I buy everything the WWE wrestlers are selling — they're husky, mean, people-chucking machines who fancy Lycra.
But, it turns out there's more than meets the ill-fitting leotards. These wrestling stars are a bunch of adorable softies who are willing to bend over backward for a young, cancer-stricken super fan.
In 2012, Connor "The Crusher" Michalek, a 7-year-old cancer patient from Pennsylvania, met his favorite pro wrestler, Daniel Bryan, through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The diminutive, straight-talking fan made quite the impression on Bryan and the WWE crew.
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"Connor was special for a million reasons," Bryan says in the video as he wipes away tears. "His smile, he was so quick-witted, he was nice to everybody, but sometimes brutally honest."
This past March, Connor's dad got the tragic news that his son didn't have long to live. To make Connor's last days memorable, the WWE gave the father and son front-row tickets to WrestleMania 30 in Washington D.C. From that vantage point, Connor witnessed his hero, Daniel Bryan, win the heavyweight championship. Afterwards, Bryan crawled out of the ring, gave Connor a bear hug, and said he couldn't have won without him. "I truly believe that the whole experience extended Connor's time with me," Connor's father Steve Michalek says in the video.
Connor succumbed to his battle with pediatric brain cancer on April 25. Watch the WWE's touching tribute to one inspiring mega fan below. --Lauren Hansen
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