John Rambo:
All right, I guess I'll be the one to draw First Blood.
(Rambo opens the battle and says he might as well be first, referencing his first novel and two-part debut film series, First Blood.)
John Wick:
Or maybe you could draw an audience to see any of your new movies.
(Wick quickly counterattacks, alleging that both Rambo and his actor, Sylvester Stallone, haven't made any good movies in several years, as none of their current offerings have been able to garner the praise of critics or pull in larger audiences (incidentally, Stallone has won more Golden Raspberry awards, an award that "recognizes" the worst in cinema, than any other actor in the history of the Golden Raspberry Awards). The 1985 film Rambo: First Blood Part II and its three sequels, Rambo III (1988), Rambo (2008), and Rambo: Last Blood (2019) was not as well received and made less revenue than First Blood (the first installment of the Rambo franchise), indicating that it flopped in the box office with Rambo: First Blood Part II winning four Golden Raspberry Awards in 1985, Rambo III winning one Golden Raspberry Award in 1988, and Rambo: Last Blood winning two Golden Raspberry Awards in 2020. Meanwhile, Wick may also be dissing McClane and his actor Bruce Willis as well (even if they aren't explicitly mentioned) as McClane and Willis' recent movies have suffered the same fate with Willis' film Cosmic Sin even initially winning the 2022 Golden Raspberry Award for "Worst Performance by Bruce Willis in a 2021 movie" (all of Bruce Willis' Golden Raspberry Award nominations and wins in 2022, however, have since been rescinded following Willis' retirement from acting over his diagnosis with aphasia).)
John McClane:
Come out to the coast; we'll have a few laughs. Sounds sweet!
(This is a reference to the line "Come out to the coast; we'll get together, have a few laughs," as quoted in Die Hard. McClane tends to be easygoing and friendly, except when he is faced with adversity.)
But no, I'm stuck here with these two jerkweeds,
(McClane complains about rapping against Wick and Rambo as opposed to the fun things he could have done, mentioned above. He is also known for making wisecracks towards his enemies, often branding them with insulting nicknames, as he does here by calling Rambo and Wick "jerkweeds".)
About to kick their ass with bare feet! Argyle, drop the beat!
(McClane is barefoot for the majority of Die Hard. Argyle was McClane's limousine driver and was largely oblivious to the events occuring in the tower until near the end of the movie. "Drop the beat" could be a reference to the fact that Argyle put some music for him and John to listen to while driving him to the Nakatomi Plaza.)
I'll set it off like it’s the top of Nakatomi!
(During the events of Die Hard, the roof of Nakatomi Plaza was blown up by the terrorists. McClane says he'll start the battle hard like it was the explosion from Nakatomi.)
Need a fire hose to swing on you; you're both so below me!
(To escape the explosion, McClane used a fire hose to swing off the roof. He also says both Wick and Rambo are below him as a character, and he would need to use the hose to go down to their level and defeat them.)
I haven't stopped killing it since Karl's brother, Tony,
(Tony Vreski is the first person that McClane kills in Die Hard, and he was the younger brother of Karl Vreski. To "kill it" is to do something extremely well, so McClane claims he's been at it since his first on-screen kill.)
And I got your detonators right here, blow me! Oops!
(In Die Hard, the terrorists demand that McClane tell them where he put their detonators or else they would shoot the hostages. McClane often retorted rudely and did not answer them, and here, he says he has his opponents' detonators, possibly referring to their abilities to "blow up" in rapping like McClaine started out with, and to blow him as a remark when one is not willing to give something up, so they can give him a blowjob instead. In Die Hard 2, McClane tells the villain, Col. William Stuart, "Hey, Colonel, blow me." Likewise, McClane made these types of responses in the original movie, telling Hans Gruber to go fuck himself when he asked for the detonators, and when he confronts him, it is revealed he gave Hans a gun without any bullets left and says "Oops!" in the same way he says it at the end of the line.)
Ship your booby traps home, Rambo,
(Rambo is known to make crafty booby traps against his enemies when facing them in the wilderness. McClane says that against two city people like him and Wick, they would not be useful against them and suggests sending them back home.)
