John Cena Accepts SI's 2018 Muhammad Ali Legacy Award

John Cena accepted the Sports Illustrated Muhammad Ali Legacy Award on Tuesday night in recognition of his philanthropic efforts.

Cena was given the award at the SI Sportsperson of the Year ceremony at the Beverly Hills Hilton in Los Angeles, and he heavily praised both WWE and its Superstars in his acceptance speech, according to Marc Middleton of WrestlingInc.com:

"I've just been given the Muhammad Ali Legacy Award here at the Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year Awards. It's truly moving to see some of those moments back and get to relive some of those moments.

"To be mentioned in the same sentence as Ali, let alone a respectable comparison, comparable legacy is simply incredible. I just wanted to say that I accepted this award tonight on behalf of all the WWE Superstars, because I believe if put in my shoes, they would all make the exact same choice."

Cena also mentioned that he intends to share the award with all of WWE by having it put on display at the company headquarters:

"Tonight is a wonderful night for WWE, because here I am, a sports entertainer, being awarded a tremendous honor among athletes. It's not something that probably would have happened a few years ago, but it's amazing to see culture change, and people have open minds about what we do, and accept us for just being damn good at what we do.

"I'm actually sending this award to Connecticut, so it's going to be displayed in WWE headquarters because that's where it belongs. It's part of all of us; it's for all of us. I'm headed onto Hong Kong to keep that legacy thing going. Like I said, I love what I do, and I'm going to be doing what I love, and tonight was a tremendous honor. So thank you, Sports Illustrated."

WWE later tweeted this video:

Cena, who has granted more than 600 Make-A-Wish wishes during his WWE career, became the first professional wrestler to win the award since its inception in 2008.

The 41-year-old has appeared sparingly for WWE in recent months, and he hasn't competed in a match for the company since Super Show-Down in October.

He is currently busy promoting his Bumblebee movie, but Cena is advertised to appear at some WWE live events near the end of December.

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