What the World Was Watching: WrestleMania XII

Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler commentate, live from Anaheim, California. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, 15,855 people attended the show at Arrowhead Pond, 12,909 of whom paid for their tickets. On pay-per-view, the show drew a 1.20 buyrate domestically (301,000 buys) according to wrestlenomics. The buyrate was less than the 1.30 buyrate of the previous year but the number of buys were 40,000 more, continuing to demonstrate the growing pay-per-view universe.

Free for All Finals of the WWF Tag Team Championship Tournament: The Bodydonnas (w/Sunny) (4-2) beat the Godwinns (w/Hillbilly Jim) (6-0) when Skip pins Phineas with a schoolboy roll up to win the titles at 3:15:

Departing from standard WWF convention, the ring mat has the WrestleMania logo. The WWF would eventually turn around and sell pieces of it. The Bodydonnas quickly put Henry in peril but Skip misses a flying headbutt and Phineas gets a hot tag. Phineas has Skip prepared for the Slop Drop but Sunny hops on the apron, shows off her buns, and a transfixed Phineas ends up getting rolled up and pinned. This match, like many in the tournament, was not given a lot of time. There was nothing for the crowd to get invested in, although some fans facing the hard camera pop because they got to see Sunny’s Slammy Award-winning buns. Rating: *

Free for All Geriatric Match with Billionaire Ted as Special Guest Referee: The Nacho Man wrestles the Huckster to a draw in 48 seconds:

This marks the end of the line of the Billionaire Ted sketches. McMahon and Lawler commentate, the outline of the backs of their heads superimposed on the footage Mystery Science Theater 3000 style. A Michael Buffer-like announcer yells “Let’s get ready to stumble!” and people hold up signs in the crowd telling them to cheer or boo, a rip on the way WCW was doing its tapings at Universal Studios. The Nacho Man cannot scale the ropes and the Huckster takes forever to get to the ring on a walker, needing oxygen to slide under the bottom rope. When the Huckster does get inside, he cannot rip his shirt off so Ted and Scheme Gene have to do it for him. After Ted tells the Huckster and Nacho Man to have the best paid wrestler win, winking at the Huckster, the Nacho Man falls off the ropes and has to be revived by paramedics. Then, the Huckster hits the Nacho Man with a weak chair shot as the Nacho Man tries to hit the Huckster with a woman’s shoe. Both men collapse and die, causing Ted to declare a draw. When Gene asks Ted what he will do next, Ted says he has to buy stars because he cannot create them. A hooded man in black with “FTC” on his shirt appears behind Ted and when Ted sees him, he has a heart attack and collapses, dying too. Elements of this could have been fun but the way it was laid out just made the WWF look vindictive and silly.

The pay-per-view begins with a video package that hypes tonight’s iron man contest, arguing that WWF Champion Bret Hart or Shawn Michaels will be stripped of their dream. Unlike past WrestleManias, with the exception of the first and the ninth, “America the Beautiful” is not sung.

Opening Contest: Vader, Owen Hart & the British Bulldog (w/Jim Cornette) defeat Yokozuna, Ahmed Johnson & Jake Roberts (Mr. Fuji) when Vader pins Roberts after the Vader Bomb at 13:09:

The babyfaces display more unity than the heels, walking out together in a hybrid of all three of their themes whereas Vader comes out with Cornette and Owen and the Bulldog walk out separately. Mr. Fuji also returns to Yokozuna’s side, this time waving an American flag. The pattern of the bout is that each babyface gets a hot segment before they are placed in peril by the heels. For those sequences the crowd pops the most for Roberts trying – and failing – to do a DDT to Owen. Roberts takes the worst beating, taking an Owen flying elbow drop, the Bulldog’s running powerslam, and a Vader splash, surprisingly kicking out of the last two. When Yokozuna receives another hot tag, he destroys Vader in the corner and all hell breaks loose when the Bulldog breaks up a Roberts DDT on Owen. Roberts eventually hits the move and intercepts Cornette when he tries to run in. However, he waits too long to do anything and Vader knocks him down and pins him after the Vader Bomb. This was a fun opener as the action was free flowing throughout and it had some good chaotic sequences, especially at the end. Having each babyface get some shine and be beaten down was a great twist on how many six-man tag team matches go as well. Due to the fact Yokozuna did not get any time with Cornette, one can conclude that his feud with Vader is likely to continue. Rating: ***

A video package recaps the Roddy Piper-Goldust feud. Marlena is shown in a director’s chair backstage, holding a rose and having some champagne on ice.