'Cause you'll never take the W without the P and O!
(McClane asserts that Rambo will never take the win, or the "W," unless that letter is accompanied by "P" and "O." The letters combined form "POW," an acronym for "prisoner of war," and Rambo is a former POW himself. PO stands for Post Office, which complements his previous line regarding shipping booby traps home. Additionally, if such acronym is spelt backwards, you get "WOP", a pejorative slur used against those of Italian descent. Given Rambo's actor, Sylvester Stallone, is of Italian descent, McClane could be insulting Rambo by calling him such.)
Does your lip hang low? Does it wobble to and fro?
(Due to an accident while his mother was in labor, Sylvester Stallone (Rambo's actor) is paralyzed in his lower left face, which McClane mocks due to it causing his slurred speech.)
Can you string that shit up on your compound bow?
(Rambo uses a compound bow and arrow in his film series which he equips with various accessories. McClane asks if he can string his lip up on the bow to stop it hanging so low so it can look normal, with this and the previous line referencing the folk song, "Do Your Ears Hang Low?" The song features the lyrics:
"Do your ears hang low?
Do they wobble to-and-fro?
Can you tie them in a knot?
Can you tie them in a bow?...")
And lighten up, Wick, with your brooding saga.
(The John Wick movies are more serious and dark compared to the Die Hard series or most of the later Rambo films. McClane tells Wick to lighten up from his grittiness, making a pun with Wick's last name since a wick is also a strip of porous material inside a candle that is used to light it up. McClane also uses a lighter in the video as he says this line.)
How about a little hakuna matata, Baba Yaga?
("Hakuna matata" is a Swahili language phrase meaning "take it easy," which was popularized by The Lion King. McClane tells Wick to relax using his nickname, "Baba Yaga," which is derived from the name of a feared supernatural being in Slavic folklore. Wick is called "Baba Yaga" due to how he is viewed as an embodiment of the fear known to keep people in check, much like how the story of Baba Yaga is told by parents to children in order to make them behave.)
You got the trousers tapered and the watch, Bucherer,
(Wick is known for killing in a suit with tapered trousers as he wears a Manero AutoDate watch from Carl F. Bucherer, a luxury watch company.)
But your acting falls flatter than the Hans Gruber!
(Hans Gruber, the villain of Die Hard, falls 30 stories to his death at the end of the movie. McClane references John Wick's actor Keanu Reeves, whose acting is often mocked as being bad. When someone's acting is flat, it means that they're monotone, and this is often used to characterize Reeves' acting range, saying that it falls harder than Hans did, or flatter than his body after he fell to the ground.)
Leave the underground coin game to Mario Brothers.
(In the John Wick series, the underground assassins' world uses gold coins as a currency for goods and services. McClane references the Super Mario franchise, where many underground levels have gold coins for the players to collect. McClane specifically mentions the 1983 arcade game Mario Bros., a game that stars the two, takes place underground, and has bonus coins for the player to collect.)
And John, Bubbe, what the fuck's with the chest butter?
(When Hans Gruber tries to get rid of McClane, Harry Ellis, who attended the Christmas party he was in, offers to help the terrorists as leverage for allowing him to be out without harm, telling them, "Hans, Bubbe, I'm your white knight!" McClane uses the same slang to talk to Rambo, asking him why he keeps his shiny chest so greased as if it were rubbed with butter. "Chest butter" can also be used as an euphemism for having a bad case of flu, thus McClane likely mocks Rambo's groany voice, as if his throat is filled with phlegm.)
That bandolier looks heavy as shit!
(McClane says Rambo's bandolier looks too heavy to carry and unnecesary to have for artillery.)
I'm like this prick's ring finger, only need one clip!
(John Wick cuts off his ring finger with one slice in the film John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum. A clip also refers to a frame that contains a number of bullets intended to be inserted into the magazine of a firearm to allow for rapid reloading. While Rambo needs an entire bandolier to shoot his gun, McClane says he only needs one clip.)
