Mickey Rourke Will Not Appear At WrestleMania

Lets recap: At the SAG Awards, Mickey Rourke said that he would be appearing at WrestleMania 25, and even challenged WWE wrestler Chris Jericho to be ready for him. Last night, Jericho appeared on Larry King Live with Rourke, and turned up the fake hostility in what appeared to be a prelude to the Pay-Per-View event.

Many industry analysts expressed their concern that Rourke's pro wrestling appearance might affect his Oscar chances (which is funny in itself considering Rourke was nominated for playing a professional wrestler but appearing at a professional wrestling event is somehow considered unfavorable). And now it seems like someone must have had second thoughts because now Rourke's publicist tells Defamer that Rourke "will not be participating in Wrestle-Mania" and will instead be "focusing entirely on his acting career." Seems like a smart move to me. Besides, WWE head Vince McMahon wanted nothing to do with Mickey Rourke and The Wrestler until Rourke won a Golden Globe.