We're three matches in at WrestleMania 25 in Houston, and the latest match saw Chris Jericho take on three wrestlers - Ricky Steamboat, Jimmy Snuka and Roddy Piper. But wait, Ric Flair and Micky Rourke also got involved. Here's our thoughts:

Matt Loede - Okay, the end of this was about as bad as the womens battle royal. It easily could have been Ricky Steamboat vs Jericho, as Snuka and Piper added nothing to this. Snuka looked like a 70-year-old woman, and Piper has not taken very good care of himself over the years. Steamboat could wrestle today, on a very limited basis of course. As far as Jericho winning, that was what should have happened.

As for the post-match junk, Flair getting a beat down to set up Rourke coming in was expected. To be honest, the Rourke getting in the ring took WAYYY too long, and no one in the crowd seemed to care. Then Y2J took a cheap, and a miss of a punch to bite the dust? This was pretty bad. At least the two worst matches of the night are now done.

John Sefcik: The legends match was a roller coaster of feelings. It's always great to see legends like Piper and Snuka, but when they put on horrible performances it only sullies our great memories of these guys. These two guys had no business being in this match as they struggled to sell anything that seemed like a match. Ricky Steamboat on the other hand showed he stills has what made him a Hall Of Famer. This match would have been good if it was just him and Jericho. In a way I hope they can get at least one more match out of these two. But with the inclusion of Micky Rourke knocking out Jericho, I think this is buried. The ending of Rourke's lame punch on Jericho only made this match worse. Even the fans didn't seem to care as Rourke came to the ring. I'm not sure what the price would have been, but the WWE should have paid Stone Cold whatever the amount was in order to get him involved to make this match legendary.

Labels: chris jericho, Mickey Rourke, ric flair, WrestleMania XXV

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:34 PM | Permalink | Comments

Despite the fact that Mickey Rourke won "Best Actor" awards at the Golden Globes, BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) and the Award and Film Independent’s Spirit Award shows for his role as Randy "The Ram" Robinson in "The Wrestler", he came up short last night at the Academy Awards. The Best Actor Oscar was awarded to Sean Penn for his role in "Milk".

Telegraph.co.uk spoke to Mickey Rourke this weekend, who said he’d rather have more time with his beloved Chihuahua Loki, who passed away last week, than win an Oscar. "It's bittersweet. I said to myself I’d rather have Loki for another two years than an Oscar." He added, "She's the love of my life. She left me at a time where, after 18 years, she knew I'd be all right."

WWE.com has an article up today about the Oscar snub and notes that the actor plans to attend the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania as a guest of WWE.

Labels: Mickey Rourke

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:19 PM | Permalink | Comments

One source close to the situation says that WWE’s creative team is going through a chaotic process trying to plan WrestleMania. They have one set of plans for if Mickey Rourke does agree to wrestle at WrestleMania, and another set of plans for if he does not. Mickey Rourke is holding back on making his decision until after this Sunday night’s Academy Awards, as it may hurt his chances at winning the Oscar. Rourke does have a legitimate concern, as the entertainment industry’s opinion of wrestling is still very low.

At this point in time, the only matches locked in for the big event are still HHH vs. Orton, Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy, and Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker. WWE wants obviously Rourke to face Jericho, but is trying to secure Hogan as a replacement opponent for Y2J should Rourke decline.

The days after the Academy Awards will be interesting, with more solid plans for WrestleMania 25 being put in place.

Labels: Mickey Rourke, WrestleMania XXV

Posted by Matt Loede at 1:43 AM | Permalink | Comments

As of right now, the only matches set in stone for WrestleMania 25 are Triple H vs. Randy Orton, Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy, and Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker.

Mickie Rourke is telling people that he won’t be attending WrestleMania 25, but WWE is expecting him to change his mind after the Academy Awards on Sunday. If Rourke still doesn’t bite, WWE has laid out a possible backup plan where Chris Jericho will beat down a number of legends week after week on RAW, building up to a big match with Hogan at WM 25.

If Rourke did come through to face Jericho, that would free up Hogan to then wrestle someone like John Cena. Cena is currently involved in a program with Edge which COULD lead them right into WrestleMania. It all really depends on Rourke and what he chooses to do AFTER Sunday’s Oscars. He doesn’t want to risk not getting an Oscar due to taking part in a WWE angle. Rourke’s concerns are legitimate, as the entertainment industry still has a very negative view on wrestling.