C'mon! I been sharp as shattered glass since the late '80s,
(Since McClane is barefoot throughout most of Die Hard, the villains take advantage of this by shooting glass to make it difficult to step on the floor and follow them. McClane says he's sharper, or more quick-witted, than the shattered glass in the movie, which came out in 1988.)
And like your late pup, I'll leave you pushing up daisies!
(Wick's rampage throughout his films stems from the murder of his dog, Daisy, who was given to him by his late wife, Helen. McClane expresses his intent to kill Wick, leaving his fate identical to Daisy's. The phrase "pushing up daisies" doubles as a euphemism for death and a pun on the dog Daisy.)
Less is more, boys; that's my advice!
(Die Hard became a successful franchise from simple elements being put together cleverly, which contrasts from Rambo and John Wick relying on complicated tactics and various different weapons to keep the plot fresh. McClane suggests following the quote "less is more," meaning that having less added to something makes it more effective and improves the story.)
You, less survival knife; you, more survival wife!
(McClane ends by flipping his "less is more" quote and saying one needs less of something while the other needs more of something: Rambo needs to be less reliant on his weapons such as his survival knife, while Wick's wife Helen died of an unidentified illness, making a pun on his wife needing more survival than Rambo's knife.)
John Wick:
…Ooh. I'm gonna need a dinner reservation for two.
(A "dinner reservation" is a codename for needing the disposal of dead bodies in the John Wick series. Wick starts out by saying he'll kill both his opponents in his raps, ordering two body bags to be used to disposed of their dead bodies once he has defeated them.)
John Wick, I'm efficient and lean.
(Wick introduces himself as someone efficient, or well-organized and competent, as well as lean, since Wick has a thinner body than his opponents. He may also be saying this in reference to his body staying fit while not being overly muscular, since both his actor Reeves and Wick himself are in their late 50s, but still look youthful. This contrasts McClane and Rambo having too much muscle in their prime that deteriorated as they aged in later movies.)
A proficient, professional killing machine!
(Wick is considered to be the best assassin of his world due to the professionalism he had in his job, and he had a total kill count nearing 300 throughout his first three films. Wick's movies have tightly choreographed action scenes featuring him methodically and precisely dispatching his enemies. Both Rambo and McClane have different styles in their more traditional action movies, and Wick mocks the machine gun-toating Rambo and loud-mouthed McClane as lousy, clumsy and imprecise, unlike his methods.)
Underworld overachiever looking dapper as I'm bucking.
(Wick says he is an overachiever because of his reputation that gave him considerable respect and fear in the underworld, which is a term used for an establishment of criminals and organized crime. He says he looked dapper since he is always dressed in a suit whenever he kills. "Bucking" is a reference to a scene from John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum in which Wick battles enemies while riding a horse.)
Only one of us to go three chapters without sucking.
(Both the Rambo and Die Hard franchises' multiple sequels have garnered a lower critical reception than their immediate predecessors upon their initial releases, while the John Wick sequels were praised just as much as the original. Unlike most movie franchises, John Wick has each new installment listed as a "Chapter.")
Between your elevator and the mine where you were trapped,
(Wick taunts McClane and Rambo both by reminding them of dire situations in their respective films: for McClane, there is a scene in Die Hard where he falls down an elevator shaft, but grabs on to an air vent in which he climbs through to hide from the terrorists. In Rambo's case, Wick refers to a scene in First Blood where Rambo gets cornered by a National Guard detachment outside of the entrance to an abandoned mine, to which the inexperienced guardsmen shoot a rocket launcher at Rambo, thus collapsing the entrance and trapping him inside the mine, where it is presumed by the guards that he was killed in the process. However, Rambo survives and finds his way out of the tunnel, then proceeds to hijack a supply truck carrying an M60 machine gun and ammunition to return to town.)
You're such wieners, I should call you both John Shaft.
("Weiner", "shaft" and to a lesser extent, "John", are slang for penis. Wick calls McClane and Rambo cowards while also referencing fictional detective John Shaft from the Shaft film series who, like all the rappers in the battle, is an action protagonist named "John." Furthermore, "dick" is another slang term for penis and also a word to refer to a detective, such as John Shaft. This is also wordplay on the previous line, referring to McClane falling down the elevator shaft, and Rambo being trapped in the mine shaft.)
