Wrestlemania XII - Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim California, March 31st 1996

A dramatic and emotional opening video. There was a good video for this match on Raw which I considered also capturing but this one sums it up perfectly so there’s no need. The first Iron Man match in WWF history between two of the greatest in-ring performers in WWF history. Also shout out to the classic Wrestlemana theme song and the (I think) very cool graphics for the show. Big fan of the Wrestlemania goes Hollywood vibes.

Sadly I wasn’t able to find a copy of the Free for All pre-show online anywhere. It normally wouldn’t matter but the event hosted the finals of the tournament for the vacant WWF Tag Team Championships. The Bodydonnas team of Skip and Zip (with the lovely Sunny) defeated Henry O. Godwin and Phineus I. Godwin (with the less lovely Hillbilly Jim) to become the new WWF Tag Team Champions. 

The British Bulldog, Owen Hart and Vader (w/Jim Cornette) vs. Yokozuna (w/Mr. Fuji), Ahmed Johnson and Jake “The Snake” Roberts

(If Yokozuna’s team wins, he gets five minutes in the ring with Jim Cornette)

I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again - Vader’s theme song is a banger. Including the Royal Tumble match this is only Vader’s third match since being signed to the WWF after his storyline suspension for attacking WWF President Gorilla Monsoon. That was a great angle. 

The match starts as a brawl with everyone spilling in and out of the ring but it breaks down with Vader and Yokozuna as the legal men. The big man from WCW hammers Yoko with right hands and clubbing blows until he collapses which gets a lot of boos. Yoko comes back with a MASSIVE slam which makes the whole arena shake and tags out to Ahmed. Vince mentions that Johnson won the Slammy award for best newcomer last night  as Owen, Bulldog and Vader work him over and make quick tags in and out after Owen scored with his enziguri headkick out of nowhere. That seems like a scam - Goldust is literally the Intercontinental Champion, how is he not the best newcomer? Ahmed scores a big double clothesline on Owen and Bulldog and tags out to Jake Robets and then it's HIS turn to get quickly put down and isolated. That's the only real story of this match - every time one of the babyfaces tags in, the heels shut him down and tag in and out to hammer on him. It’s not bad, it’s just not very interesting. 

Jake manages to fight off Owen and tag Yokozuna and the match breaks down from there with all six men spilling into the ring. Jake hits a DDT on Owen and has the match won but Jim Cornette is there to break up the pin. The referee didn’t see any of that and when Jake sets up a DDT on Cornette, Vader misses his cue and takes way, way too long to stop the move from happening. He hits Jake with a Vader Bomb to win this match for Camp Cornette, so Jim escapes without having to get in the ring with Yokozuna. This wasn’t very good but all six of these guys deserved to be on the show.

Hollywood Backlot Brawl

WWF Intercontinental Champion Goldust (w/Marlena) vs. Rowdy Roddy Piper

This match gets a video package which includes a WWF debut - its narrated by Michael Cole! A new announcer generally isn’t a big deal but Michael Cole eventually became “The Voice of WWE” in the mid 2000s and still works full time as the main commentator 30 years later.

Marlena already has the champagne on ice, obviously very confident in her man’s victory. This Backlot brawl was all pre-taped about a week before the show and then inserted into the live broadcast. Movie magic. 

Out in the parking lot Roddy Piper is standing waiting with a baseball bat. Goldust appears in a golden Cadillac and revs the engine, threatening to drive over Roddy. Piper sprays a hose at him (he “wet down the area” to cover the fact that this was pre-taped on a day where it rained) and then smashes the windshield with his baseball bat. He drags Goldust out of the car and beats the hell out of him, slamming him into a catering table, a dumpster and smashing him with a trash can. He slams Goldust on the hood of the Cadillac and drops an elbow on him too. This is really physical and violent. Goldust uses a low blow to finally get some separation, diving into his car and running over Piper! That’s some impressive stunt work. Goldust takes off and Roddy shakes off having been run over, jumping into a white Ford Bronco to chase after him. Why a white Ford Bronco? Well that’s the car that OJ Simpson famously ran away from the police in. To be continued.

