Mickey Rourke Gets Challenged by a Real Wrestler
Filed under: Drama, Awards, RumorMonger, Celebrities and Controversy, Fox Searchlight, Oscar Watch, Trailers and Clips
Current Academy Award nominee and perpetual comeback kid Mickey Rourke was humbled the other day by professional wrestler Chris Jericho, who both praised and knocked Rourke's (awesome) performance in The Wrestler before challenging Rourke to some sort of match, while on Larry King Live.
Coming three days after Rourke's claim at the SAG Awards ceremony that he'd be taking part in April's Wrestlemania match (and called out Jericho in particular, it seems), I'd say that it falls right in line -- except that Rourke only sits there and offers up gratitude while Jericho gets increasingly badgering in his confrontation, in a manner that seemed scripted more and more with each passing moment (did anyone else catch exactly why Jericho threw out the word "offended" after deeming his performance "immaculate"?).
It just goes to show you that maybe not all fights captured on video are necessarily worth clicking on. Maybe it's just for the attention. Maybe it's an argument best left to those individuals. Maybe you had good reason for watching that video -- maybe you even heartily agree with one side over the other -- or maybe you were just curious. Sometimes, though, these videos are best left unwatched... a rule that doesn't, however, apply to the movie at hand. (Seriously, see it if you can, folks.)
Note: Rourke's publicist has since come forward to say that he won't be participating in Wrestlemania, and instead will be "focusing entirely on his acting career." Um, what's the difference? [via Defamer]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-29-2009 @ 4:10PM
Kurt Munro said...
Rourke's in "Tom Cruise" mode so he's not going to do anything stupid for a while or even joke about anything until he's pocketed some $ and respect.
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1-29-2009 @ 4:10PM
gozer said...
WWE wants to come across as more intense in this age of UFC fighting, so they are going to have Rourke go bare-knuckles with Jericho in a fake spectacle at the next Wrestlemania. And/or they just need any publicity they can get - but do WWE fans watch Larry King?
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1-29-2009 @ 4:10PM
RP said...
It's just a staged publicity stunt. Ignore.
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1-29-2009 @ 4:11PM
Mike said...
My guess is that Rourke wanted to do the Wrestlemania gig but his people convinced him it was a bad idea.
I sure hope, for his sake, he makes the most of his opportunity. I can easily picture him going the Burt Reynolds route and wasting the awards buzz by signing on to a bunch of movies that end up going straight to video.
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1-29-2009 @ 4:11PM
Sarah said...
What a punk.
Regardless of his praise for Mickey Rourke and "The Wrestler," Chris Jericho seems to prefer touting his own career and tooting his own horn even more. Typical.
What Rourke said on the red carpet was a JOKE, people. Nothing more.
More to the point, what did everyone think of "The Wrestler"? Here's my review: http://sloblogs.thetribunenews.com/shelikestowatch/
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1-29-2009 @ 4:11PM
rs said...
Jericho is an idiot!!
Would love to see Mickey take him on..>BTW - Mickey is not unfamiliar with fighting/brawls - there are reports that he whipped Jean Claude Van Dame's ass (along with his bodyguard) in a pub brawl a few years ago...and he's had numerous other brawls that were less publicised...
SO... let's see Jericho in the octagon - or wherever they'll be with Mickey. My guess is that he doesn't know What to do - without a script...
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1-29-2009 @ 4:11PM
Monika said...
What a shame.. I totally would've watched Wrestlemania for the first time in over a decade if Rourke was on and fighting -- but only if Evan Rachel Wood was there, Elizabeth-style.
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1-29-2009 @ 4:11PM
Kevin said...
Jericho's a big guy, but Rourke was actually a pro/semi pro boxer. I'll take the guy who actually kicked peoples asses for a living over the guy that pretends too (and don't give me that wrestling ain't fake crap. Yeah, its extremely physical and takes an immense amount of athleticism, but that doesn't mean you actually have any idea how to really fight because you know how to fake wrestle).
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1-29-2009 @ 8:55PM
chuck said...
This would be a bad career move by Rourke who just got his career back! Fun to watch but not overly smart.
http://blog.entertainmenttodayandbeyond.com/
Chuck
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