WrestleMania XII

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WrestleMania XII
Details
Promotion World Wrestling Federation
Date March 31, 1996
Venue Arrowhead Pond
City Anaheim, California
Attendance 18,853
Pay-per-view chronology
In Your House 6: Rage in the Cage WrestleMania XII In Your House 7: Good Friends, Better Enemies

WrestleMania XII was the twelfth WrestleMania event promoted by the World Wrestling Federation. It was held from the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California, on March 31, 1996. The commentators were Vince McMahon and Jerry "The King" Lawler, and Howard Finkel was the ring announcer.

The main attraction of this WrestleMania was the novelty of the WWF championship match that was guaranteed to last at least one hour. In terms of kayfabe, acting WWF president "Rowdy" Roddy Piper had announced on an edition of "Monday Night RAW" that reigning champion Bret Hart, who had retained the Federation championship against Diesel at WWF In Your House in February 1996, must defend the title against Shawn Michaels, who had won the 1996 Royal Rumble and had defeated Owen Hart at February's In Your House for the right to keep the WrestleMania title shot in the first ever "WWF Iron Man Match"; whereby the winner would be the man with the most decisions over a sixty minute time limit.

The main event was built on Bret Hart wanting to retain the Federation championship against Shawn Michaels, who had suffered a number of setbacks over the course of the previous year, including losing at WrestleMania XI, being accosted by a group of thugs at a Syracuse, New York nightclub, forfeiting the WWF Intercontinental Championship at In Your House in October 1995 to Dean Douglas, suffering a (kayfabe)concussion at the hands of Owen Hart, and being betrayed by close friend Diesel at a house show at Madison Square Garden.

Contents

[edit] Results

Steve Austin vs. Savio Vega
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Steve Austin vs. Savio Vega
The Undertaker vs. Diesel
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The Undertaker vs. Diesel
  • The Ultimate Warrior defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley (w/Sable) (1:36)
    • Warrior pinned Helmsley after a Warrior Splash.
    • This was Warrior's first WWF appearance since 1992 and Sable's WWF debut.
    • After the bout, Helmsley got into a (kayfabe) fight with the debuting Marc Mero who was being interviewed backstage.
  • The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) defeated Diesel (16:46)
  • Roddy Piper defeated Goldust in a "Hollywood Backlot Brawl"
    • There was no clear-cut winner, nor had any of the rules of the match been explained in the weeks leading up to the event. The contest had begun in an alleyway behind the Arrowhead Pond where Goldust escaped in a gold Cadillac, with Piper giving chase. Approxametly one hour later, Goldust returned to WrestleMania XII with Piper on his trail. The two brawled inside the ring until Goldust finally ran and Piper allowed him to escape.
Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart for the WWF Championship
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Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart for the WWF Championship

[edit] Notes

  • The match between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels is the longest match in the history of WrestleMania.
  • Portions of the Hollywood Backlot Brawl used stock footage of the LAPD Freeway Chase involving O.J. Simpson.
  • The WrestleMania XII logo is a parody of the 20th Century Fox logo.
  • This was the only WrestleMania to feature only one championship match.
  • The event is the only WrestleMania to feature a logo on the ring canvas. Following the event, the canvas was cut into segments and sold through the WWF's retail shopping number.

[edit] References

[edit] External links


WrestleMania
I 1985 | 2 1986 | III 1987 | IV 1988 | V 1989 | VI 1990 | VII 1991 | VIII 1992 | IX 1993 | X 1994 | XI 1995 | XII 1996 
13 1997 | XIV 1998 | XV 1999 | 2000 | X-Seven 2001 | X8 2002 | XIX 2003 | XX 2004 | 21 2005 | 22 2006 | 23 2007 
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