Stone Cold Steve Austin (w/Ted Dibiase) vs. Savio Vega

Stone Cold has sinister theme music, almost classical in style. Austin has shifted gimmicks and is now a mean, pissed off bad ass who takes no prisoners. Vince continues to tell us what a gifted mat technician he is which is the only link to his previous Ringmaster name. That really didn’t last long at all did it? Dok Hendrix gives us the storyline reason for this match - as part of a random drawing, Stone Cold was made Savio Vega’s tag team partner in the Tag Team tournament after Razor Ramon was suspended. Austin had no interest in winning and just attacked Savio, costing him the Tag team titles. Savio is all fired up but when Dok asks if he has a counter for the Million Dollar Dream sleeper hold he says he is ready for anything. That’s not really an answer is it? 

Stone Cold attacks Savio the minute he enters the ring and they brawl and throw punches at each other. It turns into a wild fight, rolling around on the mat and just throwing chops and punches at each other. This is a street fight! Austin bumps and flails around and makes Savio look - no pun intended - like a million bucks in and out of the ring until he finally sends Vega shoulder first into the ring post and gets control, stomping and punching away at him. He’s definitely shifted into more of a brawler to go along with his new attitude. 

This match sees the on screen debut of Austin’s version of the Thez press, tackling Savio down and hammering him with punches rather than go for the pin. 

Austin miscalculates and comes off the top rope with a diving elbow but Savio catches him with a foot in the jaw to turn the tide. Savio throws punches and goes for his big jumping heel kick but Austin ducks and the referee is knocked down instead. Ted Dibiase slides the Million Dollar belt into the ring and while Vega is busy trying to wake up the referee, Stone Cold gets it and clocks Savio hard in the head with it not once but twice - the second one jumping off the apron to drive it into the back of his head. That looked brutal and appears to have knocked Savio out cold. Austin locks him in the Million Dollar Dream as Ted wakes up the referee to end the match - Stone Cold wins his Wrestlemania debut via technical knockout with the sleeper hold thanks to the Million Dollar Championship belt. Kind of a nothing match but I’m biased and always love seeing Stone Cold Steve Austin so I was happy anyway.

I’ll try and keep all this stuff together but Roddy Piper called in on his cellphone during the previous match. Police sirens were playing in the background as Roddy breathlessly says he refuses to let this lie and will chase Goldust to the ends of the Earth if he has to. He tries again, and Vince shows us "aerial footage” of the chase, which is just the news footage of OJ Simpson being chased by the LAPD the previous year. 

Backstage Mr. Perfect interviews Diesel about his big match tonight with The Undertaker. He shows footage from In Your House where he was dragged under the ring, the arena lights flickering and of course the casket containing Diesel. Do these mind games bother Diesel? He says no. Big Daddy Cool is always cool and says that after he’s taken care of Undertaker tonight, Shawn Michaels is next. King of a dick move to just no-sell Undertaker’s theatrics when he knows he's on his way out the door but more on that next time.

Seeing Mr. Perfect working as a backstage interviewer brings me neatly to my next point; old guys vs. New Generation. In 2026 WWE, main eventers being in their early to mid 40s isn’t a big deal. Advancements in medicine and a lighter schedule has kept them all healthy for longer and that's great. In 1996, it was less the case and while Vince was mocking WCW for using his old Hulkamania era stars and harping on about the WWF’s New Generation he was also regularly featuring men like Bob Backlund and King Kong Bundy whose heydays pre-date Wrestlemania and now bringing back Mr. Perfect, Jake Roberts, Roddy Piper and yes, The Ultimate Warrior. Whether these men still had something to offer isn’t really the point as most of them did, it's more the hypocrisy of what Vince was saying about WCW. All it really did was highlight that he had nothing else to attack his new rivals with, hence going in so hard against company owner Ted Turner. It’s no coincidence that when Vince found out he’d be losing Razor and Diesel the “new generation” branding seems to have died a death. The company had to re-invent and thankfully in 1996 we’ll be seeing a lot of that.

On this show and on the pre-show, the final Billionaire Ted comedy skit aired with him officiating a “match” between The Huckster and The Nacho Man. A lawsuit from WCW made the WWF tone down all of that stuff but in reality, it just wasn’t landing the way Vince wanted it to. It’s all been edited off the version of the PPV I’m watching for this review and frankly, I’m glad to not have to sit through and describe what was billed as “the geriatric match”, something that they didn’t promote in the final two weeks before the show due to the aforementioned lawsuit from WCW. The whole situation was kind of a mess so I’m glad the WWF stopped trying to sling insults and started focusing on itself. 

