Did you know that David Arquette was once a wrestling star?
The Scream actor first took part in the World Champion Wrestling (WCW) in 2000 to promote his film Ready to Rumble. He even held the title for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship for 12 days.
In the years that followed, the father of two appeared on SmackDown! and also on Raw, where he was partnered with Alex Riley and they took part in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match against Randy Orton.
After losing the match, Arquette's fans were convinced he would never return to the ring, and this is why it came a surprise when the 47-year-old announced on The Wendy Williams Show that he was returning to wrestling.
"Eighteen years ago, I won the WCW Heavyweight Championship belt and everyone freaked out. I was promoting a movie I did called Ready to Rumble and it just happened that I won the championship, but for 18 years, I've been trolled on the Internet and people have attacked me," Arquette explained.
He insisted that he wants to "bring some respect back to my name," and will be training for a few matches.
Last June, he fought in a scramble match at Peter & Ray's Surprise! Birthday Party Wrestling Show. The next month, he faced RJ City at the Oceanview Pavilion in California to defend Betty White's reputation after City made some insulting comments about the actress.
Then came his most anticipated match against Nick Gage, which finally took place on November 16.
The Never Been Kissed actor was involved in a "wrestling death match" that left him bloody, bruised and battered. His condition was serious enough to require him to be hospitalized and "stitched up."
He later tweeted, "Turns out Death Matches aren't my thing."
Arquette is now on the road to recovery, and has taken the time to further address the bloody pictures that went viral after the match as well as his future as a wrestler.
"I knew it was violent and potentially bloody, but I truly did not know the extent of what I was participating in." Arquette wrote in a statement on However, I take responsibility for putting myself in that situation."
He continued, "For the last six months I have been training and competing in indie matches around the country, as wrestling is a passion of mine. I want to state again that this is not traditional wrestling, and I have the utmost respect for that sport."
The actor apologized to the "professional wrestling world for any negative attention this might have brought forth over the weekend," then made it clear that he has "zero plans to be involved in a match like this again."
"I want to thank all of my fans, friends, and family for their love and support over the last few days. I am looking forward to getting back into the ring, under much different circumstances "” in the near future," he added. "However my priority and full-time dedication will always be to acting and producing, and I look forward to sharing some of my exciting new projects in 2019. With love, David Arquette."
Arquette's wife, Christina McLarty, has since spoken to The Blast, confirming that her husband is doing okay after returning to the hospital for neck pain, and will probably be released in time for Thanksgiving.
"He's okay, thank you," she said. "After the wrestling match he looked fine, and then [his neck] was irritating him. I don't know, I didn't see the whole thing go down."