Lisa McLoughlin
WWE icon-turned-Hollywood actor John Cena celebrated an incredible milestone this week after it was revealed that he broke the Make-A-Wish record for wishes granted.
The Suicide Squad star has been using his celebrity status to make a difference and has granted more than 650 wishes for the foundation, which helps fulfil the wishes of children with a critical illness between the ages of two-and-a-half and 18.
The incredible accomplishment was shared on WWE’s official Twitter account on Monday (19 June) as they celebrated Cena Month on social media.
Sharing a photo of the wrestling legend hugging a fan, they penned: “@JohnCena has granted more wishes via @MakeAWish than any other celebrity in history. #CenaMonth,” while the image featured the text '650+ wishes granted'.
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To put that in perspective, fellow WWE legend Hulk Hogan, NASCAR's Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon have each granted more than 200 wishes, but no one besides Cena has ever made it past the 300 mark.
After marking the milestone online, fans commended his dedication to helping the American non-for-profit.
One fan commented under the post: “John Cena is such a great person. Man the amount of good things he does like the make a wish foundation is incredible!
“This why I respect John as a human being. He has a big heart and cares for people. Don't understand how y'all still bash John for burying talent years ago.”
“He’s the GOAT,” another wrote.
A third added: “IMO, John Cena is the best outside the ring. He helps Make-A-Wish. He also makes the fans happy. He does not mind doing so."
Cena previously spoke about how he got involved with the charity through WWE.
He told People: “My first Make-A-Wish, I was kind of shuffled — it wasn’t for me, I think the person wanted to meet another superstar. But the WWE does a great job of like, ‘Hey, there’s a Make-A-Wish kid in this room. Can you come say hello?’
“So, a bunch of people are shuttled in to say hello to a young fan of WWE. So, we’re shuttled in and said my hellos and took my pictures and then left. And they’re like, ‘Thank you, Make-A-Wish thanks you.’ I was like, ‘What is Make-A-Wish?’
“I said, ‘If you ever need me for this ever, I don’t care what I’m doing, I will drop what I’m doing and be involved because I think that’s the coolest thing.’
“We’ve all experienced that joy of giving a gift for the holidays where you just nail it — that’s the same gift I get in giving back to people’s lives, in being able to give them wonderful emotional moments.”
The SPORTbible Team