John Cena gets emotional meeting boy he inspired during mom's cancer treatment: 'Never give up'

Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY
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A heartwarming video of John Cena meeting a fan who was inspired by the wrestler-turned-actor during his mom's cancer treatment went viral this week, four years after it was originally shared on social media.

In the 2017 video originally shared on YouTube, John Cena was receiving messages from his fans in a partnership with Cricket Wireless. One of the fans, a young boy named Tyler, said in a video shown to Cena that he was the lucky recipient of Cena's wristband at a WWE event.

Around the same time, Tyler said his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. When she went in for her surgery, he gave her the wristband with Cena's long-time WWE slogan, "Never give up," written on it.

"John Cena's message helped my family because I got his wristband that he gave to me, and when my mom was having her six-hour surgery, I gave her the wristband and I told her never give up, and now she's now cancer-free," Tyler said in the video.

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Cena is seen on the verge of tears while watching the video, saying, "It's pretty cool. At a young age, he has such great perspective."

Tyler then popped up from behind an advertisement, and as he was thanking Cena, "The Suicide Squad" actor got up and gave him a hug, telling him it was "the coolest surprise ever."

To drive the emotional moment further home, Tyler's mother then came out, with the wristband in hand, and told Cena, "He made sure that through my cancer journey, he'd say, 'Mom, Cena says never give up.' And now I'm cancer-free."

The resurfaced video had many people feeling emotional on Twitter, and praising Cena for inspiring Tyler and others with his message.

Cena has a long history of supporting charities, including granting over 650 wishes for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a record for the organization, according to Sports Illustrated. He has continued to do so during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Follow Jordan Mendoza on Twitter: @jord_mendoza.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: John Cena tears up at fan inspired during mom's breast cancer fight