WrestleMania XII

WrestleMania XII

Promotional poster featuring Razor Ramon (who did not compete on the card), Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Diesel and The Undertaker
Information
Promotion World Wrestling Federation
Sponsor(s) Tyco R/C: Maximum Heat!
Date March 31, 1996
Attendance 18,853[1]
Venue Arrowhead Pond
City Anaheim, California
Pay-per-view chronology

In Your House 6 WrestleMania XII In Your House 7: Good Friends, Better Enemies
WrestleMania chronology

WrestleMania XI WrestleMania XII WrestleMania 13

WrestleMania XII was the twelfth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on March 31, 1996, at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California.

In the main event, Bret Hart lost the WWF World Heavyweight Championship to Shawn Michaels in a 60-minute Iron Man match. In his return to the company after a four-year hiatus, The Ultimate Warrior defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Roddy Piper competed in his first match since 1994, after which he left for WCW.

Background

Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship

The main attraction of this WrestleMania was the WWF World Heavyweight Championship contested in an Iron Man match; whereby the winner would be the man to win most falls over sixty minutes. Michaels had earned the opportunity to face reigning champion Bret Hart by winning the 1996 Royal Rumble, and had also defeated Owen Hart at In Your House 6 for the right to keep the WrestleMania title shot.

The main event was built on Bret Hart wanting to retain the WWF World Heavyweight Championship against Shawn Michaels, who had suffered a number of setbacks over the course of the previous year, including: failing to win Diesel's WWF World Heavyweight Championship the previous year at WrestleMania XI, being accosted by a group of Marines at a Syracuse, New York nightclub, forfeiting the WWF Intercontinental Championship at In Your House 4 in October 1995 to Dean Douglas, suffering a storyline concussion at the hands of Owen Hart, and being betrayed in storyline by close friend Diesel at a house show at Madison Square Garden.

Reception

WrestleMania XII received generally positive reviews from critics, who aimed praise particularly at the main event. Rob McNew of 411mania called the opening match "really good," and gave it 3 and 1/4 stars (out of 5 stars). However, he called the match between Helmsley and The Ultimate Warrior the worst of the night, going on to it call it the "funniest squash ever, considering that HHH is now arguably a bigger star than Warrior was." He gave the main event the highest score of the night, with 4 stars. However, he says the match "isn't for everyone." Continuing, he says, "It's about a three star match for the first 40 minutes, the last 20+ are an easy five stars." He gave the entire event a score of 7 out of 10.[2] In 2015, Ryan Dilbert of Bleacher Report called it the 16th greatest of the first 30 WrestleMania events.[3]

Results

No. Results Stipulations Times[4]
1F The Bodydonnas (Skip and Zip) (with Sunny) defeated The Godwinns (Henry O. and Phineas I.) (with Hillbilly Jim) Tag team match for the vacant WWF Tag Team Championship Unknown
2 Vader, Owen Hart and The British Bulldog (with Jim Cornette) defeated Ahmed Johnson, Jake Roberts and Yokozuna (with Mr. Fuji) Six-man tag team match 13:08
3 Roddy Piper defeated Goldust (with Marlena)[Note 1][5] Hollywood Backlot Brawl 16:47
4 Stone Cold Steve Austin (with Ted DiBiase) defeated Savio Vega Singles match 10:05
5 The Ultimate Warrior defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley (with Sable) Singles match 01:39
6 The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) defeated Diesel Singles match 16:46
7 Shawn Michaels (with José Lothario) defeated Bret Hart (c) 1-0 in sudden death overtime 60-minute Iron Man match for the WWF Championship 1:01:52
  • (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
  • F – indicates the match was broadcast prior to the pay-per-view on Free for All
  1. ↑ Taped parts of the match were shown intermittently throughout the pay-per-view, with the live part of the match occurring just before the main event.

Iron Man match

Shawn Michaels defeated Bret Hart for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. It was a draw after 60 minutes, but WWF President Gorilla Monsoon ordered for sudden death overtime.

Score Winner Decision Notes Times
1–0 Shawn Michaels Pinfall Michaels won the fall using Sweet Chin Music 1:01:52

References

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