By Richard Gardner, Torch specialist

On Monday night, Chris Jericho cut a promo on Ric Flair. Only a week earlier, Mickey Rourke was the target of a Chris Jericho diatribe, as it looked increasingly likely that he would be wrestling a match at WrestleMania 25. Rourke has since pulled out, robbing WWE of a high-profile celebrity appearance at the event.

It was never a match made in heaven. After all, the subject matter of "The Wrestler" was always a little bit too close to home to allow WWE to offer their unconditional endorsement. Instead, the glowing praise from the WWE roster came with the caveat that "The Wrestler" was a representation of the minor leagues, not the WWE.

That may be true, but anyone who has actually seen the film will be aware that Rourke's character, Randy "The Ram," is clinging onto the glory of his days as a star in a top wrestling promotion. The Ram's devotion to a sport that has left him destitute and in ill health is reminiscent of numerous WWE stars of the 1980s, who still compete on the independent circuit despite the fact that that their time in the spotlight came to an end many years ago.

Given that "The Wrestler" offers a gritty portrayal of life in the pro wrestling business, coupled with the parallels between Randy "The Ram" and numerous wrestlers from yesteryear, it is surprising that Vince McMahon allowed this cross-promotion with his product. Maybe McMahon thought that the mainstream publicity "The Wrestler" was receiving outweighed the negatives of promoting the film to the WWE fanbase. It was a bold move by McMahon. The same could not be said of Mickey Rourke's decision to pull out of the proposed match at WrestleMania.

As it stands, Mickey Rourke is the favorite to win the Academy Award for Best Actor in a leading role at the Oscars on February 22. It has been reported that Mickey Rourke pulled out of WrestleMania because he did not want his appearance to negatively impact his chances of winning the award for the first time.

Or, as the Los Angeles Times put it: "It sounds to me as if someone talked some sense into Mr. Rourke."

It is a disgrace that Mickey Rourke's participation in WrestleMania could have negatively affected his chance to win an Academy Award. His proposed match with Chris Jericho has nothing to do with his outstanding performance in "The Wrestler." Robert DeNiro, who won the Academy Award for "Raging Bull" in 1980, took his portrayal of Jake LaMotta so seriously that he entered three boxing matches in preparation for the role.

Although Rourke's participation at WrestleMania would be financially beneficial for the actor, that Rourke believes he can work a match on the biggest wrestling card of the year is a testament to the research that he did for his character in the first place.

It's debatable whether Mickey Rourke would have had a tangible impact on the success of WrestleMania, but one thing that this whole episode has underlined is the lack of respect that wrestling receives from the mainstream media, and from those in Hollywood.

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