Also, expect the annual tradition of Money in the Bank matches at WrestleMania to continue this year.

Labels: chris jericho, hulk hogan, john cena, Mickey Rourke, WrestleMania XXV

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:30 PM | Permalink | Comments

The original plan for WrestleMania was to be Chris Jericho vs. Mickey Rourke in some form of boxing match, with Ric Flair in the corner of Rourke. That may still happen, but if Rourke ends up not coming back into the angle, there are two ways the angle could go. The first is the Jericho vs. Flair match, which seems to be already teased. The second is a match between Chris Jericho and Steve Austin. Austin reportedly says Jericho is one of the few people he would trust to have a match with at this point, and also, it would play into Jericho’s recent promo work, where he made fun of “washed up Hall of Famers.”

There is belief among some that Rourke is just holding off until the Academy Awards are over on February 22nd to see if he wins an award for The Wrestler.

Labels: chris jericho, Mickey Rourke, WrestleMania XXV

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:58 PM | Permalink | Comments

WWE.com posted the following statement regarding Mickey Rourke’s assumed match against Chis Jericho at Wrestlemania 25 in Houston Texas. He will not wrestle, but will be in attendance:

“We are pleased that Mickey Rourke will be in attendance at WrestleMania to support the WWE Superstars who support him and the film in which he stars, The Wrestler. While Rourke will not be participating, the actor looks forward to his attendance”

It appears that WWE were pushing for a match, but Rourke has been advised by his publicist not to participate because it could put his Academy Award hopes in jeopardy

Labels: chris jericho, Mickey Rourke, wrestlemania 25

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:07 AM | Permalink | Comments

WWE’s website has a new story on Mickey Rourke appearing at WrestleMania 25. They mention the e-mail from his publicist the other day stating that he would not be participating in WrestleMania, instead focusing on his acting career. WWE has confirmed that Rourke will not be participating in ‘Mania but are saying they have “invited the actor to the event and looks forward to his attendance – as a guest of the company.”

Labels: Mickey Rourke, WrestleMania XXV

Posted by Matt Loede at 5:22 PM | Permalink | Comments

In a new interview with The Houston Chronicle talking about Mickey Rourke and Chris Jericho at WrestleMania 25, WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair confirms that he will be at the big show this year in Houston.

Flair wouldn’t give many details but did have this to say: “Let’s just say, I will be at Wrestlemania, and that’s all I’m saying.”

Labels: chris jericho, Mickey Rourke, ric flair

Posted by Matt Loede at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments

While I wasn't a huge fan of Sunday's Royal Rumble, I will say that the way they continue to develop Randy Orton's character is one of the highlights of what is going to be WrestleMania XXV in Houston in April. As far as last night in Cleveland on RAW, the storyline with the whole "mental disorder" thing and how Orton will sue the company should he get fired was sort of lame, but the ending of the show was even worse, with a "non-wrestler" in Shane McMahon taking his frustration out on Orton.

I guess this is going to lead us to a Shane McMahon vs Randy Orton match at No Way Out in the final PPV before Mania. Shane-O-Mac always puts forth a good show when called upon, and once they make this match, which seems like a shoe-in after last night, it'll be up to Shane to get the match over, and he will with some crazy bumps.

The rest of the show was built on starting to build what No Way Out is becoming, which is the PPV for two elimination chambers. This year is somewhat different, as they are having both the WWE and World Heavyweight Titles defended, and last night they had three wrestlers win matches to put them in the RAW Elimination Chamber matches - Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio and Kofi Kingston.

John Cena beat Shawn Michaels on the show, meaning that JBL will NOT be in the elimination chamber match, leading to what will be the WM match with JBL and Michaels. Seems also they are building to a Beth Phoenix vs Rosa Mendes feud, as eventually they will have it where Phoenix turns on her "fan" and attacks Mendes. Don't think this one though will happen till after Mania.

Finally we're starting to see the build to Chris Jericho against Mickey Rourke at Mania, which will be this years version of trying to build some media exposure for the event. Having Rourke, who's up for the best actor award this year as part of the event, is a natural fit.

Now we move to ECW tonight, where the big news will be Matt Hardy's first appearence since bashing his brother with a chair on Sunday night at the Rumble. Should be an interesting interview, but one we've heard before.

Labels: john cena, matt hardy, Mickey Rourke, randy orton, shawn michaels

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:17 PM | Permalink | Comments