Hollywood tough guy Ron Perlman challenges Ted Cruz to a wrestling match

"Hellboy" star Ron Perlman spent the weekend in a Twitter back-and-forth with Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz. After the two went at it for a couple days, Perlman tweeted a photo of Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) Sunday evening, telling Gaetz, "PS: You're lucky for this guy Matt. If it weren't for him you'd be the ugliest politician walking."

With that, Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz jumped into the fray, ripping Perlman's manliness and defending Jordan, who is a onetime NCAA wrestling champion and a former Ohio State University wrestling coach.

The senator said he'd wager $10,000 that Jordan would whup Perlman in less than five minutes.

"Listen, Hellboy," Cruz tweeted. "You talk good game when you've got Hollywood makeup & stuntmen. But I'll bet $10k — to the nonpolitical charity of your choice — that you couldn't last 5 min in the wrestling ring w/ @Jim_Jordan w/o getting pinned."

"You up for it?" Cruz taunted. "Or does your publicist say too risky?"

Perlman appeared excited to have Cruz join the fracas.

"Wait, is this THEE Ted Cruz?" the actor wrote. "Holy s**t man!"

"Is this the same guy let little Donnie call his wife A dog and his father an assassin and now kisses his ass?" Perlman continued, referring to President Donald Trump's heavily criticized crude remarks about Cruz's wife, Heidi, and wild rumormongering linking Rafael Cruz, the senator's dad, to the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

Image source: Twitter screenshot

"Yo, can I get your autograph man?" Perlman asked.

Then he threw down.

"I tell you what teddy boy, since mentioning jim jordan and wrestling is... problematic, why don't we say f*** him and just make it you & me," Perlman challenged. "I'll give 50k to Black Lives Matter and you can keep all the tax payer money you were thinking of spending."

Image source: Twitter screenshot

Cruz, naturally, had no plans to get into the ring with Perlman. Instead, he reiterated his challenge to get Perlman to wrestle Jordan — the man Perlman had attacked. (So far, no one appears to know whether Jordan OK'd Cruz's challenge or if the senator was simply volunteering Jordan.)

"I get it, you're rich," Cruz said. "But, apparently, soft. You sure seem scared to wrestle Jordan (whom you keep insulting)."

Image source: Twitter screenshot

"Can't take the heat?" the senator added. "Need to get a manicure?"

Perlman wasn't having it from the Texan and went off on a brief, expletive-laden Twitter thread response Monday morning.

"Teddy, Teddy, what kind of a muthaf***a offers to have another guy, probably asleep at the time, kick another guy's ass?" Perlman asked.

Image source: Twitter screenshot

"Let's get back to bidness ted," he continued. "jim jordan's too easy, just a little bitch. But you teddy, you talk s**t about New York every chance you get. My hometown. It's personal. Let's go mofo!"

Image source: Twitter screenshot

As of this writing, no dates have been scheduled for a match between Perlman and Jordan or Perlman and Cruz.

Also, no word yet of a possible Jordan-Cruz tag-team grudge match with Perlman and fellow New York silver-screen tough guy Robert De Niro and an undercard featuring President Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden, who have a history of trading fighting words.