Hartlepool man with terminal illness meets his WWE wrestling idol thanks to charity

Charity Miles for Men started a campaign on social media to get Tommy Fletcher to meet WWE favourite Daniel Bryan as the organisation’s Live tour came to Newcastle’s Metro Radio Arena.

The charity had already bought tickets for Tommy to go to the show and urged supporters to Tweet #wwefortommy to show their support and bring his wish to the attention of his hero.

With help from the Mail, organisers then kindly arranged a meet and greet for Tommy with Daniel, who spent time chatting to his idol.

An emotional Tommy, 49, said just moments after sharing a few words with Daniel: “Words can’t express how happy I am.

“I’ve been a fan of wrestling since 1977 and Daniel is a kind of inspiration for me.

“He’s a true fighter and that’s what I’ve tried to be.

“I’m absolutely buzzing and it’s made me feel great.”

Tommy was driven up to the venue by Miles for Men’s Stephen Picton, who was with his granddaughter Keerah.

They made the journey in a BMW thanks to town business Mark Johnson Flooring.

Miles for Men have already helped Tommy, back in December, when the charity stepped in to help pay for him to marry his longtime sweetheart Jacky Wilkinson.

The couple had been together for 25 years but had never managed to get the money together.

Tommy was recently admitted Alice House Hospice after the devastating news that treatment for stomach and bowel cancer was not working.

“We knew Tommy was a big wrestling fan and when he said this was one of the things on his bucket list we had to try and help,” said Stephen.

“The people from WWE have been brilliant with him and this is just a priceless opportunity.

“The hospice have also been fantastic with sorting his medication so he could make the trip up.”