Did Mickey Rourke pull a fast one on WWE?
The Associated Press reported late Wednesday night that Mickey Rourke "will not be participating" at WWE's WrestleMania XXV on April 5 in Houston.
That's according to Rourke spokeswoman Paula Woods, who also said Rourke is "focusing entirely on his acting career."
If this is true, WWE and Chris Jericho have some serious egg on their face.
It was weeks ago that WWE wanted nothing to do with Rourke's "The Wrestler" movie. Then, after it started to garner major recognition and possible future awards acclaim, WWE jumped on board.
I can't blame WWE for doing that. I said WWE promoting "The Wrestler" was something it should have done in the first place, as any media coverage for wrestling is a good thing.
Then, Sunday night at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, Rourke said he was going to toss Jericho "around the ring like tossed salad."
And on Tuesday night on Larry King's show, Rourke and Jericho pushed a program -- although Rourke seemed to hint at a boxing match of some kind.
This all comes after Jericho and WWE showed some clips of "The Wrestler" on Monday's Raw, and Jericho warned Rourke he was stepping into unchartered waters.
I'm not sure what to make of all of this, as WWE obviously thought it had something cooking with Rourke for a WM XXV appearance.
I'll go so far as to say I don't believe Rourke's spokeswoman or this AP article until I hear some explanation from WWE.
This could even be an angle to generate even more publicity for Rourke being at WM XXV.
For now, we'll await WWE's response.
Stay tuned.