Cactus Jack: I believe congratulations are in order for Triple H, because he did something I believed could not be done. You see, he made Mankind mad. And the question is, Triple H, why? He was friendly, he was funny, he was downright huggable, but you should've known somewhere deep down in his twisted soul, there was a sick SOB waiting to be woken up! And you know what you did, Triple H? You woke up the SOB when you cracked me over the head with that ring bell. Remember it well! Remember it well! And when I felt the warm blood running down my face, I'd be lying if I said I didn't like it just a little bit. Because it was at that time that I realized who, deep down, I had been all along: Cactus Jack! You know, Triple H, you should remember Cactus Jack, and if you don't, well, I'd like you to pull up a seat and look at the TV monitor, 'cause I've got one hell of a reminder of 2 1/2 years ago. The man they said did not look like a star, the man they said was not cut out for the WWF, rocked Madison Square Garden and he rocked your world!
[as clips from their 1997 match are shown]
Cactus Jack: Entering the hallowed halls, the same MSG I went to as a child, and you paid the price! You paid the price, Triple H, and you will pay again. How'd it feel, Triple H, knowing that I will make you suffer? That I will give you pain that 1997 was just a little inkling of what I have in store for you. And I'll be upright and I'll be honest, Mick Foley, Cactus Jack, Mankind, they took a hell of a beating for a hell of a long time, and there is no way that a normal man should still be walking around after the punishment that's been dished out. And therein lies the secret, because I sure as hell am not a normal man. You see, I spent most of the last year worrying about the fact that I was not the man that I used to be, asking forgiveness from the fans, and you know what? The fans forgave me...
[the audience cheers]
Cactus Jack: ...because Mankind became one entertaining son of a gun. And I don't look down on Mankind, and there will be a day when he returns and he will all make us laugh, but this Sunday will not be that day, because there will be no laughter. You see, Triple H, in Madison Square Garden at the Royal Rumble, I am not going to pretend that I'm the man I used to be. I'm going to be just a little bit better. And I don't regret a single night in the ten-dollar motels, I do not regret a single freezing night in the back of a '78 Ford Fairmont. I do not regret my wounds sticking to the sheets. I do not regret the ear that was cut off of my head and thrown out in a garbage can, because it's all those things, Triple H, that made me what I am. And what I am is one bad son of a bitch. And this Sunday night, what I will be is one mad son of a bitch, and I will be looking to take it all out on your ass! So when I sit backstage and I get goosebumps up and down my arms, and I lace up those leopard-skin boots, it's not just a change in outfit, it's a change in mindset that says "I will not be denied, and I will make you suffer." So I will take those leopard-skin boots, I'll lace up the boots, and I'll do with those boots what they were meant to do, I will kick your pansy little ass! And don't get me wrong, I can't wait 'til MSG just six days away, and I can't wait for my shot at what I feel is rightfully mine, the WWF Championship. But, oh, what I want right now is just a little piece of your ass right away. So, Triple H, if you've got the testicular fortitude, and that is a big if, come on down here now in New Haven, Connecticut. No titles on the line, just you and me, and that's all. So bring it, and bring it now!
