John Cena On His Make-A-Wish Work, Why He’s Not Yet Ready For Kids

John Cena recently discussed his work for Make-A-Wish and why he doesn’t believe now is the right time for him to have kids. During his media rounds promoting Peacemaker, Cena appeared on The Drew Barrymore. You can see a clip from the video below in which Barrymore asks Cena if, with his ability to connect with kids through Make-A-Wish, he feels like now is the right time for him to have kids.

“First of all, thank you for the comment,” Cena Said. “And I really enjoy my life. I have been riding a lightning bolt for quite some time now, and I’ve been given opportunities to do and see things that man, I didn’t even dream of. And I had some pretty lofty dreams. It’s hard work. It’s hard work to balance the time I need to run myself correctly, it’s hard work to be the best partner and husband I can be to my loving wife. It’s hard to keep connections with those in my life that I love. And it’s also hard to put in an honest day’s work. Just, this is just my perspective, again, totally not qualified, but I think just because you might be good at something is, for me is not a strong enough reason to do that.”

He continued:

“You have to have passion for it. You have to have a fuel for it. It’s like saying to somebody, ‘Man, you know, you’re, you’re pretty good with your hands. You’d be a great carpenter.’ But if I want to be an actor, I’ll be an actor. And, and just to say to somebody, ‘You have a great interaction with young people.’ That’s flattering. I still am flipped, and the reason I love Make-A-Wish so much is because those aren’t like, those are those families’ wishes. It’s like, ‘Yo, you can do anything you want.’ And Make-A-Wish’s list is enormous. They literally will do anything you want. ‘I want to kick it with John Cena and go see him wrestle.’ That is the coolest thing I have ever heard in my life.

“It means a lot of things. It means one, something I’m passionate about affects people. It means two, I can be a vehicle to, to help make a wish come true. And it means three, when we engage, when the wish actually happens, it’s something that someone wants, and we’re the finish line, and the joy on their face. And these are, these are individuals who are tougher than I could ever imagine, that are going through a set of circumstances that I just, I can’t believe. And they get to just leave all that stuff at the door and they get to relax and escape for a little bit and hang out and we get to talk. I’ve gotten strategy tips, I should do secret moves. I’ve been able to single people out in the crowd, I’ve been able to bring people in the ring. I’ve been able to encourage people to create their own wrestling characters.

“I’ve met Make-A-Wish families multiple times and seeing the positive development that just our interactions had. I’ve received unbelievably emotional, emotionally moving letters from parents after some, some very tragic circumstances happened about what the moment meant to them and will always mean to them. Make-A-Wish is fantastic.

“But all those things considered, I love that, I love that joy, I love that connection. And that, that’s where I’m at right now, and it is difficult water to tread because that, you know, everybody’s like, ‘Well, when?’ I just know not now, you know?”