Last night at the Awards for the Screen Actors Guild, Mickey Rourke spoke to E! television during the pre-show.Rourke said that the wrestling industry has been supportive of his award winning film, The Wrestler. This of course is a recent turn around, since Vince McMahon lifted the ban on advertising for The Wrestler on "SmackDown!" and WWE.com.
Rourke went on to say, "It looks like I'm going to Houston for WrestleMania. Chris Jericho, I'm comin' after your ass".
It makes a lot of sense that McMahon would want to cash in on Rourke's Golden Globe success and Oscar buzz.
Rourke apparently spoke to several industry vets he met while doing the film asking for advice, wanting to know how he'd be received. Afa the Wild Samoan, who trained Rourke, seems to believe that Rourke "should have been a wrestler".
The buzz from Titan Towers and from last night's Royal Rumble was that this was legitimate and Rourke would be working a match at WrestleMania.
More on this story on episode 101 of Tha O Show Radio Program...
23 comments: on "Randy "The Ram" Robinson To Work 'Mania?"
Wait a little bit. Much like "Sin City" pulled him from the gutter and into the spotlight, Rourke will forget how much this movie brought him. He wont be talking about wrestling unions or the treatment wrestlers get. He'll be on to his next film and shitting on this film. Whatever, Mickie.
There is no way he is actually going to work the match. WWE doesn't do TNA style matches on a Major PPV.
It'll be something like CM Punk with Rourke in his corner vs Chris Jericho.
The WWE will play it off like this:
CM Punk(the 21st century straightedge babyface who came from the indies to the 'glory' of WWE) with Mickey Rourke(the actor who made a mainstream-appealing wrestling movie about the problems of 1980's wrestlers in the 21st century on the indies) in his corner vs Jericho (Serious Heel) would be better for all parties (wrestlers, Rourke, Vince McMahon) concerned.
Dante Ross, i disagree with your comments. Sin City did not revitalize his career anymore than his part in Once Upon a Time in Mexico. Is he seriously the biggest voice for a union or the treatment of wrestlers? If the wrestlers won't fight for themselves, it is ok for an actor to do it? Of all the wrestlers that have gone through the WWE, only a few have gone for unionizing. Why is that? Because they were being paid.
If Rourke is going to work at WM 25, good for him. Don't ask him to be voice of the wrestlers, there are better people for that job.
I think I'de rather just see him as Randy the Ram. It doesn't have to be a 5 star match, but it would certainly be entertaining, and would serve as a good upper middle-card match for mania. I'm really looking forward to the buildup for this.
come on! this is pure entertainment who can blame vince for cashing in on this, pure gold of an idea i think
Everybody who shitted on David Arquette in WCW must do the same for this!!!
and yeah wwe does indeed do "TNA style" matches on a Major PPV. Every year at wrestlemainia, my friends
That pussy David Arquette was handed the WCW title to him....ain't gonna happen in the WWE...Well, I sure fuckin' hope not!!!
There's no way that would happen in the WWE, because that title exchange was a deseperate move to be so unpredictable, which in retro-spect it was (even tho the "BACKLASH" was more damaging)that's a 2nd place move
Still if y2j (world champion caliber) has to put him over... it still fits in the same boat in my eyes, sure ready 2 rumble was a "c" movie and the wrestler isnt but im sure they had the same amount of in ring training....
All im saying is everyone points to the David Arquette as WCW champ has the moment it all fell, but it wasnt like he got a clean win over anyone... which i think would be so much worst, and we all know the WWE is notorious for burying superstars in order get main stream coverage, especially at wrestlemania.... just sayin', although Mickey Rouke mentioned all the estranged icons... it would be entertain tho
Why are people seemingly more upset about this than they were about Mayweather going over on Show or LT on Bam Bam??
Why are people upset?
1. Anything that reminds folks of WCW in regards to one of their worst moments isn't good.
2. This smells of something TNA would try if they could. They tend to bring celebs in. If Dale Earnhart were alive he'd have beaten Angle's ass by now.
3. Most fans weren't even alive or into wrestling when the whole LT thing went down. Plus, LT was a badass player. Rourke is a 50-something year old actor. And if you are gonna go with something like having Rourke in a program with a wrestler, make it someone either in The Ram's position or someone that makes talks shit about them (as Matt Hardy recently did). Or, I dont know, put Rourke with a wrestler more known mainstream. Hogan/Rourke? Flair/Rourke? Piper/Rourke? And I hate Hogan.
4. Mayweather had a posse to help and is a legit fighter. Plus, when Show lost it didn't kill his credibility. If Y2J loses he becomes a joke.
I think the thing that bugs me most is that WWE didn't give a shit about this movie until the awards started rolling in. This all just smells of "Any publicity is good publicity."
This is a lot differnt than the WCW-David Arquette angle.
1. Rourke isn't going to win the world title.
2. Rourke also starred in (arguably) the best movie of the year, and is up for the Best Actor Oscar. David Arquette was a nobody, who nobody cared about.
I'm definitely interested in seeing where this is going, whether it be Rourke vs. Jericho at WrestleMania, or perhaps the return of Ric Flair vs. Jericho, with Rourke in Flair's corner.
Let's forget about Vince's innitial reaction to the movie, pretend it never happened, and look at this purely in terms of risk/reward.
NEGATIVES
This move is a big gamble, in my opinion, for the producers of the movie and for Mickey Rourke. Depending on how the media spins it, it could be potentially harmful to Mickey and to the movie, as it could be seen as desperate and over the top attempt to get the movie's name out there. People are saying that this could hurt his attempt to get whatever award he is going for. That, however, is the only risk taken here.
POSITIVES
There is almost no way I can think of that WWE loses in this deal.