The Ultimate Warrior vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley

Hunter gets a big pop when he comes out. Not for him obviously, it's because the fans know who his opponent is. This is another big debut with Helmsley’s valet tonight. You’ll know this one - it’s Sable. More on her later in the show.

Jerry Lawler giggles about how he’s heard that the Ultimate Warrior is up to 400lbs and has shaved his head. Imagine how upset the fans would be.

Obviously it's not true and Jim looks in great shape. Say what you want about the Warrior as a person (and I’m sure I will over the next couple of shows) but the fans go nuts for this wildman and I have to admit I love his theme song. He sprints to the ring and does his usual laps of the arena before he gets in the ring. Good stuff.

Triple H attacks him from behind and clubs with punches and forearms. He drills Warrior with a Pedigree in about 30 seconds but Warrior stands straight back up and no-sells it completely. He does his little war dance and puts down Helmsley with a string of clotheslines, a big Gorilla press slam and finally his big splash on the mat to win the match in less than 90 seconds. Warrior is back and just crushed one of the WWF’s brightest rising stars in mere seconds. It’s a grudge Triple H will no doubt hold until his dying days. 

Backstage, Todd Pettengill interviews another newcomer, Wildman Marc Mero (Pettengill says his name wrong and calls him “Marc Maro”) He is another signing from WCW and it appears he’ll be thrust straight into the main event as Todd asks him about wrestling The Warrior, Undertaker, Shawn and Bret. His interview is interrupted by an angry Hunter Hearst Helmsley who is yelling at poor Sable somehow blaming her for the loss. Mero takes issue and attacks Hunter and the two have a furious brawl until being split up by referees. This was a neat bit of story telling as Sable is the real life wife of Marc Mero and has also been signed to the WWF to act as his manager. That gets both of them where they need to be. I’ll have plenty of chances to talk more about Sable in the future. 

Heading into this match there has been a lot more OJ Simpson chase footage peppered throughout the show, still claiming to be Rowdy Roddy Piper’s pursuit of Goldust. I’m sure they’ll both make their way back to the arena eventually. 

The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) vs. Diesel

I was hoping this one would get a video package but it didn’t, so I’ve gone back and captured this segment from the previous Raw so you can all enjoy Paul Bearer getting you up to speed instead of me. 

Diesel has a big smug, confident smirk on his face as he walks to the ring. It’s been edited off this version of the show but on the broadcast he shouted “I’m the shit baby!” into one of the cameras. He had one foot out of the WWF door and didn’t care, but I hope he was still professional enough to properly put The Undertaker over here. It’s not really a spoiler to tell you now that Undertaker is winning - even if Diesel wasn’t leaving the company soon, The Undertaker’s Wrestlemania streak is one of the most famous stats in all of wrestling history. 

Diesel attacks The Undertaker the second his coat and hat is off and they trade big blows with Big Daddy Cool come out on top, running Undertaker into the corner and crushing him with big elbows. Undertaker shrugs them off and comes back with a clothesline but misses a big jumping elbow. They’re evenly matched, both being main eventers and 7 footers and it is so nice to see Undertaker back in the mix with main eventers rather than feud with duds like Giant Gonzales, IRS, King Kong Bundy and Kama. The fight spills to the outside and they run each other into the ring steps before returning to the ring. Diesel is on the back foot but Undertaker goes for the tombstone too early and Diesel easily escapes. Both men are moving at full speed, bumping around like men half their size. 

Diesel takes over with big hammer blow forearms and clubs, throwing Undertaker out of the ring. Vince crows about how Diesel is dominating Undertaker as he puts him down with a big boot and teases a Jackknife. He doesn’t go for it yet and continues to just wail on him with big punches. The fans get behind the Deadman and chant “rest in peace”. He picks it up a gear with a sidewalk slam, snake eyes dropping Undertaker face first onto the top turnbuckle and then a big hangman on the ropes. He is dominating The Undertaker, Vince was right. 

