is a glutton for punishment ... returning to the wrestling ring after a deathmatch that almost killed him.
Arquette took the mic at a news conference Friday night to hype his upcoming match with veteran pro wrestler Jocephus in a "hair match" for the National Wrestling Alliance. The stakes ... loser shaves his head.
NWA President and former Smashing Pumpkins frontman, Billy Corgan, kept the 2 men apart during the faceoff at the Pinnacle Family Entertainment Center in Clarksville, Tennessee.
Jocephus stormed the stage with a VHS copy of Arquette's 2000 pro wrestling movie “Ready to Rumble” .