I craft rhymes with pencils, then jam 'em in necks,
(Wick famously killed someone with a pencil by stabbing them in the neck in the second movie, an act which was first mentioned in the first movie, illustrating his legendary abilities and adaptabilitty. Wick says the same pencil he uses to write his raps would be the ones he could kill his enemies with.)
So I'm not vexed by vets flexing 'roid-injected pecs!
(Wick takes aim at Rambo by saying he wouldn't be bothered by a veteran like him, claiming the muscles (pectorals, also referenced earlier by McClane) he shows off are a result of steroid usage.)
Being excommunicado wasn't more than I could handle,
(Excommunicado is the state of a former member of the criminal underworld after their privileges have been revoked due to a severe violation of the rules. This means they are cut off from the underground's services, and an open contract is placed on their head. After this happened to Wick, he had to fend off other assassins hoping to kill him to collect the money for his bounty, but he shrugs this off by saying he was capable of fighting them.)
So I think I can withstand an excremental ex-commando!
(Excremental refers to pooping, and Wick says Rambo's form of yelling and standing makes him look like he's taking a dump. Since Rambo fights in the jungle, he is often seen to be very covered in dirt and mud and was once lifted out of wastewater completely covered in animal waste, so Wick mocks him for being covered in feces as well. A commando is a soldier trained to carry out surprise attacks, and with Rambo retiring from the army, he would be an ex-commando that Wick wouldn't have a hard time fighting.)
And this sad, broken dad-joking popo is no foe
(Wick moves onto McClane, calling him a sad and broken man due to his family problems. He is known for often joking and making one-liners at the people who fight against him, but Wick calls his insults nothing more than dad jokes as McClane is also a father. He is also a cop, so Wick calls him a "popo," or slang for police officer, and also claims he is no match for him.)
For the hurt-you-oh-so-bad virtuoso!
(A virtuoso is a highly skilled person in a field, which Wick is considered by many to be, using the adjective "hurt-you-oh-so-bad" to exemplify how much pain he can cause a target.)
Ho ho ho to quivers and bows. I'm delivering blows,
(Rambo has been known to wield a bow and arrow as one of his weapons, but Wick insists that such a weapon doesn't intimidate him, as he continues to disperse harsh verbal blows. "Ho ho ho" is the signature laugh of Santa Claus, and the first Die Hard film takes place on Christmas Eve, so this references a scene from the movie when Hans Gruber finds the dead body of Tony Vreski, who had been killed and robbed of his weapon by McClane in the elevator (the battle was also released a week before Christmas Day). He also finds a taunting message that McClane had scrawled in blood on Tony's shirt, reading, "Now I have a machine gun. Ho ho ho.")
And when they land it won't help to make fists with your toes!
(In the beginning of the first Die Hard movie, on the plane to Los Angeles, McClane's seatmate gives him advice to make fists with his toes on the hotel carpet in order to combat jet lag. However, the terrorists at the Nakatomi Plaza attack before McClane has time to put his shoes back on, which is why he is barefoot for the majority of the movie. Wick says that when his disses "land," it won't help trying to defend himself from the after effects, such as what McClane used for jet lag.)
Bitcoin? No. Hitcoin? Certainly.
(Bitcoin is a digital currency that gained popularity during the late 2010s, but Wick rejects this in favor of his own tokens that are used in his own insitution. Because Wick is a more modern character and his background has an electronic vibe to it, he could also be calling Rambo and McClane outdated by making a very modern reference, again mentioning he is still preserved and in his prime. He makes a pun on it by calling it "Hitcoin," referencing his occupation as a "hitman" like he was before. In the John Wick movies, specially-minted gold coins are used as currency to pay for specific underworld services like body disposal, weapon and equipment purchase, or as symbols of authority or oaths.)
I'll put you two in tombs, call it cryptocurrency.
(This is a pun on "crypt," an underground burial place, typically beneath a church, and "currency," which can mean time in which something is in use. Cryptocurrency refers to any digital currency that is decentralized, like the aforementioned Bitcoin. Wick says he'll bury McClane and Rambo, giving the crypt some currency, or use. Wick could also mean that their movies/sequels are cash-grabs and are poor movies only created to make money off a relevant franchise.)
