1 00:00:02,410 --> 00:00:05,770 There isn't anything in the world I would have rather have done in that 2 00:00:05,770 --> 00:00:07,230 than go to war with Mick Foley. 3 00:00:07,990 --> 00:00:14,870 I knew that this was going to be one of the biggest 4 00:00:14,870 --> 00:00:19,450 matches of his career. I guess what I didn't realize at the time was he might 5 00:00:19,450 --> 00:00:21,990 have had maybe an ulterior motive. 6 00:00:22,910 --> 00:00:23,910 Maybe. 7 00:00:24,370 --> 00:00:27,870 Literally, I thought to myself, I could lose an eye. 8 00:00:29,350 --> 00:00:30,830 But think of the pop. 9 00:00:33,470 --> 00:00:35,150 What if the floor doesn't give? 10 00:00:35,450 --> 00:00:39,110 What if it does give? What if it gives in a place it's not supposed to give? 11 00:00:39,110 --> 00:00:42,590 know, all of that is going through my mind as I'm watching these two human 12 00:00:42,590 --> 00:00:44,690 beings on top of Hell in a Cell. 13 00:00:45,190 --> 00:00:50,170 Hard to put into words how much those two matches meant on solidifying Triple 14 00:00:50,170 --> 00:00:51,210 as a main event player. 15 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:07,860 Take a good look at the future of the World Wrestling Federation. 16 00:01:08,980 --> 00:01:15,600 There's a new meaning of perfect, and it's Triple H, Hunter, 17 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:17,220 Hurst, Helmsley. 18 00:01:32,140 --> 00:01:37,060 As the attitude era was coming into full steam, everything was so competitive. 19 00:01:38,420 --> 00:01:43,140 This was at a moment in time for me when I was trying to become the anti to what 20 00:01:43,140 --> 00:01:46,060 The Rock and Austin were becoming. 21 00:01:46,260 --> 00:01:50,380 That's where I felt like my place was in the business, and I felt the need and 22 00:01:50,380 --> 00:01:51,680 wanted to be that. 23 00:01:52,900 --> 00:01:57,600 Coming from the things I'd done in the past and the fun aspect of DX, I needed 24 00:01:57,600 --> 00:01:59,600 that serious side of it to come out. 25 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:03,880 I always use the term marquee guy. 26 00:02:04,500 --> 00:02:06,880 Top guy is one thing. A lot of top guys. 27 00:02:07,300 --> 00:02:10,880 Somebody was to say, oh, hey, WWE's in town. Oh, who's wrestling? 28 00:02:11,140 --> 00:02:12,880 So -and -so. Oh, really? Who's he fighting? 29 00:02:14,100 --> 00:02:15,100 Marquee guys are different. 30 00:02:15,480 --> 00:02:19,880 Hey, WWE's in town. Who's wrestling? Rock. Ooh, I want to go. There's a few 31 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:20,880 that hit marquee status. 32 00:02:21,660 --> 00:02:28,000 And I think that if you want to say that for Triple H, then this was the moment 33 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:29,000 that got me there. 34 00:02:43,150 --> 00:02:46,810 This is about me. I don't need to be in a clique anymore. 35 00:02:47,070 --> 00:02:48,850 I don't need to be in DX anymore. 36 00:02:49,530 --> 00:02:54,330 This is about me. It's about me reaching my goals. The game stemmed from an 37 00:02:54,330 --> 00:02:58,690 interview where the character felt that it was so invested in the business and 38 00:02:58,690 --> 00:03:05,090 it was such a connected part of his life that it literally was him. That there 39 00:03:05,090 --> 00:03:09,090 was nothing else more to it than he was the entire business. 40 00:03:09,390 --> 00:03:12,560 What, you want me to shoot with this interview? I'm gonna... Shoot with it. 41 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:14,580 going to tell you how I feel, whether you like it or not. 42 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:20,120 I felt that this was me saying that this entire industry should be mine because 43 00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:24,480 it was me and because everything about me was invested in being that. Every 44 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:29,500 I look at you guys, it makes me sick to think what you did to me, holding me 45 00:03:29,500 --> 00:03:34,660 back. To hell with The Rock, to hell with Austin, to hell with The 46 00:03:34,660 --> 00:03:39,180 own all their asses. That was a pre -taped interview, so it was shot 47 00:03:39,180 --> 00:03:40,360 with multiple cameras. 48 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:45,280 And when I said the line, it was all done in one piece. But when I said the 49 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:47,600 line, I am the game, J .R. 50 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:52,640 It just came out that way. The passion of it, it came out in that manner. And 51 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:55,600 when we got to the end of the take, I remember thinking, we're going to do 52 00:03:55,600 --> 00:04:01,560 again because of that. They had a camera angle where you didn't necessarily, I 53 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:07,300 believe, see my mouth saying it. And they were OK with beeping it out and 54 00:04:07,300 --> 00:04:10,280 it made it even more powerful because it was real in that moment. 55 00:04:10,890 --> 00:04:13,550 You guys talk about being students of the game. 56 00:04:14,110 --> 00:04:16,450 I am the game, J .R. 57 00:04:17,250 --> 00:04:22,410 There is nobody that eats, sleeps or breathes this business more than me. 58 00:04:25,870 --> 00:04:32,830 I don't know that it wasn't until the next week. I 59 00:04:32,830 --> 00:04:37,730 just can distinctly remember walking out on that stage, seeing the signs and 60 00:04:37,730 --> 00:04:38,730 thinking to myself. 61 00:04:39,710 --> 00:04:42,450 Well, I just hit something gold. 62 00:04:52,710 --> 00:04:58,090 I was an account executive in the New York sales office. I was helping to sell 63 00:04:58,090 --> 00:05:02,710 our media and sponsorship business, really at a very entry level. I was 64 00:05:02,710 --> 00:05:06,610 out of college. And I also at that time became a character on our television 65 00:05:06,610 --> 00:05:08,550 show. And it involves Stephanie. 66 00:05:11,470 --> 00:05:16,210 I'd just like to add, you know, I've known the Undertaker, too. 67 00:05:17,270 --> 00:05:23,790 And it's like Dad said, you know, I guess I just never really did know him. 68 00:05:23,790 --> 00:05:29,290 it's interesting working with Steph when we did all the stuff around the 69 00:05:29,290 --> 00:05:32,910 wedding. Hey, get a nice shot of the brand new Mr. 70 00:05:33,130 --> 00:05:34,130 and Mrs. 71 00:05:34,290 --> 00:05:35,310 Hutterhurst Helmholtz. 72 00:05:38,950 --> 00:05:42,390 And. You know, my breaking up the marriage with her test. 73 00:05:42,710 --> 00:05:47,950 I know that you can only have one question on your mind, dad. 74 00:05:49,030 --> 00:05:50,170 Oh my God. 75 00:05:50,710 --> 00:05:52,070 I hate you. 76 00:05:52,330 --> 00:05:54,570 And that is. I hate you. 77 00:05:54,910 --> 00:05:59,830 Not did we, but how many times did we consummate the marriage? 78 00:06:00,110 --> 00:06:02,110 And then the match with Vince. 