Thanks to Mike Informer for the Mooneyham article on Cena:

Cena Shows Softer Side Of Wrestling

 

WWE star John Cena shows 7-year-old fan Jeremy Justus how to strike a wrestling pose.

 

Young fan Jeremy Justus presents John Cena with special shirt.

The Post and Courier

WWE star John Cena with 7-year-old fan Jeremy Justus and Kids Wish Network Wish Coordinator Vanessa Covolo.

 

New WWE world heavyweight champion C.M. Punk

It seems that all too often, in the wild and woolly world of professional wrestling, the more scurrilous, lurid items get the big headlines. In a way, it’s no different than any other form of popular culture or, for that matter, the sometimes nasty business of politics.

Readers love controversy, and there’s always more than enough to go around.

But, for the sake of fairness and balance, it’s nice when some of the good guys get recognized for their good deeds. It’s especially heartening when they do it because they truly care, and not simply as a publicity ploy to garner attention.

John Cena is one of those good guys. In addition to being one of the most popular performers in World Wrestling Entertainment, he’s also one of the most accommodating in sports entertainment. A generous, caring, down-to-earth individual, Cena is giving of his time and his talents. Talk to anyone in the company, and they’ll tell you he’s probably the hardest-working wrestler on the roster.

Cena’s backstage demeanor, clean-cut look and charismatic personality have placed him in high regard among the locker-room crowd. With a mission statement of hustle, loyalty and respect, he’s got a blue-collar work ethic and wrestles in jean shorts and Reebok Pumps.

But it’s the things he does behind the scenes that really make him stand out.

The Massachusetts native was recognized by the Make-A-Wish Foundation earlier this year for being one of the biggest celebrity wish-granters, fulfilling more than 100 wishes since 2004. That puts him in an elite group that includes basketball star Kobe Bryant and NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon.

WWE’s connection with Make-A-Wish began in 1982, dating back nearly to the charity’s inception, and the company has been involved in more than 5,000 wishes.

Make a Wish Foundation CEO David Williams recently said Cena was on a pace to be the biggest wish-granter in the organization’s history.

“One hundred wishes is a lot,” said Williams. “We typically don’t see that many celebrities grant that many wishes. It speaks to the popularity of the WWE and John Cena.”

“We’ll have the real celebration when we hit 1,000,” says Cena. “It’s not about the people who grant the wishes. It’s about the people who get the wishes.”

Forget the make-believe titles. This guy’s for real.

Cena recently spent some quality time with a 7-year-old Georgia boy suffering from cerebral palsy. Jeremy Justus got to meet his wrestling idol thanks to Kids Wish Network, a Holiday, Fla.-based organization that grants wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses.

Jeremy, who wears leg braces, struggles daily with his condition and has experienced severe seizure episodes since birth. His right lung collapsed four times when he was an infant. He’s been in and out of the hospital much of his young life and must visit his doctors frequently.

When Kids Wish Network Wish Coordinator Vanessa Covolo learned that Jeremy’s number one wish was to meet Cena in person, she worked hard to make sure his dream came true.

Covolo contacted WWE, and all the pieces came together on June 23 at a Monday Night Raw at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Covolo arranged for Jeremy, his mother and grandmother to fly to San Antonio, and also secured hotel accommodations. WWE provided special tickets for the family and, more importantly, Jeremy got his wish — a special meet and greet with his idol.

The experience left a wonderful, indelible memory for Jeremy, said his mother, Donna Justus.

“It was wonderful. Jeremy not only got to meet all the wrestlers, but he got to ride in a limousine and fly for the very first time,” she said. “He had such a great time. We all had a ball. It’s something we’ll never forget.”

Jeremy, who proudly wore a shirt that read, ‘John Cena Is My Idol’, presented Cena with a homemade shirt that read, ‘You Are My Idol, John Cena’. He also presented his favorite WWE star with an official Kids Wish Network Guardian Angel coin.

Cena then took off his shirt, signed it and gave it to the youngster from Clayton, Ga.

“It blew my mind,” said Donna Justus. “I thought he would probably take it back to his dressing room, but he wore it and told all the other wrestlers about it.”

Jeremy also got to meet a host of other WWE stars including Edge, Batista, Ric Flair, The Hardy Boyz, Cryme Tyme, Mr. Kennedy and C.M. Punk. Each wrestler took turns signing Jeremy’s shirt and posing for pictures with him.

All the muscles intimidated Jeremy a little in the beginning, his mom said, but his fears were allayed when the grapplers assured him that “they love kids.”

“Jeremy was a little shy at first,” said Covolo. “The wrestlers kept walking through the door one at a time. One would leave, and another one would come in.”

“John Cena gave him a lot of stuff,” she added. “He gave him a couple of shirts, some wristbands and some necklaces. All the wrestlers signed Jeremy’s shirt along with a bunch of pictures. John Cena was really good with him.”