Undertaker tries to fight back and on the outside grabs a steel chair and swings for Diesel’s head but hits the ring post. Diesel continues to dominate driving Undertaker’s spine into the ring post and gets big boos when he poses and celebrates in the ring. He puts down Undertaker with another big boot and confidently struts around the ring rather than go for a pin. I was looking forward to this match because I enjoyed the build to it but it’s been a very slow, plodding affair with Diesel just slowly working over Undertaker. 

Undertaker finally fights back a little and gets back into the fight in a big way with a flying clothesline off the top rope. That gets his most significant nearfall so far. 

Out of nowhere, Diesel hits a desperate Jackknife powerbomb and its over! Lawler giggles, the crowd boos and Diesel stands and poses rather than go for the pin. What an idiot. The Undertaker sits up so Diesel gives him a second Jackknife powerbomb. Once again he refuses cover and pays for it when Undertaker grabs him by the throat from the mat. He’s not dead yet.

Back on their feet they go back and forth off the ropes and The Undertaker hits a big jumping clothesline and then a chokeslam. He follows with an almighty Tombstone and The Undertaker shakes off two Jackknife powerbombs to pick up an impressive win at Wrestlemania. That makes him 5 - 0, for anyone keeping count. Not a great match but the final few minutes were good. 

Before we get to the main event we have some unfinished business - Roddy Piper’s white jeep chases the golden Cadillac back into the arena parking lot and into the arena. Goldust crawls out of the car and Marlena tries to tend to her man as Hot Rod pursues through the backstage area and out in front of the fans and down to the ring. Unlike earlier in the street, in the ring Goldust has the advantage and kicks at Roddy’s leg and uses a low blow on him. He takes a little bit too much time to pose, taunt and fondle Piper and pays for it. There’s no referee for any of this so it's just an unsanctioned fight rather than a wrestling match. After a dull brawl, Roddy Piper stars to tear off Goldust’s ring gear which exposes that he’s wearing lingerie underneath, but also that his entire body is painted gold! Piper forces a kiss on Goldust and kicks him out of the ring wearing very little clothing. Goldust escapes and Piper is declared “the winner” of this Hollywood backlot brawl.

Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels hated each other for a very long time. They finally settled their issues in the 2010s but for the better part of two decades, they hated each other. In March of 1996 the cracks were starting to form in their personal relationship. They were still friendly enough that they worked together to plan the following match but by the end of the year, it had turned into bitter arguments, physical fights backstage and refusing to work together.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. In March 1996 the distaste for one another was a clash of personalities and a clash of egos. Vince McMahon was close friends with both of them and wanting to motivate them both to give their all, stoked the fires by pitting them against each other for his affections. He made it clear to them both that they were each other’s main rival for “Top Star” in the WWF and so the tension started with both of them working hard to tear each other down (subtly at first) to become Vince’s Guy. 

On a more personal level, they didn’t like each other. Shawn thought Bret was a stick in the mud and a hypocrite (given how much Bret cheated on his wife during this era, that’s hard to argue with) while Bret thought Shawn was an embarrassment to wrestling with all his dancing and theatrics. Bret called Shawn “a stripper” more than once and found his whole act in poor taste given how many kids were in the audience. He didn’t think Shawn was fit to be a role model to kids, which isn’t really his decision to make is it? The tension got significantly worse so I doubt this will be the last time in 1996 that I talk about these two’s behind the scenes relationship.

60-minute Iron Man match for the WWF Championship

Bret Hart © vs. Shawn Michaels (w/Jose Lothario)

I’m going to cover this match slightly differently. I’ve covered an Iron Man match before (Triple H vs. The Rock at Judgment Day 2000) but that match was during the Attitude era and therefore was full of spots and falls and stuff to say. Spoilers but this match is very light on falls - Shawn and Bret agreed that since they’re supposed to be the two best in the company, story wise they shouldn’t be beating each other lots of times and so they kept it to a minimum (as we’ll see) so in order to save me from waffling for an hour (and you all having to read a blow by blow description, which I do try to avoid because its dull to read) I’m going to break this up into 10 minute chunks, watching and then recapping that 10 minutes to give you all a flavour of the story they told and any big moves or spots within that 10 minutes. Hopefully it’ll flow and will tell the story of this epic better.

