John Cena Earns The Sports Illustrated Muhammad Ali Legacy Award

John Cena is one of the most giving WWE Superstars of all time. From granting the most Make-a-Wish wishes of all time to his continued work with children for brands like Nickelodeon and also speaking out for issues concerning matters like equality for all, John Cena may be the greatest ambassador for WWE and their values that the company has ever had. Now, John is set to be given the Sports Illustrated Muhammad Ali Legacy Award. The award is given each year to athletes who show traits of sportsmanship, leadership, and philanthropy and use their platform to greater their ability to exhibit these characteristics. John gave the following comments to Sports Illustrated about the honor:

“I am truly thrilled to receive Sports Illustrated’s Muhammad Ali Legacy Award,” Cena said. “Ali’s commitment to helping others, his dedication to the sport and his generous spirit are incomparable and he was a role model to us all. To be linked with him in any way is an honor that means so much to me.”

Sports Illustrated’s Executive Editor Stephen Cannella said the following about choosing John:

“From his unparalleled work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation to his support for a wide range of causes ranging from activism for military families to cancer research, John has made personal outreach and generosity of time and spirit his calling cards. He might just be the most charitable person in sports, and his dedication to philanthropy richly reflects the spirit of the Ali Legacy Award.”

John will join previous recipients of the award, including Magic Johnson, Jack Nicklaus, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jim Brown, Bill Russell, and Colin Kaepernick. The award presentation will take place at Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year event on Dec. 11 at the Beverly Hills Hilton in Los Angeles. Later in the month, John’s latest movie, Bumblebee is released in theaters. Then, John focuses on a return to his ‘true home,’ WWE, for some holiday house shows and WrestleMania season. John’s first television date will be the first Monday Night Raw for 2019 which is held on January 7th in Orlando Florida.

John Cena Kids' Choice Awards

16-time WWE Champion John Cena hosts the 2017 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards

John Cena Kids' Choice Awards #1

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Professional wrestlers John Cena (L) and Nikki Bella at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
John Cena Kids' Choice Awards #2

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Host John Cena (R) arm-wrestles onstage at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/KCA2017/Getty Images for Nickelodeon)
John Cena Kids' Choice Awards #3

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Host John Cena (C) performs onstage at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)
John Cena Kids' Choice Awards #4

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Host John Cena appears onstage at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Chris Polk/KCA2017/Getty Images for Nickelodeon)
John Cena Kids' Choice Awards #5

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: The cast of Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn armwrestle with host John Cena onstage with Dj Khaled at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/KCA2017/WireImage)
John Cena Kids' Choice Awards #6

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Host John Cena speaks onstage at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Host John Cena at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
John Cena Kids' Choice Awards #8

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Host John Cena opens the show at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
John Cena Kids' Choice Awards #9

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Host John Cena (L) and professional wrestler Nikki Bella speak onstage at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
John Cena Kids' Choice Awards #10

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Host John Cena performs onstage at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
John Cena Kids' Choice Awards #11

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Host John Cena speaks onstage at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/KCA2017/WireImage)
John Cena Kids' Choice Awards #12

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Host John Cena (L) and professional wrestler Nikki Bella at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images)
John Cena Kids' Choice Awards #13

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Host John Cena gets slimed onstage at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
John Cena Kids' Choice Awards #14

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Host John Cena performs onstage at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
John Cena Kids' Choice Awards #15

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Host John Cena (L) and professional wrestler Nikki Bella speak onstage at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
John Cena Kids' Choice Awards #16

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Host John Cena (L) and professional wrestler Nikki Bella speak onstage at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
John Cena Kids' Choice Awards #17

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Host John Cena at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images)
John Cena Kids' Choice Awards #18

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Host John Cena at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images)
John Cena Kids' Choice Awards #19

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Host John Cena gets slimed onstage at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/KCA2017/Getty Images for Nickelodeon)
John Cena Kids' Choice Awards #20

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Host John Cena at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)
John Cena Kids' Choice Awards #21

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Host John Cena at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images)
John Cena Kids' Choice Awards #22

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Host John Cena speaks onstage at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Chris Polk/KCA2017/Getty Images for Nickelodeon)
John Cena Kids' Choice Awards #23

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Host John Cena speaks onstage at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Chris Polk/KCA2017/Getty Images for Nickelodeon)
John Cena Kids' Choice Awards #24

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Host John Cena onstage at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
John Cena Kids' Choice Awards #25

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Host John Cena backstage at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/KCA2017/Getty Images for Nickelodeon)
John Cena Kids' Choice Awards #26

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Host John Cena backstage at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/KCA2017/Getty Images for Nickelodeon)
John Cena Kids' Choice Awards #27

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Professional wrestlers John Cena (L) and Nikki Bella at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage)
John Cena Kids' Choice Awards #28

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Host John Cena backstage at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/KCA2017/Getty Images for Nickelodeon)
John Cena Kids' Choice Awards #29

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Host John Cena (L) and TV personality Nick Cannon perform onstage at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Chris Polk/KCA2017/Getty Images for Nickelodeon)
John Cena Kids' Choice Awards #30

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Host John Cena gets slimed onstage at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
John Cena Kids' Choice Awards #31

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Host John Cena performs onstage at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)