79 00:06:07,630 --> 00:06:08,830 She was. 80 00:06:09,710 --> 00:06:13,530 So enamored with every aspect of the business. Talk about student of the 81 00:06:13,590 --> 00:06:15,930 right? Her passion for it was infectious. 82 00:06:17,630 --> 00:06:23,270 We always wear a lot of different hats here at WWE to listen in on Vince 83 00:06:23,270 --> 00:06:27,590 McMahon's creative sessions and to listen to him brainstorm with top talent 84 00:06:27,590 --> 00:06:31,430 to hear their ideas and concepts and why something works and why it doesn't 85 00:06:31,430 --> 00:06:35,430 work. And, you know, to really have the benefit of being under the learning tree 86 00:06:35,430 --> 00:06:36,590 with Triple H. 87 00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:43,060 And to have him teaching me and giving me the time to really explain why he's 88 00:06:43,060 --> 00:06:47,140 doing certain things at the time that he's doing it. Because it's all 89 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:49,040 It's all designed to get a reaction. 90 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:55,320 I guess what I didn't realize at the time was he might have had maybe an 91 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:56,320 ulterior motive. 92 00:06:57,020 --> 00:06:58,020 Maybe. 93 00:06:59,020 --> 00:07:04,440 I think that the Steph relationship storyline. 94 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:08,120 into the Foley matches. 95 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:13,940 If I had to pick like one time frame in my life to say this is the moment that 96 00:07:13,940 --> 00:07:17,300 the big shift happened, it's that beginning of 2000. 97 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:24,540 I have to say there is nobody more giving of their body and what they're 98 00:07:24,540 --> 00:07:26,480 to do for our business than Mick. 99 00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:35,040 He does it for our audience. He does it for our fans. 100 00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:39,120 Because he wants to over -deliver for them in every way he possibly can. 101 00:07:40,200 --> 00:07:41,200 Kill them! 102 00:07:41,580 --> 00:07:42,700 Oh, my God! 103 00:07:43,940 --> 00:07:44,940 They're falling! 104 00:07:45,120 --> 00:07:51,020 Mick is one of the most unique characters and performers that I've ever 105 00:07:51,020 --> 00:07:56,380 the ring with because he is so skilled and gifted at all the different bits and 106 00:07:56,380 --> 00:07:57,560 pieces of our business. 107 00:07:58,110 --> 00:08:01,910 He would do things that you would think, how does a human being survive that and 108 00:08:01,910 --> 00:08:05,870 make you, oh, my God, that is the craziest thing I've ever seen. I got to 109 00:08:05,870 --> 00:08:09,290 more about this guy. Right after he did that, five minutes later, he's got Mr. 110 00:08:09,430 --> 00:08:14,110 Sacco on or he's doing some straight up comedy act. 111 00:08:14,450 --> 00:08:18,710 Before the game, when I was still Hunter Hearst Helmsley and he was mankind and 112 00:08:18,710 --> 00:08:19,609 we were. 113 00:08:19,610 --> 00:08:24,210 Shifting through things and finding our way, I felt like we always just had this 114 00:08:24,210 --> 00:08:28,850 chemistry right off the bat. Together, he and I can create some magical things, 115 00:08:28,930 --> 00:08:32,390 and the characters kind of gelled off of each other really well. I loved 116 00:08:32,390 --> 00:08:37,490 everything that we ever did together pretty much was, I felt like, always 117 00:08:37,490 --> 00:08:38,490 worked. 118 00:08:50,570 --> 00:08:57,190 I had written some pretty large checks, and my body was cashing them in 119 00:08:57,190 --> 00:09:00,190 all at the same time. 120 00:09:05,110 --> 00:09:11,290 I was having trouble getting around. I didn't want to be seen doing less than I 121 00:09:11,290 --> 00:09:17,190 was capable of, and it just seemed like if I could ride off on a majestic steed 122 00:09:17,190 --> 00:09:18,190 into the sunset. 123 00:09:18,660 --> 00:09:20,940 that it would be the perfect time to retire. 124 00:09:22,140 --> 00:09:24,360 Keep in mind, I was one of the biggest stars in the company. 125 00:09:25,460 --> 00:09:29,240 I had a book out that had been number one on the New York Times list, was 126 00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:34,500 hanging in there on the list, and it hung in for 26 weeks. So I was at my 127 00:09:34,500 --> 00:09:39,980 as far as being an attraction for WWE, and Mr. McMahon was willing to let me go 128 00:09:39,980 --> 00:09:41,280 for the sake of my health. 129 00:09:41,660 --> 00:09:46,120 And then the wild card was Stone Cold Steve Austin's neck injury. 130 00:09:46,520 --> 00:09:48,840 Will you come back if you can't be as good as you were before? 131 00:09:49,460 --> 00:09:53,860 No, there ain't no way but 100 % for me. 100 miles an hour, either you do it or 132 00:09:53,860 --> 00:09:57,340 you don't. That's it. And if I come back and everything goes right, you're damn 133 00:09:57,340 --> 00:09:59,760 right. Stone Cold Steve Austin being dangerous, son. 134 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:06,060 Because when Steve went down with that injury, there was a sense that we all 135 00:10:06,060 --> 00:10:10,780 to pull together for the good of the team because we were without our number 136 00:10:10,780 --> 00:10:11,780 attraction. 137 00:10:12,680 --> 00:10:17,300 We knew that Rock was going to be a part of the WrestleMania main event, but we 138 00:10:17,300 --> 00:10:21,320 almost had to create a new top -tier star. 139 00:10:21,600 --> 00:10:28,020 Mr. McMahon had a meeting with me and with Hunter, asked us what we thought 140 00:10:28,020 --> 00:10:32,120 about the possibility of working together to kind of fill in that gap. 141 00:10:32,860 --> 00:10:36,720 And we were all for it. We'd had a history of really working well together, 142 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:39,480 creating some amazing things, going back to 1997. 143 00:10:40,220 --> 00:10:41,540 Here he comes! Where is he? 144 00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:43,120 Catch this jack! 145 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:44,760 He's back! 146 00:10:44,980 --> 00:10:47,820 Somebody snipe me! I thought he was dead! He's alive! 147 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:54,840 It may be the darkest day of your life, because it's Madison Square Garden and 148 00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:56,340 Mrs. Foley's little boy! 149 00:10:57,040 --> 00:10:58,040 Bye -bye! 150 00:10:58,680 --> 00:10:59,680 Bye -bye! 151 00:11:01,530 --> 00:11:05,810 Foley had these unique characters, and I'd worked with most of them, and it's 152 00:11:05,810 --> 00:11:08,350 funny, I helped pull a lot of them out. 153 00:11:08,570 --> 00:11:13,650 Triple H needed someone to prove that he could hang and be a badass. He'd 154 00:11:13,650 --> 00:11:17,550 already proven himself as a main event commodity as part of D -Generation X. 155 00:11:17,810 --> 00:11:22,750 I guess there was just that little question mark. Can he hang at the top of 156 00:11:22,750 --> 00:11:29,070 roster when it comes to singles competitions and be a certifiable top 157 00:11:29,070 --> 00:11:30,070 draw? 158 00:11:30,390 --> 00:11:36,050 There is a thought out there that Triple H needed me to get him to that next 159 00:11:36,050 --> 00:11:37,810 level but I needed him. 160 00:11:40,470 --> 00:11:42,390 I did not want to go out. 161 00:11:42,960 --> 00:11:47,620 as the guy with the sock. Years later, I've come to accept that I was the guy 162 00:11:47,620 --> 00:11:50,960 with the sock. And I love the fact that I was the guy with the sock. But I'm 163 00:11:50,960 --> 00:11:54,320 looking at the very end of my career, and I want to go down swinging. 