Obey your superior like good cops and soldiers.
(Cops and soldiers each have their superior, or someone who is above them in rank and presumably ability, that they have to listen to. Wick says that due to McClane being a cop and Rambo being a soldier, they should both know how to obey orders by their superior, which he claims to be in this instance.)
Raven, Roy, you're done. Over.
("Raven" was Rambo's codename when his superior, Colonial Trautman, contacted him through a radio. "Roy" is the alias that McClane used when talking to a police officer through a radio. In response to his last line, Wick says both of them are finished and ends the line with "Over," which is used by radio transceivers to indicate the communication is completed by the other party.)
John Rambo:
Nothing is over! Nothing! You just don't turn it off!
(Rambo retaliates against Wick's last line by quoting his famous speech from the end of First Blood. In the movie, while being pursued by police, Rambo ended up in a police station surrounded by law enforcement, and in an attempt to get him to give up, his superior Trautman tells him, "It's over, Johnny. It's over!" Rambo replies, "Nothing is over! Nothing! You just don't turn it off! It wasn't my war! You asked me; I didn't ask you!" This also refers to trauma caused to war veterans, stating that the damage cannot be turned off from their minds. He denies that the rap battle is over as Wick's final line said and tells Wick he can't just end it yet.)
Unless... it's one of your movies. In which case… I just turn it off! Huh!
(Even though Wick's movies are incredibly popular, Rambo says that when one of Wick's movies plays, he would just turn it off due to his lack of interest in them.)
When I rip off my shirt and start swinging my stick swords,
(Rambo is often depicted shirtless/bare-chested. He also references the beginning of Rambo III where he engages in a Krabi–krabong (Thai stick fighting) battle.)
I'm hotter than the suicide girls on your switchboards!
(In the John Wick films, the overarching antagonistic organization, The High Table, tends to use outdated technology, such as chalkboards to keep track of bounties, typewriters, old-fashioned intercom systems for records requests, and, as Rambo mentions, switchboard telephones, presumably in order to hide from law enforcement. To add to the fanservice factor, the switchboard operators in the High Table's logistic department are highly attractive women, who notably sport striking tattoos on their bodies. These are inspired on SuicideGirls, a community-based softcore pornography website that revolves around homonymous nude tatooed pin-up models, much like the aforementioned switchboard operators.)
My headband's red, but I've got no love for commies!
(Rambo wears a red headband, and the color red is commonly associated with communism. Despite wearing red, Rambo dislikes communists (or commies for short) since he is a veteran of the Vietnam War, in which the US fought against (and lost to) Communist North Vietnam. In "Rambo: First Blood Part II", he fought against forces from both communist Vietnam and communist Soviet Union. Later, in Rambo III, he again fights against Soviet forces, this time during their occupation of Afghanistan. John Wick himself also comes from the Soviet Union, giving Rambo more of a reason to fight him mercilessly.)
And no juice was used to produce these armies!
(Rambo denies Wick's earlier allegation that he uses steroids, referred to by the euphemism "juice," to achieve his muscly shape, by flexing his arm muscle and refering to his muscles also euphemistically as "armies," also reinforcing his military background.)
Your High Table rules don't apply to this conflict!
(The criminal underworld in the John Wick franchise is governed by the High Table organization, a shadowy cabal who mantains a complex set of rules, rituals and laws that govern the conduct of all its associated assassins and service providers. Rambo tells Wick that, against him, these rules mean nothing in this battle.)
I'll finish you right in the lobby! Mission accomplished!
(One such rule is that "no business may be conducted" in the grounds of certain "sacred" grounds, most notably the Continental Hotel in New York, where Wick and many of his contacts meet. Breaking these rules leads to severe punishment, usually execution, so most assassins refrain from killing anyone within those grounds. However, because Rambo does not adhere to those rules, he says he'll finish Wick as soon as he enters the hotel, in its lobby. The phrase "Mission accomplished" is used to designate a goal being completed and is often associated with military lingo, and pairing this with the stabbing motion he makes with his knife references the end of Rambo: First Blood Part II when he intimidates Marshall Murdock by stabbing the table close to his head. "Mission Accomplished" is also one of Rambo's moves in the 2019 fighting game Mortal Kombat 11, a game that also has online fights held in lobbies.)
