WWE's John Cena Wins Sports Illustrated Muhammad Ali Legacy Award
WWE's John Cena can add another accolade to his robust resume: Sports Illustrated Muhammad Ali [...]
WWE's John Cena can add another accolade to his robust resume: Sports Illustrated Muhammad Ali Sports Legacy Award.
The 41-year-old Cena was chosen by the SI staff for his commitment to philanthropy through his roles in the Make-A-Wish Foundation and breast cancer awareness.
"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," said Sports Illustrated Executive Editor Stephen Cannella. "He might just be the most charitable person in sports, and his dedication to philanthropy richly reflects the spirit of the Ali Legacy Award."
The honor was created in 2005 with it being given Ali's namesake in 2015. Previous winners include Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jim Brown, Magic Johnson, Jack Nicklaus, Bill Russell, and Colin Kaepernick.
"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."
Cena will be presented the award at Sports Illustrated's Sportsperson Of the Year event on December 11.
Later that month Cena will make his prodigal return to WWE. Cena has spent most of 2018 out of the wrestling ring in order to pad his Hollywood resume. After April's WrestleMania 35, Cena took off to film Bumblebee, and outside of brief match at WWE's Super Show-Down in October, Cena has been totally absent from the company.
However, a chunk of his upcoming schedule did become available and it looks like Cena will be in the thick of things for Vince McMahon to start off 2019.
Madison Square Garden, New York – December 26
Nassau Coliseum, New York – December 27
Royals Farms Arena, Baltimore — December 28
PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh – December 29
Amalie Arena, Tampa, Fla. – December 30
Columbus Civic Center, Columbus, Ga. – January 4
Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, Tallahassee, Fla. – January 5
Hertz Arena, Ft. Myers, Fla. – January 6
Amway Center, Orlando, Fla. – January 7 (Raw)
Charleston Civic Center, Charleston, W.Va. – January 11
Knoxville Civic Coliseum, Knoxville, Tenn. – January 12
Von Braun Civic Center, Huntsville, Ala. – January 13
FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tenn. – January 14
At 41-years-old, Cena is technically on the downswing of his career. However, others his age, like Brock Lesnar and AJ Styles have been at the top of the company all year. And with Roman Reigns out, Vince McMahon may need Cena's heroics in his main event picture.
But for now, all we know is that he'll around for the Royal Rumble, and if we had to guess, WrestleMania 35, too.
"I'm far from done with the WWE," Cena told ESPN. "The WWE will always be my home, but in this current state of affairs right now with all this extra cool stuff that's going on, it's fun to try. It's a great time to be able to take a chance and I'm so eternally grateful to the WWE and its audience for bringing me to this point. I realize I'd be nowhere without them and I never forget them. I promise as soon as I have any sort of downtime, like I had when I was at the Greatest Royal Rumble and the string of shows I did before WrestleMania, anytime free time I get will not be free, it will be spent at my home in the WWE," he said.
"I don't feel like they're dependent on me in any way. I think the program is riveting as it stands and there are so many gifted young performers that deserve a chance and have earned a chance so there couldn't be a better time for me to take a break," he said.