164 00:11:54,560 --> 00:12:00,280 Like, I want to go down doing the things that I loved watching when I was a huge 165 00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:05,180 WWE fan. I wanted to be that guy I had been five years earlier. 166 00:12:06,410 --> 00:12:11,310 I believe that I was able to turn Cactus Jack into a WWE superstar. 167 00:12:11,750 --> 00:12:15,410 It was Triple H who made him a part of wrestling mythology. 168 00:12:15,990 --> 00:12:20,670 When I stepped into that shower and I let the cold water run down on my head 169 00:12:20,670 --> 00:12:27,150 I looked down at the blood as it swirled around that shower drain, I started 170 00:12:27,150 --> 00:12:30,410 thinking a little bit about what mankind was. 171 00:12:30,890 --> 00:12:33,230 One thing mankind is not. 172 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:38,500 is ready to face you in a street fight at the Royal Rumble in Madison Square 173 00:12:38,500 --> 00:12:39,500 Garden. 174 00:12:40,560 --> 00:12:46,780 But I think the WWF fans deserve a substitute in that match. 175 00:12:47,700 --> 00:12:48,700 A substitute? 176 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:54,060 He's chickening out? What I'm going to do, Triple H, is I'm going to name him 177 00:12:54,060 --> 00:12:57,980 right now. As a matter of fact, I think you know the guy. 178 00:13:14,700 --> 00:13:20,300 So the reveal comes quickly, and this is a moment that still induces goosebumps. 179 00:13:21,220 --> 00:13:24,980 20 years after the fact, there will be people who put it up there as the best 180 00:13:24,980 --> 00:13:29,700 thing I've ever done, and I can't disagree with them, because if Triple H 181 00:13:29,700 --> 00:13:33,900 out a dismissive laugh and tells a story with his face, you're the same guy in a 182 00:13:33,900 --> 00:13:34,839 different T -shirt. 183 00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:37,680 This match is dead in the water. It goes nowhere. 184 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:42,340 And instead, he reacts as if he's literally seen a ghost. 185 00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:47,480 It's one of the most effective ways of advancing a character. 186 00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:53,080 For those who remember Cactus Jack, he's coming back stronger and better than 187 00:13:53,080 --> 00:13:57,460 ever. And for those who have no clue who this Cactus Jack guy is, we know he's 188 00:13:57,460 --> 00:14:02,120 somebody, and we know he's somebody Triple H does not want to tangle with. 189 00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:07,260 built up this aura around that character. It was the ultimate sadistic 190 00:14:07,260 --> 00:14:12,320 destroyer. Mick Foley is more vicious, more dangerous than ever, King! 191 00:14:12,750 --> 00:14:17,030 And I get in that ring and I'm literally moving faster than I've moved in years. 192 00:14:17,190 --> 00:14:22,890 I remember literally going back and looking through the video to see if it 193 00:14:22,890 --> 00:14:25,910 been sped up because I can't believe I'm moving that fast. 194 00:14:26,210 --> 00:14:29,150 Triple H is there and he's taking a beating and I'm hitting him with 195 00:14:29,150 --> 00:14:32,790 I can on each one. And he's just, he's bringing it out of me. Now I've got to 196 00:14:32,790 --> 00:14:36,650 catch my breath because I have not moved that fast in years. 197 00:14:36,990 --> 00:14:40,770 There's two things responsible for that. There's the adrenaline rush that comes 198 00:14:40,770 --> 00:14:41,870 with the audience there. 199 00:14:42,190 --> 00:14:47,210 And there's Triple H bringing out the very best in me. So when people try to 200 00:14:47,210 --> 00:14:54,030 judge the value of a performer or a worker or a wrestler, you know, there 201 00:14:54,030 --> 00:14:57,730 the move sets. There's all these different things that you can tangibly 202 00:14:57,970 --> 00:15:02,850 But one of the intangibles is, can you bring out the best in your opponent? Can 203 00:15:02,850 --> 00:15:07,550 you make that opponent better than he ever felt he could be? And that's, you 204 00:15:07,550 --> 00:15:10,390 know, the difference between being a superstar and a legend. 205 00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:14,080 So at the Royal Rumble, you're going to make me bleed. 206 00:15:15,580 --> 00:15:17,400 I've got some news for you. 207 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:20,700 It will not be the first time. 208 00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:28,080 And it sure as hell will not be the last because I've got an awful lot of blood 209 00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:29,080 to give. 210 00:15:29,500 --> 00:15:36,000 I will take what you hold dearest, your cherished WWF championship belt. 211 00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:37,740 I will take it. 212 00:15:38,700 --> 00:15:44,040 and it will be mine, mine, all mine, baby! 213 00:15:51,300 --> 00:15:55,460 Madison Square Garden, it's where everyone aspired to be. I mean, the 214 00:15:55,460 --> 00:16:00,480 quote ever can be attributed to Mr. McMahon's father, Vince McMahon Sr., and 215 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:04,400 simply said, Vinny, the garden will always be the garden. 216 00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:11,540 Madison Square Garden, and this ain't Mrs. 217 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:13,000 Foley's baby boy. 218 00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:17,760 I think both for Mick and I to know that we were going into the garden, getting 219 00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:22,480 the opportunity to main event the Royal Rumble, a lot of pressure, but we were 220 00:16:22,480 --> 00:16:25,880 hell -bent on delivering. We knew we were going to deliver. We knew we were 221 00:16:25,880 --> 00:16:26,980 about to make something special. 222 00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:32,580 I remember 223 00:16:36,280 --> 00:16:40,500 I walked Triple H out in the entranceway, and he kissed me. 224 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:48,040 That was the first time he had ever actually kissed me on the lips, and it 225 00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:52,800 kind of took me back because I knew it was in character, but was it really in 226 00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:55,900 character? You know, I kind of had, like, the butterfly moment. 