WrestleMania XII
| WrestleMania XII | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster featuring Razor Ramon (who did not compete on the card due to suspension), Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Diesel and The Undertaker | |||
| Promotion | World Wrestling Federation | ||
| Date | March 31, 1996 | ||
| City | Anaheim, California | ||
| Venue | Arrowhead Pond | ||
| Attendance | 18,853[1] | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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| WrestleMania chronology | |||
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WrestleMania XII was the twelfth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). 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. The event featured the WWF debut of rival promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW) mainstay Marc Mero, who had just left WCW a few weeks prior. Roddy Piper competed in his first match since 1994, after which he left for WCW. Singer Vic Damone performed an rendition of "America the Beautiful" to open the show.
Background
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[5] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Bodydonnas (Skip and Zip) (with Sunny) defeated The Godwinns (Henry O. Godwinn and Phineas I. Godwinn) (with Hillbilly Jim) | Tag team match for the vacant WWF Tag Team Championship | 05:22 | ||
| 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][4] | 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 World Heavyweight Championship | 1:01:52 | ||
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Iron Man match
| Score | Winner | Decision | Notes | Times |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–0 | Shawn Michaels | Pinfall | Michaels pinned Hart after a Sweet Chin Music | 1:01:52 |
Notes
- ^ 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.
References
- ^ Powell, Jason. "Iron Man Match highlights WrestleMania 12". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
- ^ http://411mania.com/wrestling/wrestlemania-xii-review/
- ^ http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2374639-wwe-wrestlemania-2015-power-ranking-every-card-in-ppvs-history/page/16
- ^ "10 Worst Wrestlemania Matches EVER". Slam! Wrestling. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
- ^ Keller, Wade. "WWE WrestleMania Countdown - 1996 PPV Report (WM 12): Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart Iron Man match, Ultimate Warrior vs. Triple H". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 13 November 2014.