John Cena was the face of WWE for decades and during his run with the company he set a record when he granted 650 wishes for Make-A-Wish. In recent years John Cena has been more focused on his acting career, which has slowed down the wish granting experience.
During a recent appearance on What Now? With Trevor Noah, John Cena explained that he doesn’t do much Make-A-Wish outside of WWE because a film set simply isn’t the right environment for the families of the children who are having their wishes granted.
“I don’t do much with Make-A-Wish outside of WWE. Because I believe that the environment is not the correct conduit for joy. Bring a kid to a movie set — unless they’re a movie junkie, of which I’ve done. We’ve put Make-A-Wish kids in movies. Those are long, boring days. It’s very patient; nothing really happens. We do things over and over and over again. And for a young person who probably is has an awareness of time that most young people don’t have — not a good experience.
“But you bring them into an arena at 5:00 when they skip the line. And they get in a private room, and everybody comes to say hi to them? And then we sit down and we kick it? Like, ‘Hey, I’m wearing this stuff. You guys, where are you guys sitting? What’s your sign say? Awesome. You want to see anything out there tonight? Tips, strategy?’ And they’ll be like, ‘Ah, man. You do this, do this.’ And I plan the action so I can go back and do it. And I know where they’re at, I’m like, ‘Thanks!’ And it doesn’t mess up the show. I’m not going into business for one consumer, but I’m making — it’s a conduit for joy.”
“I love the Make-A-Wish charity. I also don’t do it a lot outside of WWE, because it’s not the escape. It’s more of a burden. You have travel [for] the families. And then they get to a place and it’s like, ‘Ah, this kind of wasn’t what I thought.’ Even the most shy kids, even the kids that are up against it, who have just enough wherewithal to travel — everybody gets a day off. Of those — however many the number is, everyone gets a day off. Everybody.”
H/T 411Mania.com