227 00:16:58,200 --> 00:17:02,280 And I knew that this was going to be one of the biggest matches of his career. 228 00:17:06,670 --> 00:17:10,470 But I don't know, that kid sent a bolt of electricity through me. 229 00:17:10,730 --> 00:17:14,790 Well, you know, look at it. 230 00:17:18,030 --> 00:17:24,750 Walking into that type of 231 00:17:24,750 --> 00:17:29,050 match with somebody like Foley, there's a psych up here. There's an adrenaline 232 00:17:29,050 --> 00:17:31,970 factor. There is a, you are going to war. 233 00:17:35,130 --> 00:17:36,190 But the talking has stopped. 234 00:17:37,930 --> 00:17:39,390 No holds barred. 235 00:17:39,890 --> 00:17:41,270 Anything is legal. 236 00:17:43,210 --> 00:17:45,670 And you have to approach it with that mentality. 237 00:17:49,090 --> 00:17:53,330 You know, they must be wondering, what am I going to have to do here tonight to 238 00:17:53,330 --> 00:17:57,050 keep the Challenger down? Now cap this deck. That's not a steel chair. 239 00:17:57,440 --> 00:18:00,380 But there isn't anything in the world I would have rather have done in that 240 00:18:00,380 --> 00:18:02,240 moment than go to war with Mick Foley. 241 00:18:05,460 --> 00:18:05,900 This 242 00:18:05,900 --> 00:18:14,340 was 243 00:18:14,340 --> 00:18:15,340 a proving ground. 244 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:28,560 We're just looking to do the best we can. We're trying to have the best match 245 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:30,320 can. We're trying to create something. 246 00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:34,160 We 247 00:18:34,160 --> 00:18:41,080 do 248 00:18:41,080 --> 00:18:47,900 have civilians all around us, and you have to be conscious of them 249 00:18:47,900 --> 00:18:53,220 on a certain level. And you also put great faith in the WWE security team. 250 00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:05,780 If I could go back in time, I probably would not suplex Triple H on a 251 00:19:05,780 --> 00:19:08,100 pallet that had a jagged shard of wood. 252 00:19:11,720 --> 00:19:18,620 I don't think I actually realized that 253 00:19:18,620 --> 00:19:22,040 the puncture wound in my leg from the pallet was... 254 00:19:23,010 --> 00:19:29,890 really bad until uh later but i remember looking down and seeing a piece 255 00:19:29,890 --> 00:19:34,550 of wood sticking out of my leg and thinking like oh geez that's not good in 256 00:19:34,550 --> 00:19:38,890 mind it was like a a sliver when i pulled it out jesus that thing went in 257 00:19:38,890 --> 00:19:42,990 really far i didn't really think about it after that i do remember towards the 258 00:19:42,990 --> 00:19:47,210 end of that match and not really knowing why but thinking like one boot feels 259 00:19:47,210 --> 00:19:50,810 super heavy but nothing more than that it really was later when they pulled the 260 00:19:51,450 --> 00:19:55,050 You know, my boot off when I was backstage was pooling with blood and it 261 00:19:55,050 --> 00:19:57,950 saturated the bottom of my boot and all the leather. 262 00:19:58,610 --> 00:20:01,210 Adrenaline is a magical, magical substance. 263 00:20:06,550 --> 00:20:11,610 I wasn't even aware that I made noises throughout the entirety of my matches. 264 00:20:16,570 --> 00:20:19,750 It just, I guess, came from my subconscious. 265 00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:32,760 I may be the most humble of wrestling origins. 266 00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:38,680 I dropped an elbow on Nasty Ned Brady in Greensboro, North Carolina. I think it 267 00:20:38,680 --> 00:20:42,920 was one day before I lost my two top teeth in a car accident. 268 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:49,000 I dropped an elbow, and just the song from the B -52s, a song that was popular 269 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:52,460 at the time called Love Shack, went through my mind. I looked up at the 270 00:20:52,520 --> 00:20:55,020 and I said, bang, bang, bang. 271 00:20:55,680 --> 00:21:00,700 On the door, baby. So I never again used the words, on the door, baby. 272 00:21:04,060 --> 00:21:10,260 I'd say the more meaningful and the more I believed in that gesture, the better 273 00:21:10,260 --> 00:21:11,280 the match was going to be. 274 00:21:15,660 --> 00:21:19,580 I was a big believer in using things that were available to us. It's always 275 00:21:19,580 --> 00:21:24,500 great to have something stashed away underneath the ring. And that night, you 276 00:21:24,500 --> 00:21:27,840 know, I believe we, you know, we did, we had, I don't believe we did. We had 277 00:21:27,840 --> 00:21:28,840 some goodies. 278 00:21:30,020 --> 00:21:30,460 I 279 00:21:30,460 --> 00:21:38,720 very 280 00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:43,280 distinctly remember that barbed wire two by four coming out for the first time. 281 00:21:43,820 --> 00:21:50,520 The shifting of the crowd to a different level of, oh, my God. 282 00:21:52,380 --> 00:21:58,860 The only time I'd ever experienced that type of in -the -moment shift 283 00:21:58,860 --> 00:22:03,980 in a crowd was Undertaker and Shawn Michaels in the first Hell in a Cell 284 00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:08,560 I remember just getting goosebumps in that moment as I was hearing the crowd. 285 00:22:08,780 --> 00:22:13,200 I've talked a little bit at my one -man shows about what I call the Foley risk 286 00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:14,640 -reward ratio analysis. 287 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:19,580 And there are some things that are genuinely risky that don't pay off in a 288 00:22:19,580 --> 00:22:25,620 reaction, you know, that makes that risk worth taking. And then there's the 289 00:22:25,620 --> 00:22:26,940 barbed wire two -by -four. 290 00:22:33,130 --> 00:22:35,150 There's not a lot of risk going on. 291 00:22:36,290 --> 00:22:40,330 Nobody's likely to get too injured, a couple puncture wounds, maybe. 292 00:23:01,470 --> 00:23:04,130 Well, Hugo loved to be part of the matches. 293 00:23:05,250 --> 00:23:10,010 Hugo was the guy who dove out of the way just in the nick of time during the 294 00:23:10,010 --> 00:23:13,690 cell match with The Undertaker. So he thrived on that stuff. 295 00:23:17,550 --> 00:23:23,490 He's a 296 00:23:23,490 --> 00:23:28,830 performer himself. 297 00:23:46,570 --> 00:23:51,530 It was all in anticipation of upping the ante to something that people would be 298 00:23:51,530 --> 00:23:58,130 in awe of. This character, the Cactus Jack character of this crazy, do 299 00:23:58,130 --> 00:24:05,110 -anything, sadistic, no regard for himself or his body or anything 300 00:24:05,110 --> 00:24:06,290 else and would do anything. 301 00:24:19,470 --> 00:24:20,910 They needed to live on that. 302 00:24:21,490 --> 00:24:26,610 I had watched a lot of the Japanese death matches, so to speak, even the 303 00:24:26,610 --> 00:24:31,270 that Mick was involved in. I remember asking Mick about those matches and him 304 00:24:31,270 --> 00:24:32,930 saying, oh, my God, they're terrible. Don't watch this. 305 00:24:36,610 --> 00:24:39,850 I remember watching them and thinking, like, oh, yeah, they are terrible. 