The touching reason a man from Leeds secured a Guinness World Record dressed as WWE legend John Cena

Matthew, 33, is from Cross Gates in Leeds and lost his dad to kidney failure in January 2021.

Both Matthew and his dad were avid fans of professional wrestling and would regularly follow the exploits of WWE legend John Cena.

Matthew deemed it fitting to pay a WWE-themed tribute to his late dad.

"It’s a sad story, my dad died in January 2021 with kidney failure,” he explained. “We watched wrestling for 20/25 years before he passed away and it was always something we did.

"For his sake, I wanted to do the running dressed as a wrestler because they’re my two passions in life. John Cena has granted the most wishes through Make-A-Wish in the world, he’s probably the one I look up the most.”

Cena granted his first wish in 2002 and was responsible for granting the foundation’s 1,000th wish back in 2012.

His tally of wishes granted now stands at a world-best 650.

Inspired by both Cena’s charitable nature and his ability in a wrestling ring, Matthew donned the wrestler’s signature outfit for a gruelling run to raise funds for Victim Support.

The charity provides specialist practical and emotional support to victims and witnesses of crime and as well as raising funds for them, Matthew secured a Guinness World Record.

On October 17, he became the fastest male to have run a marathon dressed as a professional wrestler with a time of two hours, 56 minutes and 48 seconds at the Yorkshire Marathon.

He has also completed a half-marathon in Leeds in his Cena outfit and may have even secured himself another record, although it is yet to be ratified.

His second run raised funds for Bethany’s Smile, a charity established by Hollyoaks star Bethany Hare which supports families after they are told their children have short life expectancies.

The charity is currently aiming to raise a minimum of £300,000 to build Smile Cottage, a holiday and respite home in Yorkshire where families can go to spend time together.

"It’s about children who are about to pass away, to give their families support,” Matthew said. “What John has done with the Make-A-Wish foundation, he’s a role model and I wanted to do something like he had. I reached out to her charity because I wanted to do it the same way John would do it.”

Matthew also hopes his efforts can help inspire people who, like him, have Asperger syndrome.

Asperger syndrome is a developmental disorder and young people with it can have a difficult time relating to others socially, meanwhile their behaviour and thinking patters can be rigid and repetitive.

Matthew spoke to his mum after feeling like he was being held back and struggling to advance in his studies at Manchester Metropolitan University.

In 2013, he received his diagnosis and despite the early hurdles in higher education, Matthew is now a proud university graduate with a degree in Sport, Leisure and Culture.

“I was diagnosed just under 10 years ago,” he said. “I always felt like I had something holding me back throughout my life and when I went to the Cheshire Campus at Manchester Metropolitan University, I failed my second year in 2011.

"I failed again and there was no real way back into getting my degree, which is what I wanted. I was diagnosed in 2013 and then I was able to re-apply to go to Leeds Beckett University and I graduated in 2015 after they let me back on to the second year in Sport, Leisure and Culture.”

His achievements have landed him a Blue Peter badge and he was part of the Commonwealth Games 2022 team as a medal presenter.

Matthew is still accepting donations to Bethany’s Smile on his JustGiving page.