Actor doesn’t keep his word and steps into the ring

Apr 6, 2009 15:03 GMT  ·  By

Talk about actor Mickey Rourke showing to the world the skills he acquired while shooting for the Oscar-nominated “The Wrestler” has been making the rounds for several months now. Although the star initially said he would step into the ring at Wrestlemania to take on Chris Jericho, he later changed his mind and backed out. On Sunday, he changed his mind again and knocked down Jericho with a powerful punch, MSNBC informs.

Within hours of the event, Rourke was still denying he would take part in the match, saying he could not participate because he was contractually bound to “Iron Man 2,” the movie where he will supposedly be playing a Russian villain. “Contractually, because I’m doing this movie called ‘Iron Man 2’ now, I can’t get in the ring with [Jericho],” the actor was saying. His publicist was singing the same tune as they both had for months, despite Jericho’s taunts and direct attacks.

“However, the actor didn’t keep his word, entering the ring and knocking down Jericho to close out the match.” MSNB says, pointing out that, while the move was spectacular, it was not really in the spirit of wrestling, but rather in that of boxing. Nevertheless, the audience was pleased with the outcome, especially since the feud between the two had been brewing for too long and had been taken everywhere, from television to the newspapers. It all began, according to Rourke, when Jericho picked on his wrestling skills, as well as on those of his friends.

“Jericho had made a comment that, that wrestler movie he made, that’s not my story. And he can say all the [expletive] he wants about my friends Ric Flair, Roddy Piper and Ricky Steamboat – these guys that he’s talking about, I’ve got a lot of respect for and I’ve got a lot of love for. They’re my friends and I think any one of them on any given night could kick Jericho’s [expletive].” Mickey Rourke also said before getting into the ring with Jericho.

As fans must know, Mickey Rourke was last seen in “The Wrestler,” the brutal story of a real-life wrestler, Randy “The Ram” Robinson. In promo interviews, the star often compared his own career with that of The Ram, and said that playing him was like playing himself, which is precisely what ignited the feud with Jericho.