The business hurting. period. That of course has a lot to do with the recession, but this problem started before that. Views and popularity weren't doing so good about 4 months ago, and although the booking and intrigue is inarguably better now than it was that short time ago, wrestling isn't as mainstream as it has been in the past. This is going to change that, especially now that the wrestler is finally beginning to be released in more theaters nationwide.
More people will buy Wrestlemania because of this.
The main thing the fed needs to focus on is creating compelling stories and matches for Mania, to get people who havn't watched wrestling in awhile re-hooked to the product, and to get completely new fans to continue watching. I think Raw's ratings for the next couple of months after Mania will be a very telling sign in if they were successful in this.
POSITIVES 2
Although Mickey is running the risk mentioned above of losing out on some awards, I think the upside for him actually outweighs the downside. It will probably depend heavily on the booking, and how he comes across in his performances for the WWE, and the media's portrayal, which so far hasn't been bad in my opinion. If done right, this could potentially push him over the top for any award he's nominated for. It could be seen as complete dedication to his role, which he already played brilliantly. Also, he's already recieved nothing but rave reviews for his role, so I don't think something like this would change anybody's mind.
Comparing it to David Arquette is an incredibly extreme and, in my opinion, useless comparison. Mickey Rourke is red hot right now. David Arquette was a joke at that time, as was the movie.
What WCW did was take an actor in a movie that flopped, and made him become a champion of their company. That in turn made WCW become a joke. This is different. They're taking a red hot actor in what will undoubtedly be one of the most compelling movies of the year, and using him to draw more attention to their company. Compare it to Tyson, Mayweater, LT, but don't compare him to David Arquette.
The positives greatly outweigh the negatives, and I think this is a great decision. Just my two sense
Arnold was so dedicated he went out and started killing guys name John Conner in California. Then the economy.
Another thing that bugs me is that this is just a quick fix for a big problem. Having Rourke in WM for a storyline will not bring in new fans. Because someone watches does not mean they are fans. No one will watch WM and tune into Raw for the first time the following Monday. "I wonder what The Ram will do!" No.
I would prefer to watch WM because the matches were great and the storylines leading to it made me happy. Not for Marv.
Will Mickey "I'm a boxer, but I sucked so I'm an actor again" Rourke really cause people that wouldn't normally to fork out $50 for a wrestling PPV? In this economy? Seriously?
To answer DJB's question.............
would non-wrestling fans ACTUALLY fork out 15 bucks a ticket to see a movie about an 80s wrestler struggling on the indies?
They did.
They are.
They will.
For anyone who doesnt know, Mickey Rourke and Jericho were on Larry King Live tonight cutting promos on eachother. I'm sure it's on youtube somewhere.
Anyone who doesn't think that this will gain ppv buys needs to reevaluate their stance.
Take a look at last night's Larry King...
Sorry Dante and to the other non-believers... this shit is money
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=XXS8wrBaiac
A couple of points:
1) We never heard an official negative opinion on The Wrestler by WWE. Just newz about Vince hating it. And even if Vince had some issues (I suppose about the 'roids scene), he's a smart businessman and will know when it's a good idea eating a spoon of crap pretending it's chocolate.
2) Jericho facing Rourke is the highest Jericho has been and will ever be. 10 more undisputed title reings, 10 more Fozzy albums, 1000 more appearences of C-list shows/movies, 10 more years as WWE main eventer won't ever bring him the same publicity, visibility and popularity that ONE MONTH of program against Mickey Rourke will do.
3) Rourke is not a wrestler? Who cares... He's a REAL celebrity, possibly an Oscar Winner. WWE having him as the focal point of WrestleMania's 25th anniversary will surpass every single celebrity angle WWF/E has done in the last 24 years. It's something of Mr.T/Cyndi Lauper magnitude, just with an actor who has a clue about how to work a crowd.
I mean, there's a movie about wrestling, that doesn't portray wrestlers as troglodytes whose IQ is the same of their shoes size. Said movie has been praised by the critics. The actor starring in it is running for an Oscar, and he has experience of fighting.
How stupid would it be for WWE to let such an occasion pass by???
Quite frankly, those who are against it are either crazy, or are elitists who are "afraid" their beloved wrestling and wrestlers will get bad mainstream press.
I tell you, this is THE biggest opportunity that has come knocking at Vince's door in a long, LONG, LOOOOOOONG time.
Luckly they have Jericho who is probably the ideal candidate to pull it off both in the ring and in front of a camera.
And it's the 25th Anniversary of an event that USED to get mainstream attention and to attract celebrities...
Win/win
If it were any other actor than Rourke, I'd say bad idea. He's got such a reputation as a "rebel" that this won't exactly hurt it. He's never been a kiss-up-to-the-Hollywood-establishment type of guy, so its not like he's selling out his reputation. Plus, he's nominated for playing a wrestler. It would be a different story if he played Richard Nixon.
UPDATE:
MICKEY ROURKE OUT OF WRESTLEMANIA, SAYS PUBLICIST
by Mike Johnson @ 11:08 PM on 1/28/2009
The Associated Press issued the following this evening:
Mickey Rourke won't rumble with WWE superstar
HOUSTON (AP) — 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."
There's a small chance that this is a work, but I think it's off.
I just read this. It sounds like a work. Rourke's Larry King appearance is still on the frontpage of WWE.com.
I think its part of the storyline, where Jericho will continue to antagonize him until he just agrees to fight. If it's intentional, I like what thier doing, in keeping us guessing what's real and what isn't. Hopefully I'm right and its a work.
Not sure how donnie sees $60 and $15 as the same thing. But hey, whatever it's your money you do with it what you want. 4 hrs of Mania and not so much of the wrestler. Come on big difference, oh and by the way this entire conversation was a moo point (you know like a cow's opinion) since it's not happening.
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