McClane! South is where your marriage went!
(Rambo yells out McClane's last name similar to how a drill sergeant in the military would and points out his family problems and divorce, a point of contention for his character in later movies.)
The last tight thing you slid in was an air vent!
(Rambo mocks McClane for being a bad husband, saying that he hadn't slept with his wife in years and that the closest thing to being inside of a woman in sexual intercourse was when he had to crawl through an air vent in his first movie.)
They used to say you were a handsome crusader.
(Rambo says McClane used to be called good-looking to set him up for a next line.)
Too bad your hairline couldn't be saved by Steve Urkel's neighbor. Oh!
(Reginald VelJohnson, who played Sergeant Al Powell in the first two Die Hard movies, played Officer Carl Winslow, the main character of the sitcom Family Matters; Carl's next-door neighbor was Steve Urkel, a teenaged nerd with a high, nasal voice played by Jaleel White. Rambo also mocks McClane for losing more hair as his film series progressed, implying that he looked less attractive as a result since he is currently old and bald.)
I slip into the jungle, disappear like a ghost,
(Rambo often fights in the jungle as it is his area of expertise. He says he can disappear into the terrain like how a ghost's body can become invisible.)
Then ding! I pop up hot behind ya like toast!
(Using guerilla warfare, Rambo would stay under cover and then jump out and attack the enemy by surprise. During this line, the video recreates a scene from Rambo: First Blood Part II when Rambo hides in mud to camouflage into the surroundings before springing out and killing an enemy pursuing him. Rambo says he can pop out hot in the same way toast comes out of the toaster, which also makes a ding noise when it is finished toasting.)
I seek peace, but I'm packing Parabellum.
(Parabellum is the subtitle of the third John Wick movie, referenced in the movie as the Latin phrase "Si vis pacem, para bellum" – "If you want peace, prepare for war." Rambo does not always want to kill his enemies, and he prefers to be left out of a fight when he can. Despite this, he is still capable of being ready for war when needed. In many Rambo movies, Rambo is retired and seeks to lead a peaceful life before being called back to action. 9x19mm Parabellum is also the name of the most used firearm cartridge in the world, and Rambo carries these bullets with him in his bandolier. The line is also a wordplay to said latin phrase if the line was pronounced in classical Latin (I seek peace, (Si vis) but I'm packing Parabellum (pacem para bellum).)
I was trained to be the very best soldier boy!
(Rambo was trained to be an elite soldier, though his experiences in war left him scarred.)
Sam Trautman:
Tell 'em!
(Rambo's friend and father figure, Colonel Samuel Trautman, comes in to let him know to tell his opponents about being the best. Trautman saying this has special significance also because he implies Rambo is the result of a specific training program that he was likely in charge of as his unit commander in Vietnam. He also completes this as a pun on the rapper Soulja Boy and his recurring hook "Soulja Boy, tell 'em!" since "Soulja Boy" sounds like "soldier boy.")
John Rambo:
I'll blast an RPG through NYPD's guts!
(In the first Rambo movie, Rambo comes into conflict with a brutal police department in rural America and uses an RPG, or a rocket-propelled grenade, against them. Because McClane is also a police officer from the New York Police Department, Rambo claims he'll fight them, and more specifically McClane himself, using this weapon.)
Simon Says you can PTSDeez nuts!
(Simon Says is a children's game where one person commands other people to perform actions only with the preceding words, "Simon Says." In Die Hard with a Vengeance, the villain, Simon Gruber, forces McClane and Zeus Carver to defuse a number of dangerous circumstances, mostly bomb threats, and often gave them instructions over the phone, sometimes using the preceding command phrase, Simon Says, as a play on his own name. Rambo suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and combines the acronym of the condition as a pun along with the joke punchline, Deez Nuts, telling them to suck on his nuts.)
