When I watched that promo on RAW, with Rourke badmouthing Jericho, I was just like...NOOOOO. How can the likes of Chris-freaking-Jericho be facing a fake wrestler from a movie? As much as this guy trained for his movie, he isn't the likes of the superstar of the year, the man who won the world heavyweight championship twice in a few months, the man who punched HBKs wife in the face, and STILL beat him in a ladder match two months later, Chris Jericho. I was looking forward to Jericho being in one of the title matches. I don't know how it would work, but I wanted it. Why? Why can't Jericho headline Wrestlemania? Why not just stick Big Show with Rourke, throw in some brass knuckles and be done with it?
Mickey Rourke and the WWE
- Thread starter Shocky
- Start date
Yeah, you're right, he was a boxer twice in his life. He went 20 - 7 the first time around, and he went 6 - 0 - 2 the second time. Of course, his first stint as a boxer was from 1968 to 1973, and the second was from 1991 to 1994. So his most recent boxing career was 15 years ago, and his first was 36 years ago. I believe that in the post of mine that you quoted above I stated that Mayweather and LT were legitimate athletes in the prime of their careers. This is not the same.
I am not denying that this is going to be a wonderful move by the WWE to increase WM25 buyrates. I started this by saying they are going to get a ton of mainstream press from it. None of this is in dispute. I just don't think it carries the long-term value to make it worthwhile.
Someone above mentioned that the celebrities in the last two Wrestlemania's were billed higher than the title matches on those cards. Does the fact that they were on the poster make them a good idea? And remember, Donald Trump didn't actually wrestle, he just "put his hair on the line" and let Lashley do the wrestling for him.
I would have zero problem with this if it were Mickey Rourke in the corner of a wrestler facing off against Jericho. Wouldn't bother me a bit if he got involved in the match, even hit the "ram-jam" at some point to help get the win. But I dread the idea of him actually wrestling, and worse beating, Chris Jericho.
LT beat Bam Bam at WM XI, ok, a great NFL linebacker beats a professional wrestler. Its believable, especially during the time frame. Mayweather, the best boxer in the world at the time, beats Big Show...due to the excellent booking, and Mayweather's own proven ability, it doesn't hurt anyone, and it draws.
Now look at Jericho. Yes, the man is a true master of his craft, and can probably get at least a decent, if not great, match out of this. And to me that is the problem. Smarks will look at it and say "that Jericho, he can pull a great match out of anyone, even a 56 year old actor." But the people being targeted by this, the people that wouldn't ordinarily order WM if not for Rourke's presence, they watch this match, see a great wrestling match, and then see the actor go over, and they are more likely to say "See, told you wrestling is all fake." And then they don't watch Raw, they don't watch Smackdown, and you've gained nothing substantial.
I was probably unfair to compare this to Arquette. At least Rourke has the look, and has had a little bit of training. And he does have that boxing career from the early 90s...
But ultimately, I don't see this as being a good thing.In closing, when I made the comment about who Jericho had pissed off, I didn't take into consideration that he is one of the few talented enough to keep this from being a total turd of a match. I was instead thinking of a quote from Mick Foley's first book, when he discussed Jake Roberts no-selling Ali's punches. Roberts, when asked why he just laughed at Ali, said something along the lines of "This is my job, I have to come out here every night, that guy's only here for one show" or something to that effect. (Don't have my copy of Have a Nice Day readily available for the exact quote). That was more what I was thinking, he builds all of this credibility over the last year, shows how great he truly is, then jobs to a 56 year old actor who has never wrestled without a director and multiple takes...wait, I guess that would make it a Khali match from 2007...
TheOneBigWill
[This Space for Rent]
The most amusing thing regarding this part of your post, is just how you deemed one man (an actor) a fake.. while you neglectfully forgot to toss in how Chris Jericho (also, in many ways an actor) was in many ways, the same thing.
While Chris Jericho has had far more training than Rourke, that doesn't mean the two of them couldn't go out and put on a great match.
Think of it this way. When a new-comer breaks into the business, and gets his first big push after 'x' amount of monthes (sometimes it happens that soon) wouldn't that person's match against a Superstar of Chris Jericho's standard be viewed as similar? Yet noone ever complained when it was something from that set of standards, because both were considered "wrestlers" in general. Not with one being a movie actor, instead of a sports entertainment actor.
Why isn't he? Just because he's a movie star? As it's been noted, the guy has boxing skills and training. And it's not like he hasn't went through the basics of becoming a Professional Wrestler. It's not like he didn't learn the ropes, so to speak, and come to find a whole new respect for the business when filming that movie.
I think you're being too naive and playing to your personal favorite, in not attempting to give the benefit of the doubt on this match being the least bit exciting, or entertaining.
And most importantly, let's not forget that you did just refer to Chris Jericho, by a staged award that he won. So, in the end.. aren't the actor and the wrestler, very similar afterall?
Because he was scripted to.
Because he was scripted to, again.
Why? At least in this type of match, Chris Jericho is going to get way more publicity than he would being a random contender for a title he'd likely not win at the 25th anniversary of WrestleMania anyways.
The last time Chris Jericho headlined a WrestleMania, it was somewhat considered a failure and a flop. Forget that he dropped the title to Triple H., but that entire night barely even surrounded him. It was all about The Rock v. Hulk Hogan.
This is going to be the first real WrestleMania in which Chris Jericho is profiled as a worthy opponent for something.
My guess is because they're paying respect to the type of talented athlete that Chris Jericho is, to assume he could put over an "actor".
Instead of just randomly tossing Jericho in another M.I.T.B. ladder match, and watching him hit spot after spot, before he ends up ultimately watching someone else win that match, from an upside down position.
For a Chris Jericho fan.. you sure don't seem too confident in the skills of your favorite to be a main attraction on the biggest Pay per view in company history.
Well I think Mickey Rourke has probably now decided against going to WrestleMania in hopes of not being shunned by the Academy. That is fine for him, I just hope it doesn't effect the WWE plans too much. In fact for all we know, that might itself be a work to keep the WrestleMania plans hidden, though I doubt that. The thing is, I heard about Rourkes plans on the news, not on a wrestling site. that shows something. No one talked about Trump, no one talked about Mayweather, they did not care. But Rourke got people talking. That is what the WWE needs.
Mustang Sally
Sells seashells by the seashore
The problem is that Wrestlemania doesn't take place for two months. By then, the movie will have completed it's initial run in the theaters and doing a program with WWE isn't going do anything to help Mickey Rourke push his film. After all, that's why he would be getting involved with Jericho in the first place, isn't it?
Better to have done this at the Royal Rumble. In fact, the timing would have been perfect, as the wrestling event coincided with the release of the movie.
Better to have done this at the Royal Rumble. In fact, the timing would have been perfect, as the wrestling event coincided with the release of the movie.
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