Non-Title Hollywood Backlot Brawl: Roddy Piper fights Goldust (Intercontinental Champion) (6-2) until 4:35:

Piper was a big star of the WWF’s expansion period, arriving in 1984 and quickly finding himself in a feud with major acts like then-WWF Champion Hulk Hogan, Jimmy Snuka, and Bruno Sammartino. He started wrestling in 1969 when he was fourteen years old, embarking on a long career arc that took him through the AWA, NWA Central States, NWA Houston, NWA Hollywood, Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW), Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW), and Mid-Atlantic. His feud with Hogan resulted in main eventing the first WrestleMania alongside Paul Orndorff as they lost a tag team match to Hogan and Mr. T. After losing a boxing match to Mr. T at the next WrestleMania, Piper turned babyface and had a retirement match against Adrian Adonis at WrestleMania III, which he won. From that point forward Piper split his time between Hollywood and wrestling, his most notable film being the lead in John Carpenter’s They Live in 1988. Piper returned to the WWF in 1989, positioned as a wrestler and a commentator and he stayed until 1992. In that run he became Intercontinental champion, defeating the Mountie for the title at the 1992 Royal Rumble and then putting over Bret Hart at WrestleMania VIII. His only WWF match after that had been a guest appearance at The King of the Ring in 1994 where he defeated Jerry Lawler.

The match was filmed in advance of the pay-per-view, the first WrestleMania match not to take place in an arena in front of fans. Piper shows up with a baseball bat and Goldust drives onto the set in a gold Cadillac. Goldust takes a beating as Piper assaults him with the bat, slams a trash can on him, sprays him with a hose, and throws him hard into a dumpster. According to Dustin Rhodes, Piper was supposed to bust him open above the eyebrow but Piper failed to do so, leading to some hard shots to the noggin. Goldust’s only offense is a low blow, scurrying back to his car to run through Piper so he can escape. Piper is not finished yet, though, hustling to a white Bronco and taking off after the champion. McMahon must not have been pleased, telling fans that he is “happy that is over with.”

Savio Vega tells Dok Hendrix that he is living his dream by being at WrestleMania and that Steve Austin is in for the fight of his life.

Steve Austin (w/Ted DiBiase) (7-0-1) beats Savio Vega (1-1-1) via submission to the Million Dollar Dream at 10:07:

McMahon puts over a record crowd at the Arrowhead Pond. Austin is finally done with the white boots, switching to black and now wearing all black gear, including an elbow pad. Roddy Piper calls in during the match via cell phone, saying that he is not done with Goldust because he “is going to make a man out of this fruitcake.” The match is wrestled well but the crowd is not warm to it, somewhat surprising because Savio is well received at television tapings. Austin does use a new move, a Lou Thesz press with fists raining down, and referee Tim White initially counts it as a near-fall. More coverage of the Piper-Goldust issue continues during the match, with an insert showing a “car chase” between the two, which is really footage of the O.J. Simpson pursuit in the area from 1994. Savio’s comeback is muted and White eats the spinning heel kick instead of Austin, removing him from the action. DiBiase leaves the Million Dollar Belt for Austin, who clocks Vega over the head with it several times, and Austin applies the Million Dollar Dream as DiBiase throws a soda on White to revive him, allowing Austin to win. The action was fine but the injection of the Hollywood Backlot Brawl developments cast it as something fans did not need to invest in. Rating: **½

When the match ends, Austin does not break the hold and White is so out of it that he cannot do much to stop him. Eventually, other officials get Austin to release the hold. Austin gets on the turnbuckle and looks to the crowd with crazed eyes.

More ripped off footage of the O.J. Simpson car chase ends to extend the Hollywood Backlot Brawl.

Mr. Perfect does a locker room interview with Diesel, who says he does not sweat the little things and wants Shawn Michaels to win later so he can take care of him next.