306 00:24:40,810 --> 00:24:44,450 The guy would just fall into a bed of barbed wire or something for no apparent 307 00:24:44,450 --> 00:24:45,450 reason. 308 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:46,820 And they were in front of like nobody. 309 00:24:47,100 --> 00:24:51,200 Let's put that together in a way that we can tell a story with it. So it all 310 00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:52,200 builds. 311 00:24:53,880 --> 00:25:00,880 We can tell the difference. You 312 00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:04,920 know, when I say we, it's because I'm pausing to say whether we're fans, 313 00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:08,620 we're part of the universe. We can tell when the emotions are real. Freak fight 314 00:25:08,620 --> 00:25:12,860 rules mean these two men have a license to maim. And that's exactly what we're 315 00:25:12,860 --> 00:25:13,860 seeing here. 316 00:25:15,070 --> 00:25:18,030 Triple H from limb to limb. He said he was going to spill his blood. 317 00:25:20,290 --> 00:25:23,430 My parents obviously very, very proud of my career, everything like that. But I 318 00:25:23,430 --> 00:25:28,290 believe this was like the first big, really big, like me main eventing a pay 319 00:25:28,290 --> 00:25:29,530 -per -view that I bring them to. 320 00:25:32,110 --> 00:25:35,010 Triple H, a bloody mess on our table here. 321 00:25:36,230 --> 00:25:40,190 So they come to Madison Square Garden. I get them set up with tickets, the whole 322 00:25:40,190 --> 00:25:41,190 thing. 323 00:26:01,710 --> 00:26:06,670 I don't believe I had given them any forewarning other than to say, these 324 00:26:06,670 --> 00:26:09,270 matches with Cactus Jack, it's probably going to be pretty aggressive. 325 00:26:33,179 --> 00:26:38,940 But I don't think I had given them any more warning than that. My parents were 326 00:26:38,940 --> 00:26:43,340 in the front row. After the barbed wire came out, I am bleeding heavily. 327 00:26:43,950 --> 00:26:49,710 There's a moment where Mick clotheslines me over the top rope, go over the top 328 00:26:49,710 --> 00:26:55,010 rope, land, and go sailing across the floor. As I hit and I'm draped over the 329 00:26:55,010 --> 00:27:01,110 guardrail, as I look up, I'm face -to -face with my mom, who is blubbering, 330 00:27:01,110 --> 00:27:06,970 horrible as a parent, funny. 331 00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:08,880 As a son. 332 00:27:09,100 --> 00:27:15,600 To hear her reactions was very poignant to me. You know, to watch a mother react 333 00:27:15,600 --> 00:27:20,940 to her child, you know, being in the ring, one side of me, the personal side, 334 00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:24,440 thought, you know, oh, my gosh, I felt so bad. And then the entertainer side of 335 00:27:24,440 --> 00:27:27,900 me was like, oh, my God, this is awesome. He's so delivering. 336 00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:36,460 And if it looks like I am overjoyed, it's because I am. 337 00:27:37,530 --> 00:27:42,270 I mean, it's coming back to life. I can't physically do the things I did 20 338 00:27:42,270 --> 00:27:45,790 years ago, but I get to relive it. 339 00:27:47,970 --> 00:27:48,450 The 340 00:27:48,450 --> 00:27:57,390 last 341 00:27:57,390 --> 00:28:01,550 words Mr. McMahon said to me before I stepped through the curtain were, no 342 00:28:01,550 --> 00:28:04,050 thumbtacks. What is that? 343 00:28:15,660 --> 00:28:20,780 The epic shift of him pouring those thumbtacks out in that arena. You think 344 00:28:20,780 --> 00:28:24,560 can't get them any higher, but wait, there's more. This guy's sadistic. He 345 00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:25,560 stop for anything. 346 00:28:26,320 --> 00:28:28,300 Right hands by Captain Jack. 347 00:28:29,220 --> 00:28:33,960 The game dangerously close to the thousands of thumbtacks on the canvas. 348 00:28:34,500 --> 00:28:37,040 Like, they're thumbtacks. It's not like it's going to kill you. 349 00:28:37,940 --> 00:28:39,500 It doesn't feel good, for sure. 350 00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:53,460 You know a suplex on a concrete floor, let alone a jagged pallet of 351 00:28:53,460 --> 00:28:57,180 wood, is going to hurt. He's sick, JR. He may enjoy it. I don't know. 352 00:28:57,400 --> 00:28:58,600 The love of God. 353 00:28:59,180 --> 00:29:00,180 Triple X. 354 00:29:00,580 --> 00:29:01,580 The penalty. 355 00:29:02,660 --> 00:29:03,660 The penalty. 356 00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:04,960 That's got to be over. 357 00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:18,700 Kicking out of the pedigree was something that was unheard of at the 358 00:29:19,040 --> 00:29:24,480 I don't know if I was the first, but I know when I kicked out, I mean, the roar 359 00:29:24,480 --> 00:29:30,120 was deafening. And I mean, there was just this feeling that the only way we 360 00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:34,500 could take this up a notch was to do that same move in thumbtacks. 361 00:29:34,740 --> 00:29:39,040 And I knew we'd catch hell for it. 362 00:29:47,080 --> 00:29:52,460 I just remember closing my right eye as tightly as I could. And literally, I 363 00:29:52,460 --> 00:29:57,580 thought to myself, I could lose an eye, but think of the pop. 364 00:30:02,780 --> 00:30:07,900 You know, 365 00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:10,720 you do the pedigree and the text. 366 00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:15,220 He lands. I'm covered. I could see them sticking out of his face. If I remember 367 00:30:15,220 --> 00:30:16,380 correctly, he had one in his eyebrow. 368 00:30:24,460 --> 00:30:27,900 It doesn't get any better than that. I'm a kid from Long Island. This is the 369 00:30:27,900 --> 00:30:31,120 same venue that I used to hitchhike to and take trains to. 370 00:30:31,460 --> 00:30:35,520 Now I've lost the biggest match of my career, and yet people are chanting my 371 00:30:35,520 --> 00:30:36,520 name. 372 00:30:38,660 --> 00:30:45,140 And at that point, I start thinking about the physical toll that the match 373 00:30:45,140 --> 00:30:46,200 taken on both of us. 374 00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:55,360 Triple H took such a pounding in that match. I mean, he just really took a 375 00:30:55,360 --> 00:30:59,620 beating. I believe even after it was over that my line, you know, the next 376 00:30:59,620 --> 00:31:03,620 at Monday Night Raw was, it's not whether you win or lose, it's how you 377 00:31:03,620 --> 00:31:10,100 game. And he had been maimed, like, in a way that we were not used to seeing in 378 00:31:10,100 --> 00:31:15,700 WWE. Even if you've seen, like, some bloody feuds, you were not ready for the 379 00:31:15,700 --> 00:31:17,700 level of suffering that Triple H went through. 