10 Outrageous WrestleMania Moments That Made Mainstream News

8. Connor "The Crusher" Michalek

The story of Connor Michalek is one of the most inspirational and heart-breaking tales that the wrestling industry has seen. It was in the build-up to last year€™s Wrestlemania 30 that most wrestling fans became aware of Connor and his battle with cancer, but this was a story that had already garnered mainstream attention and stirred emotion in the coldest of hearts. Now awarded the Warrior Award and a place in the Hall of Fame, the memory of Connor €œThe Crusher€ will live on to inspire future generations. In recent years, fans have almost become desensitised to the fantastic charity work that the WWE does, particularly with the Make a Wish programme, because it€™s so commonplace these days. Despite this, Connor stood out as a truly special little boy who left a lasting impression on any who has seen his story, be they a wrestling fan or not.
Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.