Mickey Rourke taps out early

In an update to a story posted January-28-09 at 2:52 pm


A spokeswoman for actor Mickey Rourke says he won't be taking his role as a professional wrestler into a real-life ring after all.

Paula Woods told The Associated Press on Wednesday night that Rourke will not wrestle WWE superstar Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania 25 in April at Houston's Reliant Stadium.

Woods wrote in an e-mail that the Oscar-nominated actor "will not be participating in Wrestlemania. He is focusing entirely on his acting career."

Rourke portrays professional wrestler Randy the Ram in the acclaimed movie "The Wrestler." He made a surprise announcement about the wrestling event Sunday night on the red carpet before the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles.

Rourke had said he was going to toss Jericho "around the ring like tossed salad."

Actor Mickey Rourke calls out WWE Superstar Chris Jericho

Several years ago, Will Smith starred as legendary boxer Muhammad Ali in a movie.

It was a movie....Play acting. Pretend.

Smith didn’t actually get into a ring and box 12 rounds with Mike Tyson for real.

Now Mickey Rourke is winning awards for his role as professional wrestler Randy the Ram in the acclaimed movie The Wrestler.

That’s the difference between boxing and pro wrestling.

Rourke has signed to wrestle WWE superstar Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania 25 in Reliant Stadium on April 5. For real, or as real as pro wrestling can be anyways.

Rourke made the surprise announcement Sunday night on the red carpet before the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles. He told Access Hollywood that he was pleased by the acceptance of The Wrestler by all the WWE wrestlers — except Jericho.

“So come Wrestlemania 25 in Houston, I’m going to toss him around the ring like tossed salad. Chris Jericho, you better get in shape,” Rourke promised, or threatened, or whatever you call it when wrestlers don’t particularly care for each other.

Jericho, appearing on WWE television this past Monday, and said, “You are out of line. It’s one thing to play a wrestler in a movie, something entirely different to actually be one. Your comments offended me. You made a mistake. It’s the last thing that you and Ric Flair want to do, and that’s offend Chris Jericho.””

In a related development, tickets for Wrestlemania 25 at Reliant Stadium are for sale at www.ticketmaster.com.

By the way, what does Ric Flair have to do with any of this?

According to Jericho, it was wrestling legend Flair who talked Rourke into thinking he could actually be a wrestler.

Rourke admits that Flair is “teaching me some tricks.”

The only thing Flair will admit to is, “Let’s just say, I will be at Wrestlemania, and that’s all I’m saying.”

In wrestling lingo, that means, “I am training Rourke, Chris Jericho is in a heap of trouble and whatever other rumors you’re hearing, they’re all true.”

Can't you just see the pay-per-view buy rates for Wrestlemania 25 going through the roof for the WWE with this "stunning" new development?

Yeah me neither...