WWE has released a heart-wrenching tribute to one of its biggest fans, eight-year-old Connor “Stone Crusher” Michalek, who lost his life to pediatric brain cancer last month. Before Connor died, WWE helped him fulfil a few final wishes. He got to meet his favourite wrestler, Daniel Bryan, and he was sitting ringside when Daniel won the world heavyweight championship. Bryan is one of several people paying tribute to Connor in WWE’s video. “Connor was special for a million reasons,” Daniel says. “His smile ... He was so quick-witted. He was nice to everybody, but sometimes just brutally honest. You couldn’t help but talk to him and just instantly fall in love with him.” Bryan first met his biggest fan in 2012. Even then, he was touched. “It brings a tear to my eye, a little bit, that somebody as awesome as Connor wants to meet somebody like me,” he said at the time. Connor’s dad, Steve Michalek, says Daniel was his son’s favourite “by far”, and he believes the chance to see the man in action at WrestleMania prolonged Connor’s life. “The best part of WrestleMania for me was that it was the first time in, I’d say four years, where I actually forgot that Connor was sick,” Steve says. “Daniel got out of the ring on our side and the very first person that Daniel came up to was Connor. “He leaned over and said, ‘Connor, you mean a lot to me. You give me a lot of strength, you helped me earn this, and please keep on fighting.’ Connor was elated. It was a perfect moment.” Connor died three weeks later. But Steve is grateful for every moment he got to spend with his son. “I truly believe that the whole experience extended Connor’s time with me,” he says. “There’s no greater gift that I could get, and there’s no way I could ever repay them for that.” Source