The Ultimate Warrior pins Hunter Hearst Helmsley (8-2) after a splash to the back at 1:39:

The Warrior was making his return to the WWF for the first time since 1992. He had two previous runs prior to this, his most successful taking place between 1987-1991 when he rose through the ranks and became a two-time Intercontinental champion and won the WWF Championship from Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania VI. Both of those runs ended in firings, first for holding up McMahon for more money and benefits that would mirror Hogan’s contract at SummerSlam 1991 and the second time before Survivor Series in 1992 for receiving an human growth hormone (HGH) shipment from abroad when the WWF was being investigated by federal authorities for steroid distribution. In the years since that firing the Warrior had not wrestled much, making a few independent dates, most notably in the Las Vegas-based National Wrestling Conference (NWC) in July 1995 where he defeated the Honky Tonk Man, and also wrestling in Germany. Despite their strained relationship, McMahon still viewed the Warrior as a draw and at a time when competition with WCW was fierce, McMahon was hoping that the Warrior might give a much-needed boost in star power to the promotion.

Helmsley gets a big pop for his theme music, not for him but because fans want to see the Warrior’s return. His valet this evening is a woman named Sable, who McMahon says is the most beautiful of Helmsley’s valets to this point. The fact that she has a gimmicked name means there will be something for her to do later. In reality, Sable was Reno Mero, the wife of new WWF signee Marc Mero, who wrestled as Johnny B. Badd in WCW. The Warrior gets fireworks for his introduction that illuminate the entrance set and go off around the ring. Fans cheer loudly for him, although they dissipate the longer the entrance goes. Helmsley gets tired of waiting and attacks the returning star and quickly hits the Pedigree. A few fans facing the hard camera buy that the Warrior is about to be squashed but he quickly pops up, does his trademark clotheslines, a flying shoulderblock, drops Helmsley from a gorilla press, and splashes him to quickly prevail. Using Helmsley, someone the WWF had pushed strong in the midcard for close to a year, this way was questionable. It was later learned that the match was supposed to be competitive and last for eight minutes but, according to the Warrior, he vetoed that idea and said that he was going to get up from Helmsley’s finish and quickly win. The Warrior’s concept was arguably better because having him win quickly would be the best way for him to return and be re-introduced. Helmsley was less than pleased to be beaten like this in his WrestleMania debut but he was promised a strong push in the summer when the King of the Ring Tournament rolled around.

Todd Pettengill talks with a new star, “Wildman” Marc Mero backstage, whose last name Pettengill mispronounces. Mero talks about how he has wanted to wrestle in the WWF for the last five years. When Pettengill asks if he can hang with the WWF’s stars, Mero tells him to look into his “wild eyes.” Helmsley, who is arguing with Sable, bumps into Mero during the promo and the two start fighting, triggering a new feud.

“Piper” continues his drive to the arena to catch up to Goldust, who is driving back to the Arrowhead Pond to see Marlena.

The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) (3-0-1) pins Diesel (5-1) after the Tombstone at 16:42:

Even though the WWF is trying to position Diesel as an evil heel for messing with the Undertaker and attacking longtime friend Shawn Michaels, he still gets a mixed reaction. There is a good start to the match as Diesel rushes the Undertaker and the two start throwing bombs at each other. What helps the match quality is that the Undertaker wrestles at a faster pace. Diesel slows down the middle portion, working the Undertaker’s back. That culminates in a Jackknife at the twelve-minute mark. Diesel, knowing the Undertaker will rise, waits for the Dead Man to sit up and he Jackknifes him again. No cover is attempted, though, and the Undertaker sits up and chokes Diesel. A desperate back suplex from Diesel does not keep the Undertaker down long, and the Undertaker follows up with a flying clothesline and chokeslam. An impressive Tombstone follows and only one is needed for victory. This was easily the most hard-fought match the Undertaker had in his career at WrestleMania to this point. Rating: **½

Pettengill watches security monitors, which pick up Goldust’s Cadillac making its way to the Arrowhead Pond, chased by Roddy Piper’s Bronco. Goldust flees into the arena and Piper quickly follows. Soon, they end up going through the curtain and end up in the ring.

