WWE offers family a home-field advantage

WWE offers family a home-field advantage

Truly, a championship-caliber effort was needed to renovate the only home Geno and Melinda Noyola could afford for their six children: a dilapidated, structurally unlivable two-story brick house on Chicago's west side. Thankfully, as seen on the January 14 installment of ABC-TV's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, that's precisely what happened, especially once WWE Champion John Cena, World Heavyweight Champion Batista and SmackDown Diva Ashley visited the "City of Big Shoulders" to lend some much-needed muscle and support.

Millions of viewers watched from their own homes as Ty Pennington and the design team, builder Norcon Inc. and more than 500 construction workers engineered a "green build"—utilizing recycled materials from the original structure to create new floors, walls and furniture, plus solar panels to convert energy into electricity and save the family money. But Pennington tagged in his visiting WWE Superstars to take on one particular challenge: a wrestling-themed bedroom for boys Geno, Jr., Danny and Jo-Jo.

"We put all kinds of cool stuff in the room for the boys, who are huge wrestling fans," Ashley told WWE.com. "Now they've got WrestleMania chairs signed by every Superstar on the roster, all kinds of action figures, games and DVDs, even engraved championship belts."

The Noyolas, who had been sent packing days earlier to vacation at Walt Disney World in Orlando, clearly could not believe their eyes when Pennington introduced Cena, Batista and Ashley via a video feed. Neither could the joy on their faces become any more visible as Cena informed the family that once they had settled into their new home, "WWE is going to send you back out on the road, because I have tickets for possibly the greatest event in the history of anything: eight tickets for WrestleMania 23."

"I wish we could have actually met the family in person," said Batista, "but it'll be great to meet them at WrestleMania and tell them, ‘Hey, thanks for being fans.'"

Returning back to Chicago, the Noyolas were brought to tears of joy upon seeing their completely refurbished house. The tears, however, were soon replaced by screams of excitement once Geno, Jr., Danny and Jo-Jo entered their brand-new WWE room. More screams followed promptly, this time from a playful Pennington, whom the thankful boys pounced on.

How much do the boys like their new sleeping accommodations? 11-year-old Geno, Jr. summed it up best: "I'm never gonna leave my room, ever."

Hopefully, someone has reminded the youngster that he'll have to leave his room for a little while; after all, the Noyolas have a very special date in Detroit's Ford Field April 1, when they'll spend the greatest family time in sports-entertainment.

WWE Shows Latest Results

View all Shows