380 00:31:18,320 --> 00:31:19,480 Bobo. Yes, sir. 381 00:31:20,120 --> 00:31:23,920 Go in the crowd and somebody tell my... I'm all right. All right, I'm going out 382 00:31:23,920 --> 00:31:25,960 there right now. Thanks. Did you cut anywhere else? 383 00:31:26,540 --> 00:31:27,459 Your forehead? 384 00:31:27,460 --> 00:31:28,460 Just my head. 385 00:31:28,620 --> 00:31:33,060 We get back and I get stitched up and everything else. And I remember I had 386 00:31:33,060 --> 00:31:36,280 to... I was having a hard time even with the stitches getting my head to stop 387 00:31:36,280 --> 00:31:42,760 bleeding. So I had like this gigantic turban of gauze and I think I might have 388 00:31:42,760 --> 00:31:45,940 even had a towel on there to try to keep some weight on my head. 389 00:31:49,840 --> 00:31:54,100 You know, of course, there he is, this bloody mess, standing there sweating. 390 00:31:54,340 --> 00:31:59,840 And all I could think about was how worried I was about this man. And we 391 00:31:59,840 --> 00:32:01,300 dating. We weren't together. 392 00:32:01,780 --> 00:32:02,940 But, man, 393 00:32:03,780 --> 00:32:09,060 I certainly was worried about him. And I still was thinking about the kiss. 394 00:32:15,340 --> 00:32:19,480 So in my mind, Royal Rumble is the last match of my career. 395 00:32:19,740 --> 00:32:25,080 And then there's been some injuries. Eddie Guerrero dislocates his elbow in 396 00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:26,540 most horrific way possible. 397 00:32:26,820 --> 00:32:30,480 And I get a call from Mr. McMahon, hey, pal, how about doing one more? 398 00:32:30,940 --> 00:32:36,000 And, man, there's been an inference that this could be my last match of the 399 00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:40,940 Rumble, but now we're going to put a sense of finality to it, that my career 400 00:32:40,940 --> 00:32:41,940 on the line. 401 00:32:43,409 --> 00:32:47,650 With Mick putting his career on the line, which at that time was tough for 402 00:32:47,650 --> 00:32:52,790 even digest, when Mick was telling me about he was going to retire and he 403 00:32:52,790 --> 00:32:56,450 to do it with me and he wanted to do it in Hell in a Cell, the honor that he was 404 00:32:56,450 --> 00:33:00,670 going to give me that rub, it's hard to put words to that. 405 00:33:00,950 --> 00:33:02,450 This has gone on too long. 406 00:33:02,830 --> 00:33:05,030 It's time to finish it once and for all. 407 00:33:07,230 --> 00:33:08,590 And no way out! 408 00:33:09,790 --> 00:33:12,370 One more time, but this is it! 409 00:33:12,890 --> 00:33:16,710 Your last shot at me, your last shot at the WWF title. 410 00:33:17,010 --> 00:33:18,730 What? But one stipulation. 411 00:33:19,050 --> 00:33:20,050 You name it. 412 00:33:20,210 --> 00:33:23,530 I want your career on the line. 413 00:33:28,610 --> 00:33:32,110 Here's this guy, his last match, his last moment. 414 00:33:32,470 --> 00:33:35,950 He wanted to be everything that he can be for him, his career, everything he's 415 00:33:35,950 --> 00:33:39,250 gone through, what he's put himself through, all that stuff. It was a very 416 00:33:39,250 --> 00:33:40,790 emotional time. 417 00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:43,480 The honor, all of it. 418 00:33:47,100 --> 00:33:51,080 Trying to keep that all straight and still be the pro and be the, you know, 419 00:33:51,080 --> 00:33:55,200 doesn't bother you. You know, just everything that you do when you're 420 00:33:55,200 --> 00:33:56,200 make a name for yourself. 421 00:33:56,680 --> 00:34:00,680 17 days until the biggest match of my life. 422 00:34:01,780 --> 00:34:05,520 At No Way Out, in hell, in a cell. 423 00:34:08,040 --> 00:34:12,960 I think at that point in time, the hell in the cell match, It was still almost 424 00:34:12,960 --> 00:34:13,960 mythical. 425 00:34:14,840 --> 00:34:20,540 Like you just would say the word, I want it in Hell in a Cell. 426 00:34:21,120 --> 00:34:25,820 And it was an audible gasp in the crowd, like a shift. 427 00:34:26,239 --> 00:34:29,260 You leave me with only one choice. 428 00:34:32,800 --> 00:34:34,620 Hell in a Cell! 429 00:34:40,679 --> 00:34:45,159 If you are in a storyline with somebody and you get to the point where it just 430 00:34:45,159 --> 00:34:50,159 cannot be settled in any other way, it's gone as absolutely far as it can, 431 00:34:50,239 --> 00:34:55,139 you've done everything possible with each other, that the only way to settle 432 00:34:55,139 --> 00:34:58,700 this issue is inside Hell in a Cell. 433 00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:05,260 And if you had seen Cell matches prior to that, I was there for the first one 434 00:35:05,260 --> 00:35:09,660 with Taker and Sean. I'd never seen anything like it, and it blew my mind. 435 00:35:20,140 --> 00:35:26,480 And then you go to the Mick and Taker one, and there was nothing ever like it, 436 00:35:26,500 --> 00:35:27,700 or as there been since. 437 00:35:30,360 --> 00:35:34,880 After what Mick and I just had gone through at the Royal Rumble, to think 438 00:35:34,880 --> 00:35:39,600 we were now going into Hell in a Cell, like it just took it to a whole other 439 00:35:39,600 --> 00:35:42,320 level. I was excited to get the call. 440 00:35:43,070 --> 00:35:45,650 The chemistry with Triple H was there. 441 00:35:45,870 --> 00:35:49,990 Royal Rumble had done a huge buy rate. Mr. McMahon attributed it to the Rumble. 442 00:35:50,230 --> 00:35:56,470 We had some words over what role Triple H and I played in that. Believe me, we 443 00:35:56,470 --> 00:35:57,510 had some words. 444 00:35:58,870 --> 00:36:03,810 But I said, okay, okay, let us take that ball and run with it as far as we can 445 00:36:03,810 --> 00:36:09,290 and do the very best we can to not only meet up with what we did at Royal 446 00:36:09,290 --> 00:36:10,870 Rumble, but top it. 447 00:36:18,860 --> 00:36:23,100 I remember going to a warehouse in Brooklyn where we had the cell 448 00:36:23,100 --> 00:36:28,320 and talking through some of what these guys were going to be doing in the ring. 449 00:36:28,440 --> 00:36:34,400 I remember looking at the cell itself and having the chance to really picture 450 00:36:34,400 --> 00:36:38,200 and envision, you know, what this was going to look like when you were live. 451 00:36:38,200 --> 00:36:39,560 you guys are going to do what? 452 00:36:42,060 --> 00:36:46,760 The Harper Civic Center has been sold out for weeks in anticipation. 453 00:36:52,850 --> 00:36:54,330 When you're in that moment, 454 00:36:55,070 --> 00:36:57,610 you know, everybody talks about you walk through that curtain, it's all real. 455 00:36:58,390 --> 00:37:00,110 You have to have that mindset. 456 00:37:05,670 --> 00:37:09,970 I don't know. I always feel like I can tell when a performer, and I say it even 457 00:37:09,970 --> 00:37:14,550 at NXT a lot or the Performance Center a lot, I say to the talent, I still feel 458 00:37:14,550 --> 00:37:15,550 like you're playing wrestling. 459 00:37:17,970 --> 00:37:21,290 You don't believe this. You don't buy it. You're just playing a character. 