10 WWE Celebrity Matches That Came So Close To Happening

4. Chris Jericho Vs. Mickey Rourke

Mickey Rourke was on track to have a big-time match against Chris Jericho at 2009's WrestleMania 25. The Wrestler, starring Rourke as an aging grappler, had been released earlier that year to critical acclaim. Vince McMahon wanted to capitalise on this coverage by having Rourke go against Jericho in a one-on-one match. McMahon trusted Jericho to hide Rourke’s faults in the ring and lead promos in the build-up, with Vince’s plan being to announce the match post-Oscars.

Rourke jumped the gun though by starting the promotion for the match early. Jericho only learned of the plans when Rourke started calling him out at the SAG Awards' red carpet. As soon as Rourke’s management got wind of the potential WrestleMania match, they put a stop to it. Rourke was tipped to win Best Actor for his performance in The Wrestler and his agents believed that if Rourke associated with WWE in any way, it would be less likely the Academy would award him the Oscar.

So the match was scrapped, with Jericho instead going against three aged wrestling legends Jimmy Snuka, Ricky Steamboat and Roddy Piper. Rourke did however turn up to knock Jericho out clean after the match and celebrated with Ric Flair in the ring.