Last month, an 8-year-old boy with a passion for WWE fulfilled a dream by attending WrestleMania 30 only three weeks before he would pass away following a long battle with pediatric brain cancer.
Connor Michelek first met his favorite wrestler Daniel Bryan back in 2012 after his family posted a video on YouTube. The two met and instantly bonded. They kept in touch over the next two years.
Fast forward two years to 2014. Before WrestleMania 30 on April 6, Connor Michalek and Daniel Bryan shared a special moment with all of the WWE stars. Connor interacted with AJ Lee, Stephanie McMahon and took out Triple H with a single punch.
After Daniel Bryan won his WrestleMania 30 match, Connor’s dad was hopeful he might see Connor.
“Daniel got out of the ring on our side and the very first person Daniel went up to was Connor,” Steve Michelek, Connor’s father, said. “He leaned over and said ‘Connor you mean a lot to me. You give me a lot of strength. You helped me earn this. Please keep on fighting.’”
Michelek said the moment was perfect.
“Connor was elated,” Michelek said. “It was a perfect moment. I truly believe the whole experience extended Connor’s time with me. There’s no greater gift that I could get… and no way I could repay them for that.”
Connor died on April 25 following a long battle with pediatric brain cancer.
“Connor was special for a million reasons,” Daniel Bryan said. “His smile. He was so quick witted. He was nice to everybody but sometimes brutally honest. You couldn’t help but talk to him and instantly fall in love with him.”
“I think Connor was an old soul. He had a magic about him. He had a light… and anyone around him could feel it… and was the better for it,” Stephanie McMahon said.
