Mickey Rourke Gets in the Ring at Wrestlemania

After the Academy Awards, the talk of Mickey Rourke appearing at Wrestlemania XXV intensified. Rourke, an Oscar nominee for The Wrestler, was linked to the event during awards season, but because it would've been bad PR for a guy on his way back up to step into the ring, Rourke and his handlers said the Wrestlemania thing wouldn't happen.

But the Oscars were in February, giving the WWE more than a month to promote Rourke's appearance, even if he wasn't going to wrestle. Instead, Chris Jericho fought three guys who were in the business beginning nearly 40 years ago - Roddy Piper, Superfly Snuka, and Ricky Steamboat. The storyline was that Rourke's performance inspired the old dogs to wrestle for the love of it, while Jericho maintained that the world had passed them by. Jericho won the match, according to WWE.com, but Rourke was baited into the ring by Jericho afterwards, and the pictures tell the rest of the story.

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Mickey Rourke Back On For Wrestlemania?

Remember when Mickey Rourke was fired up to participate at Wrestlemania XXV? He was on the red carpet for the Screen Actors Guild awards (which he later won) talking trash to WWE superstar Chris Jericho. Then the next Monday on WWE Monday Night Raw, Jericho challenged Rourke. Two days later, both men appeared on Larry King's show and Rourke respectfully bowed out of the event.

At the time, it was so Oscar voters wouldn't think Rourke was still an industry joke. You can't win an Oscar and wrestle six weeks later. But Rourke lost the Oscar, he's saying yes to tons of offers, and now he will apparently be attending Wrestlemania, although we don't know in what capacity. The Dishrag - a Los Angeles Times gossip sheet - reports that a WWE publicist confirmed Rourke will be in Houston when Jericho takes on WWE Hall of Famers Jimmy "Superfly" Sunka, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, and Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, an angle developed when the more seasoned veterans praised Rourke's work in The Wrestler.

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Oscars: Best Actress Kate Winslet

Best Actress:
Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie - Changeling
Melissa Leo - Frozen River
Meryl Streep - Doubt
Kate Winslet - The Reader Winner: Kate Winslet She's in the club. And while Meryl Streep is without question the greatest female actor we've ever seen (and continues to set the standard with performances like her nominated work in Doubt), there's a small group of women who are taking that mantle for their own generation, and Kate stands with Cate at the head of that group. I mean, this is Winslet's sixth nomination in about a dozen years. And when you consider that The Reader primarily only received its nominations because of Winslet's portrayal, a win here stands to reason and is justly deserved.

'Wrestler', Rourke Win Independent Spirit Awards

The Wrestler was the big winner at the Independent Spirit Awards, with Mickey Rourke winning the penultimate (and media-created) showdown fellow nominee Sean Penn before tomorrow night's Academy Awards.

Darren Aronofsky wasn't even nominated for Best Director, which is kind of surprising, but it won Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Cinematography at the much looser awards celebration, which showcase lower budget films. Aronofsky lost Best Director to Thomas McCarthy for The Visitor, a film that deserves some kind of award. Melissa Leo picked up Best Actress for Frozen River, and Penélope Cruz won in the supporting category for Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Here's the complete list of winners:

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Watch Economic 'Wrestler' Spoof, 'The Uncler'

Here's another great video from Funny or Die, tying the current financial crisis to The Wrestler. It's a better fit than you might think.

Though I can't say I'm a big fan of the title The Uncler, it's a spot-on parody of the trailer for The Wrestler, only instead of struggling with personal and professional demons, Uncle Sam wrestles with the worst economic downturn since whenever the last one was. Oh, and in the Marisa Tomei role is Alyssa Milano as Lady Liberty.

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