Doing the rounds to promote Ready to Rumble way back in 2000, actor David Arquette somehow found himself winning the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.
It's a moment that's become infamous in pro wrestling history, and the Scream star has embraced his 12-day title reign in the years that have followed. He'd later compete on RAW, wrestle for various independent promotions, and even squared off with Nick Gage in a Deathmatch that proved to be downright unforgettable.
The actor has always kept one foot in the door of this crazy wrestling world, but would he be open to returning? We asked Arquette that very question while discussing his role in The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. At the same time, he also reflected on scrapped plans for a match against Cody Rhodes in AEW and what it's like to be part of wrestling history.
It also sounds like David would embrace being welcomed into the celebrity wing of the WWE Hall of Fame, and you can check out his comments in full starting at the 8:46 mark.
Be sure to head over to ComicBookMovie.com soon for the full interview!
I’m a big pro wrestling fan and, I know you’re retired these days, but are you hopeful you might get to do something with AEW or WWE down the line?
I love both of those companies. I think they’re doing amazing stuff right now. You know, wrestling is a funny world. Once you’re part of it, you’re always part of it. I just love meeting the fans and being part of the whole show. I’ll never take it off the table. Wrestling is so painful [Laughs] but a manager, I don’t know…a tag team, maybe? I don’t know. Terry Funk retired about a million times.
I know you’ve said in other interviews that there was talk of perhaps wrestling Cody Rhodes in AEW with your WCW title reign at the heart of that story. What a shame that didn’t happen.
I know! I really pushed for it, but it was right as they were putting all of AEW together so he was like, ‘I’m really busy on this really intense project.’ I kind of understood why he couldn’t do it. It would have been great. I think people would have really enjoyed it.
It must be pretty cool to be part of pro wrestling history with that championship win in a way that you know is going to live on forever?
[Laughs] It is [an awesome feeling]. Anytime someone comes into the wrestling world, they’re always like, ‘This is worse than David Arquette!’ I’m still the low bar joke. I don’t know. I love that I’m part of the legacy and history of it. I really do have super respect for the sport and the fans. That entertaining method really goes back in time so far and it was great to be there. I love that it’s still there and I held the belt for a while. I love that I came back [Laughs] and made some other crazy marks on it. I did You Cannot Kill David Arquette which was a love letter to wrestling. I hope people enjoyed that. At some point, it would be fun to mess with the wrestling crowd. That’s what it’s all about.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed you end up in the WWE Hall of Fame, anyway.
Oh, thank you!