Wayne Rooney: Manchester United captain lays the smackdown on Wade Barrett at WWE event

Manchester United and England captain Wayne Rooney tried his hand at another form of entertainment on Monday night (9 November) as he be embroiled in an argument with wrestler Wade "King" Barrett at a WWE event in Manchester.

Rooney, who is more used to bruising encounters with the world's best defenders in the Premier League and Champions League, got into an argument with British wrestler Barrett who was in the ring alongside his partner Sheamus.

The crowd at the Manchester Arena cheered and jeered as the 6ft 7in tall Barrett, who supports Preston North End and goaded Rooney on Twitter before the fight, claimed the England captain and his Manchester United teammates are not championship material.

"Wayne, I want you to take this in. Because standing in this ring right now are two men who can only be described as championship material. Which, of course, is more than can be said for Wayne Rooney and Manchester United this season," said a sneering Barrett.

Rooney, whose United side is fourth in the Premier League heading into an international break, stared at Barrett and was unmoved by the insults. However, once the fight started, Sheamus appeared to take offence to a comment from Rooney and when Barrett came over to support his partner, the England captain slapped Barrett, who fell theatrically to the floor.

Afterwards, the crowd chanted Rooney's name as he watched the rest of the night's wrestling alongside his son Kai and former Manchester United teammates Ryan Giggs, now assistant coach at the club, and Darren Fletcher, now at West Bromwich Albion.

Additional reporting by Reuters.