John Cena sets new world record with 650 wishes granted with the Make-A-Wish Foundation
He’s become the foundation’s most requested celebrity—and he never turns anyone down.

"I'll drop everything."
The multitalented, mega famous John Cena might hold many titles, but this might be the coolest one yet—and it has nothing to do with wrestling.
The actor and WWE performer just broke the Guinness World Records for most wishes granted through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. As of July 19, Guinness World Records reports, Cena has granted a whopping 650 wishes. The highest amount any other celebrity granted was 200.
The 16-time world champion first became a wish-granter back in 2002. Since then, he’s become the foundation’s most requested celebrity—and he never turns anyone down.
"I just drop everything. I don't care what I'm doing," he said in a WWE produced video after granting his 500th wish. “I can't say enough how cool it is to see the kids so happy, and their families so happy, I truly want to show them that it's their day.”Cena happily takes photos, lets kids play with his championship belt and even takes them behind the ropes occasionally. It’s clear that he sees how important it is to create a special experience and goes the extra mile.
“I try to put myself in that perspective of if I had one thing to wish for, where would I fall on that list... So for me to be the name of like, ‘I would like to hang out with this person for the day,’ that’s a pretty strong statement... It really is pretty magical when they get a really intimate experience with the individual and then they get to go see them be a superhero.”
Cena consistently uses his celebrity as a force for good. Earlier in June, when he learned that a mother in Ukraine told her 19-year-old nonverbal son with Down syndrome they were leaving the country to meet him—an attempt to protect her child from the stresses of war—Cena hopped on a flight to fulfill that fictional promise.
.@JohnCena meets Misha, a teen who fled Ukraine after his home was destroyed.
— WWE (@WWE) June 7, 2022
To motivate Misha on their journey to safety, his mother told him they were on their way to find Cena. pic.twitter.com/0Aeab4GkPZ
The pair ended up spending the entire day together near Amsterdam, “building blocks and eating cake.”
Previously, in 2020, he matched pop group BTS’ $1 million donation to help the Black Lives Matter movement. And back in 2012 he headed WWE’s Be-A-Star anti-bullying campaign.
Plus, let’s not forget about his adorable picture book series, “Elbow Grease,” which teaches kids about perseverance and believing in themselves, all with “high-octane illustrations” of the cutest little monster truck you’ll ever see.
You can find those books on Amazon, but nothing quite beats listening to Cena read his own book out loud.
It's easy to find ourselves cynical at the apparent good deeds of celebrities—viewing charitable acts as virtue signaling, a ploy for a better public image or even covering up something nefarious. But it’s even harder to believe that Cena’s compassion, as unfaltering as it is, is anything less than genuine. This is a great example of how status can be used to share blessings. For a guy whose most notorious finishing move includes hoisting a dude above his shoulders before slamming them into the mat, he still shows us what the best of humanity looks like.
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."