Rourke Wrestlemania News Spreads

Last night on Raw, Chris Jericho cut a promo when he came to the ramp to talk about Mickey Rourke's "The Wrestler" movie and how it's received critical acclaim, including praise from The Nature Boy, Ric Flair. Footage was shown on the red carpet for the 15th Annual SAG Awards on Sunday night where Rourke told Access Hollywood he'll be getting into the WWE's wrestling ring at the Wrestlemania 25 Pay-Per-View. He dropped several legend's names including Roddy Piper and Ric Flair, then Chris Jericho's name. Rourke told the entertainment reporter he's serious about wrestling at the event and Jericho needs to "get in shape" since Rourke is coming for him. Jericho was not pleased by the comments and stated that Rourke should watch out because "Jericho is the last person he wants to offend".

Just as WWE anticipated, major news sources are now picking up and reporting on the Mickey Rourke versus Chris Jericho Wrestlemania 25 story. The LA Times blog has even posed the question of whether or not the move could cost Rourke his Oscar? According to the blog, Rourke said WWE has contacted him and he's been talking to Roddy Piper about getting into the ring. The blog author suggests that Rourke could hurt his Oscar chances because people would see he wasn't really acting in the movie role, rather being his crazy self.

Read the full blog story here.

MSNBC has also reported on the story, confirming Rourke's participation in Wrestlemania 25. Newsday also discussed the news saying that Vince McMahon proves everyone has a price. Read their story here

More coverage by various sources:

Mickey Rourke from Wrestler to Wrestlemania - E! Online

Mickey Rourke is Going to Wrestlemania - Wired Blog

Mickey Rourke not too big for WrestleMania - Boston Herald

Looking at Mickey Rourke and WrestleMania - Baltimore Sun Ring Posts

Mickey Rourke heads to Wrestlemania, calls out Chris Jericho - National Post"

So with a Chris Jericho-Mickey Rourke Wrestlemania 25 contest we have WWE's Slammy Award winner for 2008 Superstar of the Year versus a potential Oscar winner for Best Actor in 2009. The questions are how much extra work will Rourke put in as far as appearances on WWE TV prior to Wrestlemania 25. And even more pressing, will he and Jericho be putting their golden statues on the line or just their professional careers?

Also see: Wrestlemania 25 Card Unfolding

Raw Recap 01.26.09