WWE Hall of Fame 2019 Warrior Award recipient Sue Aitchison describes how she draws inspiration from her tireless work with Make-A-Wish. Courtesy of WWE Network.
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — You might not have heard Sue Aitchison’s name before the 2019 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony. That, perhaps, is part and parcel with being a behind-the-scenes cog in the WWE machine. But few people employed by or associated with the company have left the kind of mark Sue has, and few are as worthy of enshrinement in the WWE Hall of Fame as the 2019 Warrior Award recipient.
As a key organizer of WWE’s Make-A-Wish partnership, “unsung hero” doesn’t quite begin to describe Sue, suffice it to say she is the type of individual the late Ultimate Warrior singled out as the ideal recipient of his eponymous award during his 2014 Hall of Fame induction. His widow, Dana Warrior, agreed as much in her introduction speech — as did John Cena, who introduced Sue and spoke to her crucial involvement with Make-A-Wish and the life philosophy that had made her WWE’s secret weapon: “How can I help?”
In that case, it was true to form that very little of Sue’s induction speech was about herself. Instead, she took her time to shine a light on the children she works with at Make-A-Wish, from the first visit she organized — a young man who wanted to meet Hulk Hogan — to the meeting between Daniel Bryan and first-ever Warrior Award recipient Connor “The Crusher” Michalek. She even brought up Jody Phillips, a former Wish child who had met The Rock and since recovered, started a family and now calls her “Grandma.”
“These children have a bigger impact on this world that some of us will never know or even see,” Sue said of the kids she worked with, also sparing a good word for the Superstars, refs, merch crew and social media team who help make the wishes themselves such a special moment. “How blessed I am,” she said, “To have a job that puts smiles on faces with a great team that makes it so easy.” The blessing is mutual. Sue Aitchison is now in the WWE Hall of Fame. Her name will live forever. She deserves nothing less.