John McClane:
Jesus Christ, asshole! Whattaya doing?
(McClane often exclaims "Jesus Christ!" when something insane happens, and he asks what Rambo is trying to do by bringing in a bazooka gun to the fight.)
This is not some Saturday morning cartoon for you to ruin!
(McClane references the Saturday morning cartoon Rambo: The Force of Freedom. The show generated controversy, as it was the first animated series to be adapted from an R-rated film series with writers wondering how they could present a child-friendly main character who was created as a troubled Vietnam War veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. As a result, Rambo's actor, Sylvester Stallone, was annoyed and embarrassed that Rambo was used as a cartoon character. He claims Rambo is going to ruin the battle by blasting them like he ruined his own cartoon show.)
John Rambo:
The only thing getting ruined is McClane family Christmas!
(Rambo refutes McClane's last line by saying his family is the one being ruined. Die Hard is sometimes considered a Christmas movie as it is set on Christmas Eve, so Rambo says McClane's actions and absence from his family during Christmas Eve are what caused their Christmas to be ruined.)
All your kids still have "decent dad" on their wishlist!
(Rambo mocks McClane for being a bad father, and says that it makes his children wish for a more capable dad for Christmas.)
John McClane:
Whoa! Rambo's droppin' bombs in his flows!
(McClane makes a sarcastic comment that Rambo's last diss at him was as destructive as a bomb dropped on his raps.)
Did your pals in the Taliban help you write those?
(McClane says that because of his "bombs" in his raps, he must have had help from his Muslim friends, saying they came from the Taliban, an Islamic group which controlled Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001 and regained control of the country four months before the battle was released. The Taliban were famous for turning Afghanistan into a terrorist-supporting state as well as their strict implementation of Islamic Law, which famously included among others women being ordered to wear full-face veils called burqas in public. In Rambo III, Rambo goes to Afghanistan to rescue his friend Sam Trautman, who was captured while on a mission trying to repel the Soviet Army away from the tribes there. They had help from forces led by the chieftain Masoud that allowed them to survive, so McClane mocks Rambo for working with a morally dubious group. There is also a popular urban legend that dates to after the September 11 attacks (that has been debunked multiple times) that claims that the original dedication at the ending of Rambo III was "This film is dedicated to the brave Mujahideen fighters of Afghanistan" but that it was changed to "This film is dedicated to the gallant people of Afghanistan" after the September 11 attacks.)
John Wick:
Those were mujahideen; there's a difference.
(Wick corrects McClane's line by saying Rambo was assisted by mujahideen, which is a different term than the Taliban. Because of his expertise in these types of groups, Wick would be capable of telling the difference between the two.)
The Taliban formed in the '90s, when you fell off with a vengeance.
(Wick explains that the Taliban emerged during the 1990s from the mujahideen, which would not be during the same time Rambo III came out in 1988. Die Hard with a Vengeance was released in 1995 to rather mixed reviews so Wick further describes this time period by saying it was around the same time McClane's Die Hard movies fell off. Die Hard With a Vengeance also was the third Die Hard movie, complementing Wick's line about his opponents' movies falling off after the third.)
John McClane:
Hey! Who the fuck asked you, dog pound?
(McClane snaps back by saying no one asked Wick to correct his previous line. He calls Wick a dog pound due to him adopting another canine after his own dog got killed in the first movie. "Pound" can also mean to abuse, beat, or kill, another line about Wick's dog's being abused to death by others.)
Why don't you go lock your mouth in a hole in the ground?
(McClane references John Wick locking his weapons and coins in a briefcase in concrete after retiring from the assassin business. This can also reference a scene that comes from the 2015 film Knock Knock, also starring Keanu Reeves, in which two girls bury Reeves' character up to his head and gag him with a cloth tied around his mouth.)
John Rambo:
Hole! Lock!! Arghhhhgh!!!
(Rambo's severe PTSD kicks in at the mention of a "hole" and a "lock," as these bring flashbacks of his time as a POW when he was held captive (locked) in a hole, therefore causing him to lose sanity for a moment. His scream is a reference to his signature war cry when he shoots up Murdock's office with his M60.)