Non-Title Hollywood Backlot Brawl Continued: Roddy Piper defeats Goldust (Intercontinental Champion w/Marlena) (6-2) at 6:12 (10:47 total):

Piper starts taping his fist but Goldust attacks him and works the right knee, causing Piper’s tape to fly all over the place like when Hacksaw Jim Duggan would try to do a sloppy taped fist routine in WCW. When Goldust has Piper in compromising positions he rubs his rear end and chest, feigning at one point that he is going to kiss Piper until Piper fights back. Throughout, Piper gets some loud chants, making him one of the most over acts on the show. After Piper crotches Goldust on the top rope the champion kisses him, causing Piper to go into a rage and grab Goldust’s genitals. Piper spanks Goldust, kisses him, strips Goldust of his tights – revealing women’s lingerie underneath – and after a low blow, Goldust flees with Marlena. Piper’s music sounds and he is declared the winner. An unorthodox match to say the least but it was entertaining, never overstayed its welcome, and the crowd was into everything they did. The only stupid thing about it was splicing in footage of the O.J. Simpson car chase and trying to sell it as Piper driving through the Los Angeles area. This would be Piper’s last in-ring appearance for the WWF until 2003. He would sign with WCW near the end of the year and reignite his old 1980s feud with Hulk Hogan. Rating: **¼

A video package hypes the Bret Hart-Shawn Michaels iron man match.

In final interviews, Michaels says that there is nothing left to say. Bret talks about how everyone is going to see how good both men are.

Ring announcer Howard Finkel welcomes Gorilla Monsoon back as acting WWF president.

Iron Man Match for the WWF Championship: Shawn Michaels (w/Jose Lothario) (6-0) defeats Bret Hart (Champion) (5-1-1) 1-0 in sudden death after two Sweet Chin Musics to win the title at 61:50:

Michaels gets a flashy entrance, coming to the ring on a zipline, something that McMahon tested before the show. The funny thing about it is that Lothario comes to the ring alone to “Sexy Boy” and points to a corner of the arena where Michaels is coming from, causing Lawler to joke that Lothario is about to wrestle Bret for the title instead. In keeping with the athletic build for the match, referee Earl Hebner gets mic time to explain the rules. Bret gives his sunglasses to his son, Blade, at ringside. His father, Stu, is at ringside with Classie Freddie Blassie as well. Most of the first fifteen minutes is spent on the mat, killing a lot of the enthusiasm of the crowd since it is a style reminiscent of decades before. What makes that part good for viewers is Lawler, who does a good job putting over the psychology of holds, pacing, and the significance of the first fall. What wakes up the crowd is a creative spot where Bret is thrown into the lap of timekeeper Tony Chimmel and then moving, causing Chimel to take Sweet Chin Music. Sadly, that goes back to a long chinlock rather than sustained action as Chimel is stretchered out. There is some good work around Bret’s left shoulder, although Michaels applies a cross armbreaker to the wrong shoulder and has to get up and correct it. After that, the psychology for that body part is abandoned. Bret goes into some moves of doom at the halfway mark but when he slams Michaels’ head into the canvas from the top rope Hebner is bumped. No near-falls are missed, though. Michaels starts going aerial with 28 minutes to go but it almost backfires when Bret rolls through a body press for a near-fall. Michaels also uses some unorthodox moves for him like a fisherman’s suplex for two. After backdropping Michaels over the top rope following a blind charge Bret works the back but Michaels kicks out of a super back suplex. There is more collateral damage on the floor with 16 minutes to go as Michaels Flair flips over the corner and takes out Lothario, which happens again when Bret whips him into the ring steps. Bret finally goes for a Sharpshooter with six minutes to go after a superduperplex but Michaels blocks it. Michaels also blocks the second rope elbow drop with a boot to the face. As the crowd is divided, Michaels hits a flying double axe handle for a near-fall and gets more from a flying elbow drop, a moonsault, and a flying hurricanrana off the second rope. Desperate, Michaels tries another dive off the ropes with less than a minute left but Bret moves back, Michaels crashes into the canvas, and Bret applies the Sharpshooter. Locked in the middle of the ring, Michaels survives the last 23 seconds in the hold and the bell rings.