460 00:37:22,620 --> 00:37:25,720 You're not the guy. You're the guy playing the role. 461 00:37:28,640 --> 00:37:32,000 To me, what separates the ones that are great from the ones that are pretty 462 00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:33,000 good? 463 00:37:35,580 --> 00:37:40,860 Well, it's quite a task to get ready for something like Hell in a Cell. 464 00:37:43,820 --> 00:37:48,980 I more or less have to metamorphosize into a different human being. 465 00:37:50,910 --> 00:37:54,750 Kind -hearted, benevolent guys don't fare well inside the cell. 466 00:37:55,810 --> 00:38:01,170 And so I have to become somebody who can fare well inside that cell. 467 00:38:01,630 --> 00:38:04,130 Somebody's going to walk out of here with a WWF title. 468 00:38:04,350 --> 00:38:06,830 I know Triple H has got to be concerned about one thing. There have been 469 00:38:06,830 --> 00:38:07,830 promises fulfilled. 470 00:38:08,430 --> 00:38:11,550 Having the perfect opponent certainly does not hurt. 471 00:38:11,770 --> 00:38:15,770 And we also heard Cactus Jack promise that he was going to jump off the top of 472 00:38:15,770 --> 00:38:18,110 this cage onto Triple H. 473 00:38:18,750 --> 00:38:20,010 Will that come through, JR? 474 00:38:32,250 --> 00:38:33,250 Generally, 475 00:38:38,090 --> 00:38:40,470 I needed just some type of jolt. 476 00:38:40,830 --> 00:38:45,390 Once I got out there, I like to start the matches with something big. 477 00:38:55,160 --> 00:39:01,200 And once there was a big move, I would be jolted into that alternative reality 478 00:39:01,200 --> 00:39:06,580 of becoming Cactus Jack, Mankind, whatever the situation might call for. 479 00:39:09,720 --> 00:39:15,540 It was a mental game for me. 480 00:39:17,060 --> 00:39:22,280 Physically, I couldn't do a fraction of what the other guys in the roster could 481 00:39:22,280 --> 00:39:23,280 do. 482 00:39:26,460 --> 00:39:32,740 If I could wrap my mind around a concept 483 00:39:32,740 --> 00:39:39,500 and see it in my mind, then I was going to give it a try. And if it 484 00:39:39,500 --> 00:39:42,800 worked out the way I hoped it would, that was great. 485 00:39:43,280 --> 00:39:45,980 If it didn't, sometimes that was even better. 486 00:39:46,960 --> 00:39:49,900 Look at Cactus. They're just sitting inside him. They won't let him lose. 487 00:39:50,240 --> 00:39:51,440 This is his night. 488 00:39:51,660 --> 00:39:53,720 Cactus, he baited Triple H in. 489 00:39:54,240 --> 00:39:55,240 Oh, hello. 490 00:39:56,640 --> 00:40:00,240 Well, the nut shot is an art form. 491 00:40:01,300 --> 00:40:03,520 That's somewhat of a barbaric birth control. 492 00:40:03,860 --> 00:40:07,340 Because what you're trying to do is not get hit in the nuts. 493 00:40:09,610 --> 00:40:14,410 So usually there's a moment in time when you're doing a nut shot, when you are 494 00:40:14,410 --> 00:40:18,150 thinking to yourself, like, I got to really sell that big because it's a nut 495 00:40:18,150 --> 00:40:21,450 shot. And then you end up really selling it big because it was a nut shot. 496 00:40:22,470 --> 00:40:26,550 And you end up thinking like, holy cow, I hope he lets me sell this for a while 497 00:40:26,550 --> 00:40:29,410 because I really need time to recover from an actual nut shot. 498 00:40:29,870 --> 00:40:31,430 There really is no art to it. 499 00:40:32,090 --> 00:40:34,510 It's pretty much just trying to avoid getting hit in the nuts. 500 00:40:41,450 --> 00:40:47,850 It can be difficult to get your signature moves into a match that has a 501 00:40:47,850 --> 00:40:50,030 structure around that ring. 502 00:40:53,550 --> 00:41:00,410 And so one of your signature moves is that you fly through the air 503 00:41:00,410 --> 00:41:01,570 with an elbow. 504 00:41:05,880 --> 00:41:10,680 And you realize you don't have the space you usually do to complete that move. 505 00:41:10,760 --> 00:41:14,500 You have to improvise. And so I went up higher. I went up to the second rope. I 506 00:41:14,500 --> 00:41:18,860 did it with a chair tucked underneath my arm. But because of the way I had to 507 00:41:18,860 --> 00:41:24,820 position my body in order to drop that elbow, I ended up hitting my own face on 508 00:41:24,820 --> 00:41:28,120 my own chair and broke my nose in the process. 509 00:41:39,740 --> 00:41:45,100 And in ordinary circumstances, a broken nose, you know, would be a cause for a 510 00:41:45,100 --> 00:41:48,440 timeout. It's not in our business, though. 511 00:41:59,620 --> 00:42:05,520 There's this one oddity in the sense that nothing we're doing as far as 512 00:42:05,520 --> 00:42:07,910 go. is eliciting much of a response. 513 00:42:08,170 --> 00:42:13,350 And it wasn't until I threw the stairs at Triple H, he ducks out of the way, 514 00:42:13,350 --> 00:42:18,390 they go through the cell structure, and now this building comes alive. 515 00:42:25,250 --> 00:42:25,890 I 516 00:42:25,890 --> 00:42:33,750 immediately 517 00:42:33,750 --> 00:42:34,870 think back. 518 00:42:35,160 --> 00:42:41,300 all of the times I've stressed that I will ascend that cell one more time. 519 00:42:44,120 --> 00:42:50,900 And now, with the benefit of previous failure, that 520 00:42:50,900 --> 00:42:55,620 failure being Hell in a Cell 1998 with The Undertaker, where I was having a 521 00:42:55,620 --> 00:43:01,400 of a time ascending that structure, WWE has put in some convenient footholds for 522 00:43:01,400 --> 00:43:03,640 me and every superstar that follows. 523 00:43:09,970 --> 00:43:13,990 Stephanie's contributions to that rivalry cannot be understated. 524 00:43:14,710 --> 00:43:15,770 Stephanie was great. 525 00:43:20,530 --> 00:43:21,110 I was 526 00:43:21,110 --> 00:43:28,870 standing 527 00:43:28,870 --> 00:43:33,890 on the outside and I missed the time in the match when they start the climb. And 528 00:43:33,890 --> 00:43:35,870 I just remember being so worried. 529 00:43:52,120 --> 00:43:57,720 Barbed wire, thumbtack, all those things. You know, what's the art form? 530 00:43:57,720 --> 00:43:58,720 isn't. 531 00:43:59,540 --> 00:44:03,780 Rubbing barbed wire, rubbing the cage. 532 00:44:05,330 --> 00:44:08,610 Sometimes the hitting with the barbed wire is bad. It's the pulling off of the 533 00:44:08,610 --> 00:44:12,950 barbed wire that is worse. It just doesn't feel real comfortable. 534 00:44:15,810 --> 00:44:16,810 Well, 535 00:44:20,190 --> 00:44:24,530 there is no art to taking that. Well, you either do it or you don't do it. 536 00:44:26,090 --> 00:44:28,390 I've got this chair. 537 00:44:29,160 --> 00:44:34,200 What I don't realize is that the audience is there. You cannot have a 538 00:44:34,200 --> 00:44:38,000 goes backwards, right? And I no longer have the gas in the tank to do it. 539 00:44:38,680 --> 00:44:43,120 I try it two or three times. I really want that chair up on top with me. And 540 00:44:43,120 --> 00:44:47,840 once I realize it's not meant to be, I start making that climb. 541 00:44:48,600 --> 00:44:50,820 It did hit me. 542 00:44:51,580 --> 00:44:56,900 Everything that we did in Royal Rumble, how do you get it to another level? 543 00:44:57,360 --> 00:44:58,400 Oh, look at this jacket. 544 00:45:03,750 --> 00:45:09,230 But how do you get there in a way that tells the right story? And then how do 545 00:45:09,230 --> 00:45:12,050 you get there where you don't see the setup coming? 