'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Hello everyone, and welcome to yet another edition of WrestleMania Rewind. As always, I find enough time to sit through 3 hours of action everyday to review one edition of WrestleMania at a time. Last time I had given my analysis about WrestleMania 11, which was one of the worst WrestleManias of all time. If I could, I would get those 3 hours of my life back. Undertaker was involved in a horrible match against Bundy, Bret was involved in a horrible match against Bob Backlund and Shawn – Diesel ended up being a decent match, considering they both were headlining the biggest PPV of the year. The gates were at an all time low and so were the revenues. When the night ended, the event was a colossal mess, one of the biggest let downs in terms of quality.
The next WrestleMania was headlined by one of the greatest feuds of all time in the history of professional wrestling. Bret Hart was the WWF Champion once again, taking the onus of the company on his shoulders. The Royal Rumble match was won by Shawn Michaels for a second consecutive year, and he earned the right to face the WWF Champion at WrestleMania. The then president of WWF, Roddy Piper, made it an Iron Man match for the very first time at WrestleMania. The other main feud going into WrestleMania 12 was between The Undertaker and Diesel.
Also, this WrestleMania saw the WrestleMania debuts of two guys who’d make it big in the future. One was that Austin guy, you know, the one who is arguably the greatest superstar in wrestling history, and the other being Hunter Hearst Helmsley, better known as Stephanie’s husband aka Mr. Stephanie, or you might also know him as Triple H. Yeah, the guy with the big nose. This WrestleMania also witnessed the return of the Ultimate Warrior at the mega event. WrestleMania 12 came to us from Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California. So without further ado, let us jump right in.
Under card:
Vader, Owen Hart & British Bulldog (With Jim Cornette) defeated Yokozuna, Ahmed Johnson & Jake Roberts
‘The man they call Vader’ made his WrestleMania debut in the WWF. Vader was a former WCW Heavyweight champion, and was one of the biggest monster heels in wrestling history. Other than that, he was very agile for a guy his size. He partnered up with Owen Hart and Davey Smith, who became tag team partners, taking on Yokozuna, Ahmed Johnson and Jake Roberts. A decent opening match which got about 13 minutes. There were only 6 matches on the card, considering they were going to have about 70 minutes dedicated to the final match, which was a 60 minute Iron man match. The end came when Vader hit the Vader bomb on Jake Roberts for the pin and the win. Vader would go into the summer as the unstoppable monster, but all that came to an end thanks to Shawn Michaels, who started holding everybody down.
Steve Austin (With Ted Dibiase) defeated Savio Vega
The WrestleMania debut of Austin. He was accompanied by the Million Dollar Man as he took on Savio Vega. Vega was the good guy going into the match, which would have been evident considering Ted Dibiase was in Austin’s corner. The match went for about 10 minutes, and the end came when Austin applied the Million Dollar Dream on Vega for him to pass out, and give the win to Steve Austin.
The Ultimate Warrior defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley
Mr. Helmsley came out accompanied by the lovely Sable (Pause moment). Imagine the now Sandow without a beard and his mustache and that sums up for Hunter. Ultimate Warrior came out next to a humongous pop from the Anaheim crowd. The match in itself went for less than 2 minutes. Hunter’s entrance was bigger than his match. Do you know how he still became such a big star? Because he got into McMahon’s pants. No, not Vince, that was Shawn. I mean the princess McMahon. Kidding, anyway, Warrior dominated the match and squashed Hunter in about 90 seconds.
Mid card:
The Undertaker (With Paul Bearer) defeated Diesel
Okay, Taker’s match at WrestleMania against another big guy. Although this match turned out to be a good one. Match went for about 17 minutes, and the end came when Taker Tombstone piledrived Diesel for the pin and the win. Diesel was on his way out of the WWF to WCW, and that motivated him to put on one of the best matches of his career.
Roddy Piper defeated Goldust (With Marlena) in a Hollywood backlot brawl
One of those filler matches, although any match with Piper in it is ought to be interesting. And this match was, just not in a good way. Match saw Goldust being himself, as he freaked Piper out. During the match, Goldust kissed Piper and that enraged the Hot Rod. Piper then ripped off Goldust’s clothes revealing women’s lingerie inside. Piper then hit another lower blow and Goldust scampered away. I guess that makes Piper the winner. Okay?!
Main event:
Shawn Michaels defeated Bret Hart to win the WWF Championship in the Iron Man match
Okay folks, it’s time for the Maaain Eveeent (Howard Finkel for those who didn’t get it). Shawn made his famous sliding from the rafters entrance while Bret made his usual entrance. Earl Hebner was the referee for this match. This match is considered to be one of the best matches of all time (Although the pace of the match and the no falls made it a little boring for me). The match went for a full hour without seeing a pin fall. After the 60 minutes, the match ended in a tie, and Bret was almost out of the arena with the WWF Championship when Monsoon made his way out, saying the match would go to sudden death. Michaels won the match after a SCM during the sudden death. And then he famously told Bret to “Get the f*** out of his ring”, and that pissed Bret off (Which was evident from his expressions). Vince famously remarked that the boyhood dream of Michaels had come true. One can argue that Vince’s dream had come true too. That was a joke about Vince – Michaels relationship for those who didn’t get it.
Analysis: *** ¾ (Out of 5 stars)
Way better than the last WrestleMania. There were only 6 matches on the card, and some of them were fillers. The main event was one of the best matches of all time, and that made this WrestleMania. This was the beginning of one of the most bitter feuds in the WWF history. Shawn captured his first WWF title, and soon after this, he told Bret he wouldn’t put him over, which pissed Bret off. That does it for this edition of WrestleMania Rewind. Do join us tomorrow for the next edition, as we continue our journey towards WrestleMania 29.
Read the rest of the WrestleMania rewind series here
