"You will never be me"

Shawn Michaels: "Last week Chris Jericho challenged me to a match at the Great American Bash. Now, Chris, I know you're in the back listening, so, injury or no injury, I just got two words for ya: I accept!"

[Chris Jericho kommt mit Lance Cade zum Ring. Das Publikum ruft 'HBK'.]

Chris Jericho: "You know, I knew you were gonna accept my challenge, Shawn. As a matter of fact I was counting on it. Because even though that eye of yours is a lot worse than you're letting on, I still knew that your pride and your massive ego and your desire to please all these people would supersede all of your concerns about your personal health. I mean, I found that out a month ago at One Night Stand in your stretcher match with Batista, right? How stupid are you, Shawn? All I had to do was come down to the ring when you were on the stretcher and say, "Shawn, get up!", give a little bit of a pep talk. You popped off the stretcher, went right into the lion's den and took another terrible beating.

What are you, an idiot? Hm? You've been taking a lot of beatings lately, haven't you, Shawn? Just the fact you haven't tried to attack me already tells me all I need to know about your eye, you're hurt! You're really hurt, Shawn! And yet you still accepted my match at the Bash. You're going in there at a huge disadvantage, and why? Why? I'll tell you, why! Because it's a 'no lose' situation for you, right? Win or lose, it doesn't matter, you're still the injured legend, who pulls everything he can, pulls out all the stops to give another memorable, classy performance for the 'fans'.

But at what sacrifice, Shawn? Hm? You wanna be a martyr? You wanna be a martyr? And for what? For them? [Jericho zeigt in's Publikum.] For all of them? [Jericho schüttelt den Kopf.] If something happens to you and you end up in the hospital, they gonna come visit you? If you're incapacitated, they're gonna pay your mortgage? Are they gonna pay for your kids educations? No, I don't think so! These people are worthless, Shawn. They're oblivious to what's going on and might as well be asleep. But I'm not asleep! And your protege Lance Cade isn't asleep. Our eyes are wide open. And we see what's going on. We see what's going on with you! You wanna be a martyr, Shawn Michaels? You go ahead! What a feather in your cap it would be... But be careful what you wish for, cause like every other martyr in history, soon you'll be swept under the carpet. And eventually, Shawn, you'll be forgotten!"

[Shawn Michaels beginnt bei dem letzten Satz zynisch zu lächeln.]

Shawn Michaels: "That's it, isn't it? That's it! You see, this whole time I thought you despised me cause you thought I was a liar, or you thought I was a phony. But you know there's nobody more real than me! You know that for twenty years I've lived my life as an open book in front of these people, for all to see, every zit, every blemish exposed! You know that I could leave this business today and I'd be remembered forever! I've been accused, I've been blamed, I've been ostracized, I've been blackballed, you name it, I've been through it! And in spite of all that, in the eyes of these people, they seem to just give me a-"

Chris Jericho: "Yeah, they seem to give you a free pass EVERY SINGLE TIME, Shawn! And it's NOT RIGHT!"

Shawn Michaels: "What can I say, Chris? I'm H-B-K!" [Das Publikum jubelt, während Jericho die Fassung verliert.]

Chris Jericho: "Yeah, yes, ya, okay... You're H-B-K, but that still doesn't make it fair! It's not fair!"

Shawn Michaels: "You know something? You're right! It isn't fair. And I understand how you feel. I mean, look at you! You're the epitome of success! You've held every major championship you've ever gone after. You sold out arenas all over the world. You've made a lot of money. And you've done absolutely everything you ever wanted to accomplish in this line of work. You've done it. But still, still, in spite of all that, you're not content! In spite of all that, you've got no peace! And I'm here to tell you, Chris Jericho, that in spite of all your accomplishments, and no matter what you ever, EVER achieve, you will NEVER be me!"