I don't know if you have a beating heart.'
(Photo Credit: WWE)
In an interview with ESPN in 2018, Cena discussed how much Make-A-Wish meant to him personally. "I think when you experience something like the reward of a Make-A-Wish, if you're not moved, I don't know if you have a beating heart. What the concept is, these kids facing life-threatening illnesses are granted one wish, and imagine if you were that wish? So, that's what a child's one wish is, 'I would like to hang out with this person and then see this person perform.' That is by far the most flattering thing I have ever experienced, and it's very tough to even put that into concept."
Cena elaborated further on what motivates him to get involved with granting wishes for the charity. "The joy it brings, not only to the children, to the families, to the people who are involved in volunteering to make the experience possible, and that joy equals hope, and hope can sometimes move mountains ... It's very, very close to me, because I see the direct effect."