Johnny Knoxville’s pro wrestling debut was pretty much like one of his “Jackass” stunts: very short and very painful.
To promote his new film “Jackass Forever,” Knoxville made a celebrity cameo in the Royal Rumble on Saturday, sporting white tights with red gym shorts and a cheapy plastic crown. He immediately took the fight to Sami Zayn, whom he threw out of the ring on “Smackdown” earlier this month to earn a spot in the Rumble.
But after an impressive double-leg takedown of Zayn that earned a roar from the crowd in St. Louis, Knoxville made the rookie mistake of showboating and pointing to the big WrestleMania sign hanging in the rafters. This opened the door for former WWE Champion AJ Styles to take him down with a few rapid jabs and kicks and for tag team specialist Montez Ford to climb the top rope and stick Knoxville with a high splash.
Check it out above.
Knoxville was then promptly dumped out of the ring and eliminated, with Zayn getting the last laugh with a Helluva Kick to his face. Unfortunately for Zayn, he was eliminated just a second later by Styles while taunting Knoxville.
But as one of the “Jackass” theme songs says, “If you wanna be dumb, you gotta be tough.” And Knoxville is promising this isn’t the end for him.
“You’re only a failure if you fail to get up, and I’m gonna get up and keep pursuing becoming the world champion,” he vowed in a backstage interview afterward. “It took four guys to get me out…and that lowdown, dirty Sami Zayn’s got it coming!”
“Jackass Forever” hits theaters this Friday.
