The Wrestler is a 2008 American sports drama film directed by Darren Aronofsky and written by Robert Siegel.

Rourke plays an aging professional wrestler who, despite his failing health and waning fame, continues to wrestle due to financial hardship and in an attempt to cling to the success of his 1980s heyday.

After wrestling in a hardcore match, Randy suffers a heart attack backstage and undergoes coronary artery bypass surgery.

His doctor informs him that he nearly died and has to stop taking steroids, and also warns Randy not to wrestle anymore, as his heart can no longer handle the exertion.

While at a bar with them, he gets drunk, snorts cocaine, has sex with a woman in the women's restroom, then wakes up in her bedroom the next morning.

Spurred by the fan's recognition of him and with nothing left to lose, Randy decides to return to wrestling and reschedules the rematch with The Ayatollah.

He meets up with Cassidy along the way, who has also just walked out on her job, and reconciles with her though she begs him not to wrestle because of his heart condition and pleads with him to cancel the match to give the outside world a second chance.

However, Randy disregards her advice; explaining to her that the only place he belongs is in the ring with his fellow wrestlers and fans who love and respect him.

Randy refuses, however, and climbs the top rope for his signature finishing move; a diving headbutt called the "Ram Jam".

Professional wrestlers who appeared in the film include: Robbie E, Necro Butcher, Nick Berk, The Blue Meanie, Sabian, Nate Hatred, Ron Killings, L.A.

Smooth, Jay Lethal, Johnny Valiant, Jim Powers, Austin Aries, Claudio Castagnoli, Larry Sweeney, Paul E. Normous, Romeo Roselli, John Zandig, Chuck Taylor, Nigel McGuinness, D. J. Hyde, Kit Cope, Drew Gulak, Bobby Dempsey, Judas Young, Pappadon, and Jay Santana.

The Wrestler was written by Robert D. Siegel, a former writer for The Onion, and entered development at director Darren Aronofsky's company Protozoa Pictures.

Programmer Randall Furino and the film's title designer Kristyn Hume created a playable demo with a working interface and AI routines that also featured 1980s era-appropriate graphics and music.

In the Toronto International Film Festival interview conducted by James Rocchi, Aronofsky credited the 1957 Charles Mingus song "The Clown" (an instrumental piece with a poem read over the music about a clown who accidentally discovers the bloodlust of the crowds and eventually kills himself in performance) as a major source of inspiration for the movie.

The angle culminated the following night where Jericho faced Ricky Steamboat, Roddy Piper, and Jimmy Snuka in a handicap match.

The critical consensus states, "Mickey Rourke gives a performance for the ages in The Wrestler, a richly affecting, heart-wrenching yet ultimately rewarding drama.

[31] Alonso Duralde, of MSNBC, said, "Rourke's work transcends mere stunt-casting; his performance is a howl of pain that seems to come from a very real place.

"[32] Todd McCarthy, of Variety, said, "Rourke creates a galvanizing, humorous, deeply moving portrait that instantly takes its place among the great, iconic screen performances.

"[35] One other French film critic, Philippe Azoury, praised its portrayal of "the American heartland" as what he viewed as a bleak wasteland.

Although the film speaks superbly to the speed bumps all pro wrestlers navigate, I'm happy to report most of us don't swerve off the road quite so severely.

"[39] WWE play-by-play commentator Jim Ross called it a "really strong, dramatic film that depicts how people who are obsessed with their own lives and their careers can self-destruct".

[40] Former WWE and TNA world champion Mick Foley enjoyed the film, saying: "Within five [minutes], I had completely forgotten I was looking at Mickey Rourke.

"[41] WWE Hall of Famer "Rowdy" Roddy Piper was said to have been highly emotional after watching a screening of the film.

[43] In March 2009, Javad Shamaqdari, cultural adviser to the-then Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, demanded an apology from a delegation of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences actors and producers visiting Iran for what he characterized as negative and unfair portrayals of Iran in The Wrestler and other Hollywood films.