Michael Cole narrates his second video of the night, the video package for this main event. I captured some of the build up in the Preview but this is a good one too. 

I can’t do justice to HBK’s amazing entrance, ziplining down from the roof of the arena to the ring so here it is in full from WWE’s YouTube channel.

By contrast, Bret’s is understated but he does get a ton of pyro at least.

President Gorilla Monsoon is on hand for the start of the match where Earl Hebner, my least favourite referee, gives the rules and instructions to both men. If you’ve never seen an Iron Man match before (and fans at the time hadn’t, this was the first one) the rules are simple. This match will last a full 60 minutes. Whoever has the most decisions by pin fall, submission, count out or disqualification by the end of that 1 hour is the winner and the WWF Champion. Easy peasy. 

The two lock up and for the first 10 minutes trade long grapples and holds on the mat. Bret uses a long front facelock and a chin lock while Shawn transitions into a hammer lock and a shoulder wringer. The most positive thing I can say that its dynamic and while they’re always in holds they’re never totally still, moving around together pushing and pulling for advantage. Right at the 10 minute mark Bret backs Shawn into the corner and throws a cheap shot at his gut. They trade punches back and forth and Shawn sends Bret to the outside with a hurricanrana. He slaps the mats in frustration at being out-manoeuvred and takes a moment to compose himself before getting back inside.

They continue to grapple, mostly on the mat, with Shawn in control. Vince suggests that if this was judged on points Michaels would be winning. There’s a back and forth off the ropes and Bret dumps HBK to the outside. Bret is shoved shoulder first into the ring post but when Michaels tries for a Sweet Chin Music, Bret moves and ring announcer Tony Chimmel is knocked out cold by it! He actually has to be stretchered away from ringside as they continue to wrestle in the ring. Bret grinds Shawn down with a side headlock and screams at Earl Hebner to pay attention and ask him if he quits. He obviously doesn’t. Shawn fights out and tries to pick up the pace but Bret shuts him down with a clothesline and goes right back to a long chinlock. Shawn fights back up off the mat and they go off the ropes. A nice dropkick and then a deep armdrag gets Shawn back in control and he goes back to Bret’s shoulder and arm, locking in a hold of his own as the match passes the 20 minute mark.

Bret has less patience than Shawn and fights out of the wrestling exchange with elbows and punches. He pounds on Shawn in the corner, catching him with back elbows and the crowd boos the Hitman. Michaels catches on and brawls back, throwing Bret’s shoulder into the ring post and whipping his arm around the post. The same arm he’s been working on this whole match which is smart of him. He hits a shoulder breaker and follows with an axe handle off the middle ropes to the shoulder while Lawler starts talking about broken collarbones and separated shoulders. Bret finally breaks that by hanging Shawn on the top rope and goes into his finishing routine with a running bulldog. He tries for a diving elbow off the ropes but Shawn stops him. They fight and Bret comes off the top with a messy bulldog looking move to Shawn putting both men down as we pass the 30 minute mark.

The tempo finally picks up a little and Bret hits a gorgeous piledriver. Shawn kicks out and the crowd boos - I think they just wanted a finish to happen at some point. Bret is thrown off the ropes when he goes for another elbow, followed by a hurricanrana and a big powerslam. As legend goes, Bret put together the first 30 minutes of this match and Shawn put together the second and you can see their respective finger prints all over both sections. Bret dives out of the ring to avoid a Sweet Chin Music which gets him more boos but HBK dives off the top rope with a crossbody all the way to the floor onto Bret. Great stuff. Back in the ring Shawn scores with a crossbody which Bret rolls through and they go back and forth with roll ups trying to steal a pin. Shawn comes closest with a fisherman suplex but the crowd boos when he goes back to a sleeper hold - they had enough rest holds in the first 30 minutes. Bret escapes it by launching Shawn up and over the top rope in the corner - he gets a LOT of height and lands on a camera man. Vince assumes that’ll give Bret his first fall via count out but Bret breaks the count because he’s still a valiant babyface. Bret puts all of his focus on Shawn’s back now, driving him into the ring post and using headbutts and elbows to the lower back as we tick over the 40 minute mark.