John Wick:
You're both a funeral suit away from presentable.
(Wick mocks his opponents' dirty appearance in contrast to his sharp-dressed suit. He says they need a "funeral suit" to look presentable, implying he'll send them to their deaths to make them look better since Rambo is often seen shirtless while McClane is usually in tattered clothes after the run-ins he has with his enemies. Both Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis are also elderly at the time of this video, so Wick may also mean that since they're both old, they would be more presentable at their funerals.)
I'm thinking I'm back, and I'm thinking you're expendable!
(This references a quote from Wick, where he exclaims "I'm thinking I'm back" in a fit of rage at Viggo Tarasov, showing that he is back in action in the world of assassins. He also references The Expendables movie series, in which Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis, play Barney Ross and Church, respectively. The Expandables is a movie series featuring several older action stars, and in this context Wick is not respecting their veteran status, but rather calling them relics. Rambo also calls himself expendable in Rambo: First Blood Part II.)
John McClane:
You wanna Die Hard? Well, today's a good day!
(A reference to the final Die Hard movie: A Good Day to Die Hard.)
Let's go, motherfuckers! Yippee-ki-yay!
(McClane closes the battle by challenging the other two to a brawl, playing off his own catchphrase, "Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker!" He also has a hidden gun strapped to his back, the same method he used to pull out a gun to wound Hans Gruber and kill his last henchman in the climax of the first Die Hard film, when it seemed like he was defenseless.)
Scrapped lyrics
John Rambo:
You think stepping on glass hurts, McClane?
(Rambo asks McClane if he thinks the injuries from stepping on broken glass barefoot hurts in comparison to what Rambo dealt with.)
Do a few tours in 'nam, then you can't complain!
(Rambo challenges McClane to experience serving in the Vietnam War first hand to see if he would complain about the physical and emotional damages of the war like Rambo has. The Vietnam War was famously opposed by the US public as many were appalled by the devastation and violence of the war that was being broadcast in the media, leading many who opposed the war, including Muhammad Ali and George R. R. Martin to refuse the draft. At the same time, many Vietnam War veterans still suffer PTSD with Rambo himself being depicted as a Vietnam War veteran struggling with such. )
Go home, little piggy, or get butchered by my knife!
(Rambo tells McClane to go home in the same way the nursery rhyme "This Little Piggy" tells about each toe on a foot going to a different place, and since McClane cut his foot from the broken glass in the first movie, Rambo threatens to cut him more with his survival knife if he doesn't leave. "Pig" is also a derogatory term for police officers. One of Rambo's trademark weapons is his survival knife. )
I've already dealt with enough asshole cops in my life!
(In First Blood, Rambo drifted upon a small town in Washington state, where he was immediately subject to abuse by the town's sheriff, who forced him to leave and arrested him for arbitrary reasons. Rambo had to fight against the entire police department by the end of the first movie. Since McClane is also a police officer, Rambo is tired of having to fight another one.)
None of you could fit my shoes that is the power of Rambo!
(Rambo claims Wick and McClane are incapable of living his life. This also refers to how McClane tried putting on Tony's shoes after killing him in the beginning of the first movie, but they wouldn't fit.)
Even Arnold failed to rip my shtick when he went Commando!
(Arnold Schwarzenegger is another action movie star who is often compared to Rambo's actor, Sylvester Stallone. After First Blood, Schwarzenegger tried doing a similar action movie with Commando, which was not as successful. "Going commando" also means to be naked, refering to Schwarzenegger in Terminator, where he was naked during the film's opening.)
I'm Rocky and roll, best soldier you've ever seen!
(Sylvester Stallone's most famous characters are Rambo and Rocky, and Rambo says he is "rock and roll" while using Rocky's name as a pun to say he's the best soldier. In Vietnam, US troops used the term "rock n' roll" to describe firing full auto with a firearm, especially a machine gun.)
My rhymes destroy you faster than an M16!
(Rambo says his raps would end his opponents quicker than the M16 rifle, which was commonly used by US soldiers during the Vietnam War and Rambo himself is a US veteran of that war.)
