Smallscreen News

WrestleMania surprise: Mickey Rourke's Jericho smackdown

Apr 6, 2009, 9:35 GMT

Mickey Rourke has knocked out wrestling superstar Chris Jericho. The Hollywood actor - who recently starred as Randy 'The Ram' Robinson in Oscar nominated movie 'The Wrestler' - returned to the ring last night (05.04.09) and punched the WWE star to the floor. EPA/

The Hollywood actor - who recently starred as Randy 'The Ram' Robinson in Oscar nominated movie 'The Wrestler' - returned to the ring last night (05.04.09) and punched the WWE star to the floor. EPA/The Hollywood actor - who recently starred as Randy 'The Ram' Robinson in Oscar nominated movie 'The Wrestler' - returned to the ring last night (05.04.09) and punched the WWE star to the floor.Rourke was at WrestleMania 25 to support his friends - grappling legends Jimmy 'Superfly' Snuka, 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper and Ricky Steamboat who also had Ric Flair in their corner - who fought Jericho. Jericho eventually won the match - which took place at Houston's Reliant Stadium - and afterwards started to beat up Flair.Rourke, who had been watching in the audience, refused to stand by and do nothing so took off his cowboy hat and slowly entered the ring before punching and knocking down Jericho.Tensions had been rising over recent weeks after Jericho badmouthed 'The Wrestler' movie, Rourke and the grapplers who helped him with his portrayal of the character.The 56-year-old actor previously said: "He can say all the s**t 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 a**."Rourke - who won the Best Actor Golden Globe and a BAFTA for the same category for his performance in the movie - had been previously asked to wrestle a full match against Jericho in the popular US event, but pulled out because of acting commitments.He said: "My agents said it would be detrimental to my career, to take the focus off of acting after making a comeback in 'The Wrestler'. I'm doing 'Iron Man 2' now, and the insurance company said under no circumstances could I get into the ring."