Cena also left a nice impression with Jeremy’s mom.

“He was pretty,” she laughed. “He’s really nice.”

After the meet and greet was over, the group headed out to their seats to watch the matches. It was Jeremy’s first time at a WWE event, and his mother said he’s raring to go again.

“It was a big treat for him. He’ll always remember it. He watches wrestling anytime it comes on. He watches it all.”

It also was Covolo’s first pro-wrestling related experience, and she left with a very good impression.

“They (WWE) are very good and very responsive. They’re a wonderful organization to work with. There was another foundation there as well, and another child wanted to meet John Cena too. But they worked with us individually. John Cena spent time with my child, and he spent time with the other child as well.”

Jeremy also made friends with an 8-year-old boy from San Antonio who was backstage meeting the wrestlers. The child, who recently had undergone a kidney transplant, was there through Make-A-Wish, and the two boys swapped addresses.

“Some meet-and-greets are five minutes,” said Covolo. “They were there a good two hours meeting with all the wrestlers. They really rolled out the red carpet.”

“Our Wish coordinator was wonderful,” said Donna Justus. “Jeremy really loved her, and even though Jeremy’s wish is over with, we still stay in contact with her.”

- Another good guy finally got his big break last week on Raw. C.M. Punk scored the biggest upset of the year (and the biggest in his career) when he cashed in his “money in the bank” to defeat Edge for the WWE world heavyweight title.

There’s a lot to like about the 29-year-old Punk. He’s a straight shooter inside and outside the ring who espouses clean living and what he calls a “straight-edge” lifestyle. He’s gritty and unorthodox yet grounded and disciplined, and is a strong advocate of being drug and alcohol free.

“I don’t do drugs, I don’t smoke, I don’t drink. I don’t do anything that would interfere with me trying to be a better athlete and a better wrestler. I can have fun without drinking and that kind of stuff,” the former Ring of Honor sensation said in an interview earlier this year.

- WWE diva Melina (Perez) suffered a broken ankle when she was pushed off the top rope to the floor during the recent WWE draft show on Raw. She is expected to be out of action for several months.

“My spirits are good,” she told the WWE Web site. “I was upset that I was unable to finish the match the way I wanted to ... I’m sad I’m unable to do anything at the moment. Things happen for a reason.”

- Former Diva Search winner Ashley (Massaro) has decided to leave WWE. Ashley, who posed for Playboy in 2007 and appeared as a contestant on “Survivor” later that year, posted on her blog last week that she going to be caring for her 7-year-old daughter, who is ill, on a full-time basis.

- Longtime wrestling announcer and baseball enthusiast Tony Schiavone was very blunt in his assessment of the Atlanta Braves when I recently posed the question. “They’re not very good,” the Atlanta sports radio personality told me. I’ll second that. Sadly enough, after all those division titles, that sounds like an understatement.

- WWE released Smackdown performer Trevor Murdoch last week.

Murdoch, 27, whose real name is Trevor Rhodes, signed with the company in 2005 and had been part of a mid-card Raw team with Lance Cade. The two parted ways in May, and Rhodes was later drafted to the Smackdown brand.

- Greg Price is presenting what is perhaps his biggest NWA Wrestling Legends fanfest yet in Charlotte the weekend of Aug. 14-17. The star-studded list includes Ole Anderson, The Assassin, Tony Atlas, Jack Brisco, Bob Caudle, Chris Cruise, Ted DiBiase, James J. Dillon, Jimmy Garvin and Precious, Superstar Billy Graham, Rip Hawk, Sam Houston, Sir Oliver Humperdink, Paul Jones, Ivan Koloff, Rich Landrum, Thunderbolt Patterson, Buddy Roberts, Bruno Sammartino, Grizzly Smith and Tommy Young. For VIP passholders, the weekend also will feature several live events, Q&A sessions and a Hall of Heroes banquet dinner. The activities will be held at the Hilton University Place Hotel.

For more information, visit www.NWALegends.com.>

- Old School Championship Wrestling will present a show July 13 at Weekend’s Pub, 428 Redbank Road, Goose Creek. Main event is Al Snow vs. Malachi plus a tag-team tournament. Bell time is 6 p.m. Adult admission is $8; kids 12 and under $5. For more information, visit www.oscwonline.com or call 743-4800.

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At this time I also want to thank my very special friend Mick Foley, for making a little boys' dream come true.  Chris Ford called me telling me a little boy was dying and has about one month to live.  He is a huge WWE fan and is there any WWE wrestler who could make a little boys dream come true before he left us.  I immediately thought of Mick Foley.  Mick visited the boy on July 4th for over an hour, making the boy and his family so happy.  Thank you Mick, you're the best.

Georgie  [email protected]