Rourke to work WrestleMania

January 26, 5:13 PMPro Wrestling ExaminerMark Satrang

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Rouke on the red carpet of the SAG awards. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Last night while on the red carpet before the SAG Awards, “Wrestler” star Mickey Rourke was interviewed about career-resurgent role. Rourke has made it known in the past that this was his favorite movie to work on and has given a lot of props to the wrestling industry.

“"It looks like I'm going to Houston for WrestleMania. The boys from the WWE called me and asked me to do it,” Rourke told Access Hollywood on the red carpet. “I said, ‘I want to.’ I’m talking with [WWE legend] Rowdy Roddy Piper about it.”

He then threw a shout out at current WWE superstar Chris Jericho. Rourke said, “Chris Jericho, you better get in shape, because I’m coming after your ass.”

I think this is great, but the cynic in me is asking why the sudden change of tune from WWE? Weeks ago, World Wrestling Entertainment was burying the movie on the air and in their press release statements, and now all of a sudden they are showing clips of the film on WWE TV and on their website.

First and foremost Vince McMahon is a businessman. I think once he saw how well ‘The Wrestler’ was doing on the award show circuit, he saw it as a perfect time to “get into bed” with the movie. WrestleMania is the biggest pro wrestling event of each year and WWE pulls out all the stops to make the event memorable. WrestleMania has always been known to feature celebrities to add to the pomp and circumstance of things. Last year the show featured lightweight boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr. battling the 500 lbs. Big Show, and two years ago Donald Trump managed a wrestler against a Vince McMahon managed wrestler in a “Battle of the Billionaires.”

And as I said earlier Rourke, who is a former boxer himself, has gained a deep appreciation for the wrestling industry and is grateful that the industry, especially the “old-timers,” loved the film. I think Rourke sees this as a way to give back to wrestling.

As for him calling out Chris Jericho, I think Jericho would be the perfect opponent and foil for an actor like Rourke. Jericho is one of pro wrestling’s absolute best both on the microphone and in the ring. He’s a talented enough guy that he could craft a simple, easy-to-follow match that would make both guys look good in the process. Rourke himself is no slouch as he did the majority of the wrestling and “stunts” while filming the movie and had legit wrestling training from Hall of Famer Afa the Wild Samoan. Afa said, “[Rourke] should have been a wrestler, he was immediately one of the boys."

I’m really excited and interested to see how this develops over the next two months leading up to WrestleMania.

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And speaking of WrestleMania, on a completely unrelated note, AC/DC will perform at Wrestlemania XXV. Vince McMahon is a huge fan of the band, as he and top star John Cena were even spotted at an AC/DC show a couple months back in New York City. So far the song has not been disclosed, but it’s rumored to perhaps be “Shoot to Thrill” from the classic Back in Black album. “Spoilin’ for a Fight,” from their new Black Ice album was used by WWE in November as the theme for Survivor Series.