Bret spends the next five minutes continuing the attack on Michaels’ back. He pounds him with a back breaker, a back suplex off the top rope and his side Russian legsweep. He whips Michaels upside down into the corner and HBK flails out over the top rope, landing on his mentor Jose! Bret whips him into the ringsteps and Shawn crashes into Lothario again. Jerry Lawler confirms that Bret is the heel in this scenario by actually siding with his longest and most heated rival and then Bret yells at Jose to stay out of the way. On the outside Bret puts down Shawn with a slam on the concrete entrance ramp and this deep into the match decides that is enough and leaves him to be counted out so that he can win the match. The fans start booing Bret and he looks bothered by that and considers breaking the count but doesn’t have to as Shawn fights back to the ring like a hero. Back in the ring Bret suplexes Shawn and, with more men getting desperate and frustrated, they start throwing punches at each other with Bret kicking Shawn as he’s on his knees. The timer passes the 10 minute mark as both men collapse to their knees. 

The story both men were going for here is that they’re both the best, and both so evenly matched, so even with a full hour to work with neither of these men can beat the other. In that regard it's been well told - neither of them has had the advantage for longer than a few minutes without a comeback - and Jerry Lawler has done a good job on commentary talking about their determination and refusal to give up. Fair play to him. Bret grinds down Shawn with another sleeper and, as we approach the final five minutes, decides he needs to go bigger and hits a very nice suplex off the top rope. He doesn’t go for the pin and instead makes his first and only attempt at locking in the Sharpshooter. Shawn frantically kicks him off and doesn’t let it get locked in. Bret changes tact and goes for a figure four but Shawn blocks that too so he settles for a single leg Boston crab. The crowd boos when Michaels gets to the ropes - I think they were all starting to see a time limit draw on the horizon. Bret moves into his finishing routine; backbreaker and a pin-point elbow off the middle rope but Shawn gets his feet up into Hart’s face to block. Shawn hits a flying forearm to Bret and kips up to his feet - a superhuman rush of adrenaline 57 minutes into the match. He builds momentum with a back elbow and a slam followed by a twisting axe handle off the top rope. Bret kicks out. Shawn keeps up the pressure with a suplex and a beautiful diving elbow drop from the top rope but Bret kicks out. Shawn breaks out a gutwrench powerbomb of all moves and then heads back to the top rope for a moonsault! Bret kicks out of that too! Shawn hits a diving hurricanrana off the middle rope into a roll up but Bret kicks out one more time! With only 60 seconds left Shawn struggles back to the top rope but he’s exhausted and Bret catches him by the legs and turns it into the Sharpshooter with only 30 seconds left. The crowd goes nuts but Shawn holds on, gutting it out until the time limit expires. After 60 minutes the match is…a draw. Bret Hart is still the WWF Champion.

The referee gives the title to Bret who just leaves without celebrating which feels weird. Gorilla Monsoon gets in the ring and after conferring with Earl Hebner and the ring announcer, the match is restarted with sudden death overtime. There MUST be a winner. Technically every wrestling match has sudden death rules - one fall to a finish.

Bret isn’t happy about the restart and heads back to the ring, protesting and arguing with Gorilla and the referee. He was ready to go home with his belt but no, it’s not over. Michaels still on the mat selling his back from the entire match but especially that final minute or so in the Sharpshooter. Bret goes right back to it with knees. He’s like a pitbull, hammering on HBK’s back and wanting to end this quickly now. Bret whips Michaels into the corner and Shawn launches himself up and over, landing behind Bret and hitting the Sweet Chin Music out of nowhere! He collapses, too hurt and tired to capitalise and go for the cover. Both men struggle back to their feet, barely able to stand and Michaels hits Bret with a second superkick! That’s enough for the three count and after 62 minutes, Shawn Michaels is the WWF Champion for the first time in his career. 

That was a long and very slow match and I have to say, I didn’t really enjoy it. It did have the right outcome and a pissed off Bret gets out of the ring and leaves, pulling off his singlet straps as he goes. HBK celebrates in the ring, weeping as he stares at the WWF title belt. “The boyhood dream has come true” is an iconic line on commentary to end the show with a new WWF Champion. 

Here’s the recap of the whole event that closed the show so you can see Goldust’s arse in all of its glory.