In a heartwarming bit of news, WWE professional wrestler and Peacemaker star John Cena has set a Guinness world record in the category of most make-a-wish wishes granted by a single person. This achievement comes after the fan-favorite concluded his 650th request granted in his career.
Cena is one of the most popular and well-loved professional wrestlers ever, with a career spanning more than 2 decades, almost all of which was spent in the employ of the internationally recognized World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) promotion. In that time, he has held the world championship a total of 16 times, sharing that first-place record with recently retired wrestling legend Ric Flair. Cena also spent most of his time portrayed as a good guy (or ‘face,’ in industry lingo), becoming a fan favorite and acting as the face of the company for more than a decade before moving on to a part-time schedule that allows him to pursue what has been an incredibly successful acting career.
As recently revealed on the official Guinness World Records site, Cena was officially recognized as holding the world record for most visits under the auspice of the Make-A-Wish foundation. The program allows critically ill children the chance to live out a dream of theirs, usually involving a celebrity or special event. While the record was officially unveiled on the 20th of September, it was a foregone conclusion, seeing as the seemingly universally known superstar is the only individual who has ever reached 200 visits.
This is no accident or marketing ploy, as Cena is by far the most requested wish in the 42-year history of the Make-A-Wish program, having first been called upon in 2002. Since then, he has made himself perpetually available to fill Make-A-Wish requests, leading to the impressive number of wishes. “I just drop everything,” the star of the well-acclaimed Peacemaker series said in 2015. “If I can offer a fantastic experience, I’ll be first in line to do my part.”
Cena's popularity has been hard-earned and monumental, especially among younger audiences. In addition to being a legitimately wonderful human being, his prominence in the ‘PG-era’ of wrestling, when WWE programming was specifically tailored for and promoted to younger fans, and his numerous appearances in TV and film have made him a household name. Cena has also featured in several video games within and outside the WWE and he is a big fan of the medium.
In addition to this latest stream of recognition, Cena has also been celebrated previously for granting the program’s 1000th wish in 2012 and achieving the 500 wish milestone in 2015. All of this has made the former champion even more well-loved and respected by all, with both hardcore and casual fans ever-ready to support his next project, be it in Hollywood or a future wrestling title run.
Peacemaker season 1 is available on HBO Max.
Source: Guinness World Records