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WrestleMania 11 marked an odd period in WWE programming. Hulk Hogan was not only gone, but was also entrenched as the face of WCW as the latter company made its first real stab at competing with WWE.
Despite Bret Hart’s obvious talent, he hadn’t become the draw WWE might have hoped for, particularly on the domestic scene, and business was struggling. Diesel was the new face of the company, but the big man’s limitations—in particular his inexperience—were hyper evident, particularly in contrast to Hart as his predecessor.
WrestleMania 11 saw WWE look outward, bringing in Lawrence Taylor for not only a celebrity appearance, but to actually wrestle a match, and to do so one on one in the main event.
This article takes a look back at the best and worst moments WrestleMania 11 had to offer.
Best Moment: Lawrence Taylor wins
The idea of positioning Lawrence Taylor, who had never wrestled a match before, probably wouldn’t have flown at any earlier or later point in WWE history, but in 1995 the company was desperate to draw an audience. The novelty of putting a popular football player in the main event face role was a gamble, and mostly paid off as he squared off with well-experienced Bam Bam Bigelow.
WWE threw a lot of pomp and circumstance into the mix, complete with Bigelow’s Million Dollar Corporation stablemates coming to the ring with NFL-style introductions, followed by Taylor’s team of actual football stars, and Salt N Peppa playing him down the entrance ramp.
The match to follow was as good—if not better—than anyone could realistically expect, with Bigelow playing ring general, and Taylor holding up his end of the bargain and demonstrating his hard work to prepare for the match.
This wasn’t a classic and the finish wasn’t necessarily an all-time great WrestleMania moment. Nonetheless, LT’s feel-good victory did its job as stop gap to give WWE a star and a moment to feature at the biggest show of the year.
Worst Moment: Razor Ramon wins by disqualification
WrestleMania 11 was largely lackluster, and that includes getting off on the wrong foot. Razor Ramon and Jeff Jarrett were both talented stars with great wrestling minds, who were reasonably over at the time.
A WrestleMania Intercontinental Championship match between the two should have been good—maybe even show-stealing under the circumstances. The match never switched out of first gear, though, and the fact that it culminated not in a decisive victory, but rather a schmoz with each man’s second—The 1-2-3 Kid and The Road Dogg—getting involved made it feel more like a TV match to continue a storyline than a WrestleMania blow off.
