David Arquette is hospitalized. What is a wrestling ‘death match’ and why was he in one?

The road to redemption can be painful, bloody and land you in the hospital.

At least that’s how it went for David Arquette.

The 47-year-old “Scream” star was hospitalized for injuries he sustained in a wrestling “death match” in Los Angeles on Friday, People magazine reported.

He’s been active on the independent wrestling scene since the summer, according to wrestling websites. But now, Arquette says, he’s done with death matches.

“Turns out Death Matches aren’t my thing,” Arquette tweeted after the brutal match.

Arquette’s wife, Christina McLarty, told The Blast celebrity news website on Tuesday that Arquette went back into the hospital because of pain in his neck. “After the wrestling match he looked fine and then it was irritating him so …” she said, according to The Blast.

Photos and videos posted to social media showed blood pouring from Arquette’s face and head after his opponent, professional wrestler Nick Gage, mugged the snot out of him and hit him in the head with light tubes, according to Pro Wrestling Sheet website.

“ Gage began to grind light tubes into Arquette’s forehead at one point in the match and the two seemed to slip up — causing David’s neck to get sliced,” Pro Wrestling Sheet reported. “He began to panic and almost left the match, but returned to the ring and ended things.”

Cageside Seats described the gore.

“Arquette “was clutching his neck for a few minutes and seemed to be bleeding from it, courtesy of multiple light tubes shattering on his head,” the wrestling website reported. “Arquette was covered in glass at the end, with some shards sticking in him...

“Arquette was able to turn the tide and put Gage through light tubes that were resting on a pair of chairs with a cutter. He did a cannonball onto Gage with light tubes on top of him and then played to the crowd.”

On the big screen, Arquette played a “slacker wrestling fan” in the 2000 movie “Ready to Rumble,” according to IMDB. That’s the year he became a punching bag for wrestling fans.

”He was stunningly given the WCW World Championship belt during the promotion of the movie ‘Ready to Rumble,’ which is still viewed today as one of the worst decisions in professional wrestling history,” writes SB Nation.

And that explains why he was in the ring on Friday, a place he later admitted he shouldn’t have been as he defended people who slammed the match promoter, and Gage, for allowing him to participate.

SB Nation explains that death matches are “a particular brand of hardcore wrestling ... essentially anything-goes brawls that incorporate the use of foreign objects and weapons, originating in the mid-20th century, but gaining popularity in the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s.

“As WWE returned to its roots and aimed to pitch its product to a younger audience, so too did the traditional hardcore match die out of mainstream popularity. However, death matches are still commonplace in smaller promotions looking to fill a niche abandoned by the bigger companies.”

According to SB Nation, Arquette trained and then debuted in July with Championship Wrestling from Hollywood, an independent promotion in Los Angeles.

“The actor noted that his return to wrestling is not a publicity stunt as the former WCW World Heavyweight champion grew tired of fans giving him a hard time for his WCW title win 18 years ago,” wrote Sportskeeda.

In a statement on Monday, Arquette noted how he’s been training and wrestling in indie matches for the last six months, “as wrestling is a passion of mine,” but said he’s done with death matches, though it’s not clear whether he’s been put off all wrestling.

“As some of you might have seen, last week I was injured in a wrestling death match,” he wrote. “I wanted to make sure to address the photos and videos that have surfaced from the event, as this is not the type of wrestling you watch on TV.

“I knew it was violent and potentially bloody, but I truly did not know the extent of what I was participating in. However, I take responsibility for putting myself in that situation.”

He reiterated that what he did was “not traditional wrestling, and I have the utmost respect for that sport.

“I also want to apologize to the professional wrestling world for any negative attention this might have brought forth over the weekend, and I have zero plans to be involved in a match like this again.”