Mickey Rourke speaks out before WrestleMania

Mickey Rourke speaks out before WrestleMania

HOUSTON -- Just hours before Mickey Rourke will support WWE Hall of Famers and Legends Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat and Ric Flair as they take on Chris Jericho at the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania, the star of The Wrestler spoke exclusively to WWE.com and global media outlets Sunday afternoon.

"It's an honor to be here. It was an honor to be here last night to see Steamboat in the Hall of Fame and see Ric and Roddy Piper," Rourke said, with Steamboat and Flair by his side. "I'm going to be honest with you, these guys I've got a lot of respect for. That other guy, what's his name? … Jericho? Whatever. I think he's a piece of s**t. He was just way out of line."

Earlier this year on the red carpet of the SAG Awards, Rourke challenged Jericho to a WrestleMania match. When Jericho confronted the Golden Globe Award winner on Larry King Live, Rourke withdrew his offer. Jericho later offered Rourke a front-row seat to WrestleMania, hoping he'd sit closely by to watch the carnage unfold.

"I've got nothing against… what's his name? … Jericho. But when we were promoting The Wrestler, somehow he ended up on Larry King via satellite and he was talking a lot of stuff that was very disrespectful, so that's why I wanted to do the WrestleMania thing," Rourke said.

"I just wanted to come here to support these dudes," Rourke said, pointing to Steamboat and Flair, noting he doesn't plan to get into the ring at WrestleMania. "But if he comes over and slaps me in the face, the only way I'll be able to take care of it is after the show in the parking lot. I can't do it in the arena."

Rourke said the reason he's really at WrestleMania is because of WWE, Vince McMahon and the WWE Legends, who all supported The Wrestler.

"Our movie crossed some lines and exposed some issues that … might not be accepted. But they were accepted, and I owe a lot to these men for standing up and supporting the film," Rourke said. "I didn't really care too much what the critics said, but I wanted the athletes of the wrestling world to like the movie."

Watch Chris Jericho vs. the WWE Legends live tonight at the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania at 7/6 CT, only on pay-per-view.

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