The result would seem to indicate a draw and Bret starts walking to the locker room with the title as a good portion of the crowd cheers and other boo. However, Monsoon gets in the ring and tells Hebner that a sudden death period needs to take place. Bret unhappily gets back in the ring and demands the bell ring so he can keep beating on Michaels’ back. Michaels soon floats over on a blind charge and delivers Sweet Chin Music, resulting in a double KO. Michaels gets to his feet first and blasts Bret with his finisher one more time, winning the WWF Championship. The WWF’s decision to book an iron man match without any falls was a disappointment, reportedly due to Bret and Michaels not wanting to drop the first fall so as to not look inferior to the other. According to Bret, he wanted to get people talking about he and Michaels wrestled for 60 minutes without falls but if no falls were planned the match should have been booked as a straight match because it would have generated more buzz for a match to go more than 61 minutes in 1996. As of 2026, this is the longest WrestleMania match ever. The ring work was the good action one would expect from these two but the psychology was all over the place, rendering the contest disappointing. Their match at Survivor Series 1992 was better. Rating: ***½

Afterward, the real-life feud between Michaels and Bret begins to unfold as Michaels tells Hebner to get Bret out of his ring when Bret wanted to shake Michaels hand and acknowledge him as the new champion. A visibly upset Bret storms off as Michaels celebrates in the ring. In a sign of respect, Michaels shakes hands with Stu Hart on his way to the locker room.

A video package to the “WrestleMania” song ends the show, removing the lyrics of the old wrestlers, many of whom are in WCW.

The Last Word: At six matches (excluding the Free for All), this is the fewest matches to ever grace a WrestleMania pay-per-view, solely due to the iron man match taking up more than a third of the show. All of the matches were above average and all brought something to the table, including the six-man tag team match, which was a surprisingly good opener. So fans did get their money’s worth. However, the main event showed the problem of babyface-babyface matches as the crowd was more behind Bret Hart than Shawn Michaels. And Michaels will now have the burden of carrying the company at a time when major stars like Diesel and Razor Ramon are bailing for WCW and Bret is reportedly going on hiatus. So the road ahead looks bumpy to say the least.

Backstage News*: There is a lot of speculation about Bret Hart’s future. Some believe that he will return at SummerSlam to face Shawn Michaels in a ladder match. Others think that it is possible Bret will retire after a tour of Germany in April. Still more believe Bret is taking time off because he believes Michaels will not draw as champion and he will be in a stronger position when he returns. There are whispers that Bret believes if Michaels’ title run succeeds that he has no place in a new WWF but he is outspoken of not wanting to go to WCW.

-There were negative fan reactions to the iron man match. Hundreds of fans left during it and there were long lines at concession stands because people knew the match would go long. The original booking called for each man to score two falls and then go to overtime. This was changed to one fall each and then eventually no falls.

-The WWF’s gross from WrestleMania ticket sales was $737,440, the best for a pro wrestling event on the West Coast. It outdrew WrestleMania VII’s gross of $722,035. Tickets could be had up to bell time and there were also reports of tickets being given out for free in the parking lot. The WWF pulled in an additional $176,061 in merchandise sales, averaging to about $9 per attendee.

-The first part of the Roddy Piper-Goldust Hollywood Backlot Brawl match was filmed a month before the show. Piper broke his hand throwing a punch and blood ended up in Goldust’s hair as a result. WWF makeup artists put color in Goldust’s hair to create the illusion that the backlot and live portions happened on the same day.

-WCW officials found it funny that Marc Mero is going to be in a feud with Hunter Hearst Helmsley over Sable, mirroring his recent WCW program of feuding with Diamond Dallas Page over the Diamond Doll.

-There was a planned WWF Hotline vote during the Slammys for the greatest WWF champion and the nominees were going to be Hulk Hogan, Yokozuna, Bret Hart, Bruno Sammartino, and Bob Backlund. The thought was Bret would win and they could bill him as the “greatest WWF champion of all-time.” Closer to the show, though, there were concerns Hogan could win so the vote was switched to which WWF champion in the room between Bret, Diesel, the Undertaker, Yokozuna, and Backlund would be headed for the Hall of Fame and Bret won that.

-The WWF will not participate in the World Peace Festival in June because it has a house show on June 1. One of the real reasons for their lack of participation was a demand for all television and video rights for their wrestlers. Another reason is their supposed anger over the planned main event of Antonio Inoki vs. Vader not happening because of WCW pressure.

*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for April 8 and 15.

Up Next: Monday Night RAW for April 1!

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