Wayne Rooney has slapped a brash 6ft 7in WWE superstar in front of thousands of fans after a ringside stand-off last night.
The Manchester United and England captain theatrically smacked Briton Wade Barrett at the Manchester Arena after after the wrestler trash talked him.
Rooney, 30, was sat in the front row with his son Kai, six, last night when Lancashire-born Barrett grabbed the microphone and said: ‘In this ring are two men who can be easily be described as championship material.
‘Which is, of course, more than can be said of Wayne Rooney and Manchester United.’
Barrett then made his insult personal as he made reference to Rooney’s eldest son.
He sneered: ‘I’d hate for your little boy to sit there and watch his own father fail. Because let’s face it, he gets to experience that every single time you step on a football pitch.’
The rant prompted Rooney to rise from his chair and challenge the one-time bare knuckle boxer Barrett to a fight. And moments later the pair came to blows with Rooney landing a thumping slap across the wrestler’s face.
The frenzied Manchester crowd chanted Rooney’s name as the striker’s blow left Barrett sprawling on the floor. The incident – true to professional wrestling – was of course scripted and England skipper Rooney ‘revelled’ his role.
Afterwards, Barrett tweeted: ‘I’m heading to Old Trafford early tomorrow morning. I hope @WayneRooney has the guts to meet me there.’ He then added: ‘Does anyone have Phil Bardsley’s phone number?’
Footage shows the professional wrestler and former bare-knuckle boxer climbing down to confront Rooney – in what was clearly a mock battle – before the footballer knocked him down to huge cheers from the crowd.
Last night’s fight was a culmination of a previous row between the pair on Twitter, dating back to last February when Barrett, whose real name is Stu Bennett, accused Rooney for diving during a FA Cup clash against his beloved Preston North End.
Source: Dailymailuk