546 00:45:16,310 --> 00:45:19,530 We've had an exciting match. 547 00:45:19,870 --> 00:45:24,930 One that I think has come close to living up to the standards we set. 548 00:45:25,530 --> 00:45:29,910 A month earlier, and we just have to find a way to create a memory. 549 00:45:31,870 --> 00:45:36,190 Jack this Jack has got the two by four and the barbed wire again. And what 550 00:45:36,190 --> 00:45:38,770 be worse than a two by four wrapped in barbed wire? 551 00:45:39,010 --> 00:45:42,010 I don't know. Oh, my God. 552 00:45:42,430 --> 00:45:46,630 Oh, my God. That's two by four. The barbed wire is burning. 553 00:45:47,010 --> 00:45:50,930 At one point in time, there was a conversation had about fire. 554 00:45:51,370 --> 00:45:53,330 And then it came up that maybe that. 555 00:45:53,720 --> 00:45:57,620 that moment of fire would be the perfect distract. 556 00:45:58,500 --> 00:46:01,120 Captus has a dream, and it's coming true tonight. 557 00:46:03,180 --> 00:46:05,040 Oh, my God, Hunter, he's got the bed. 558 00:46:05,280 --> 00:46:07,240 He's got the cool intention for you. 559 00:46:07,740 --> 00:46:11,600 He's got a pile driving on the fire. I think that's what Captus was signaling, 560 00:46:11,660 --> 00:46:12,740 the pile driving. 561 00:46:13,100 --> 00:46:14,058 Get that? 562 00:46:14,060 --> 00:46:15,060 Hold that. 563 00:46:25,610 --> 00:46:31,890 It's just such a crazy image of him on top of that cage with this barbed wire 564 00:46:31,890 --> 00:46:36,150 two by four and getting it lit. And then him standing there with this crowd 565 00:46:36,150 --> 00:46:43,010 behind him and just in its epic. I would never forget it, but it did 566 00:46:43,010 --> 00:46:47,350 exactly what it needed to do when everybody was so obsessed with. 567 00:46:47,950 --> 00:46:51,250 Oh, my God, there is this barbed wire 2x4 that is on fire. 568 00:46:51,630 --> 00:46:54,370 What's going to happen? And the next thing you know, he's getting backdropped 569 00:46:54,370 --> 00:46:56,090 and going through a cage and falling through. 570 00:46:56,490 --> 00:46:58,110 It created an incredible moment. 571 00:46:58,750 --> 00:47:03,690 And then when you went down the decision to have him then begin to come out of 572 00:47:03,690 --> 00:47:07,310 that hole, like he's unstoppable, you know, in some manner. 573 00:47:18,920 --> 00:47:20,320 Crazy son of a bitch is moving. 574 00:47:21,020 --> 00:47:25,780 Cactus' lifelong dream of main eventing at WrestleMania is keeping him in the 575 00:47:25,780 --> 00:47:26,780 hunt. 576 00:47:27,520 --> 00:47:29,020 My God, this will finish it. 577 00:47:29,660 --> 00:47:30,820 Let's go for the victory. 578 00:47:31,220 --> 00:47:32,740 No dream has worked for me. 579 00:47:34,440 --> 00:47:35,500 That's got to be it. 580 00:47:35,760 --> 00:47:38,640 No dream has worked this. Kick out. Kick out, Cactus. 581 00:48:07,180 --> 00:48:11,600 The idea, if you would have sat either me or Triple H down and said, you'll be 582 00:48:11,600 --> 00:48:15,280 talking about this match 20 years from now, I would have thought you were 583 00:48:17,700 --> 00:48:21,500 You only have a handful of special moments in this business as a performer, 584 00:48:21,700 --> 00:48:23,840 things that really stick out. 585 00:48:25,680 --> 00:48:30,640 I wish I could have appreciated it more for what it was, but looking back on it, 586 00:48:30,760 --> 00:48:33,220 man, have I been lucky. 587 00:48:37,550 --> 00:48:42,210 You know, it's said a lot that, you know, there are moments in time when you 588 00:48:42,210 --> 00:48:46,790 things happen that kind of elevate a talent to the next level. 589 00:48:47,210 --> 00:48:52,670 For me, there's nothing more in my career that elevated me to a different 590 00:48:52,670 --> 00:48:58,570 than those two matches, the Royal Rumble and the Hell in a Cell match with Mick 591 00:48:58,570 --> 00:48:59,570 Foley in 2000. 592 00:49:00,770 --> 00:49:05,230 Hard to put into words how much those two matches meant on solidifying Triple 593 00:49:05,230 --> 00:49:06,310 as a main event player. 594 00:49:09,550 --> 00:49:16,510 And now the main event at WrestleMania will be a fatal four -way elimination 595 00:49:16,510 --> 00:49:19,610 match. What? Turns out I did come back. 596 00:49:19,950 --> 00:49:25,630 You, Triple H, will defend the World Wrestling Federation Championship 597 00:49:25,630 --> 00:49:32,510 against Big Show, against The Rock, and 598 00:49:32,510 --> 00:49:37,670 against this man, Mick Foley. 599 00:49:41,450 --> 00:49:46,510 One of the ways we promoted WrestleMania was by appearing on Saturday Night 600 00:49:46,510 --> 00:49:50,170 Live. And I remember Big Show going, do you think there's something going on 601 00:49:50,170 --> 00:49:51,650 between Stephanie and Triple H? 602 00:49:52,310 --> 00:49:57,890 Absolutely not. I just thought she was a very talented and very motivated 603 00:49:57,890 --> 00:50:02,950 manager at his side. I didn't realize that it bled over into real life. 604 00:50:06,330 --> 00:50:08,790 It's hard to say a particular moment. 605 00:50:09,509 --> 00:50:12,850 Where I thought, oh my God, you know, Steph is the one. 606 00:50:13,110 --> 00:50:19,810 Because, you know, it was so, so ridiculously 607 00:50:19,810 --> 00:50:22,690 against all intelligent choices. 608 00:50:23,890 --> 00:50:27,950 You know, we just, we were goofy around each other. Even just saying hello, we 609 00:50:27,950 --> 00:50:31,570 would go to give each other a hug and it was super awkward. And, you know, try 610 00:50:31,570 --> 00:50:34,850 to have a conversation and, you know, you walk away thinking like, God, I 611 00:50:34,850 --> 00:50:38,620 sounded so... Stupid. Like, why did I say that? We were just constantly around 612 00:50:38,620 --> 00:50:39,399 each other. 613 00:50:39,400 --> 00:50:43,420 Constantly. Didn't necessarily have to have a reason, but we're just constantly 614 00:50:43,420 --> 00:50:47,820 finding ourselves in the same places. Anytime I was next to him or I would 615 00:50:47,820 --> 00:50:50,600 be around him, I would have this, like, my heart would race. 616 00:50:51,060 --> 00:50:52,080 And it still does. 617 00:50:52,720 --> 00:50:58,020 You know, I'm actually more in love with him every single day. And we have three 618 00:50:58,020 --> 00:51:00,920 beautiful daughters. And he's an incredible father. 619 00:51:01,520 --> 00:51:02,520 He is... 620 00:51:03,370 --> 00:51:07,090 He is my knight in shining armor. He is the man that I dreamed of my entire 621 00:51:07,090 --> 00:51:08,090 life. 622 00:51:09,650 --> 00:51:15,530 You know, it's a funny thing for me. All my friends, my best friends in life, my 623 00:51:15,530 --> 00:51:19,510 relationships that have lasted my whole life, my in -laws, just all of it, 624 00:51:19,570 --> 00:51:23,970 everything in my life stems in some way from WWE in some manner. 625 00:51:25,170 --> 00:51:31,470 But to me, it's not the defining characteristic of who I am. By far, my 626 00:51:31,470 --> 00:51:32,470 girls. 627 00:51:32,799 --> 00:51:37,700 Steph and all of that is the most important thing in my life by far. And 628 00:51:37,700 --> 00:51:40,420 rest of it all went away, I'd be okay as long as I still had that.