Wrestlemania 12: A Retrospective Look

[Dagger Dias]

This is the 12th of 29 retrospective Wrestlemania topics. The purpose of these is to look back on each previous Wrestlemania event, one by one, every couple of days up until Wrestlemania 30 which is approaching us this April. Let's continue slowly observing the history of the biggest show of them all!

In this thread we will talk about.... Wrestlemania 12!

Wrestlemania 12 took place on March 31, 1996. It was held at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California. There were 18,853 fans who attended the event. Here are the results of the show's matches:



0. The Bodydonnas (Skip and Zip) (with Sunny) defeated The Godwinns (Henry and Phineas) (with Hillbilly Jim) in a tag team match for the vacant WWF Tag Team Championship as part of Free for All (05:22)

1. Camp Cornette (Vader, Owen Hart and The British Bulldog) (with Jim Cornette) defeated Yokozuna, Jake Roberts and Ahmed Johnson (with Mr. Fuji) in a six-man tag team match (12:51)

2. Stone Cold Steve Austin (with Ted DiBiase) defeated Savio Vega in a singles match (10:00)

3. The Ultimate Warrior defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley (with Sable) in a singles match (01:40)

4. The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) defeated Diesel in a singles match (16:46)

5. Roddy Piper defeated Goldust (with Marlena) in a Hollywood Backlot Brawl (12:15)

6. Shawn Michaels (with Jose Lothario) defeated Bret Hart (c) in an Iron Man match for the WWF Championship (1:01:52)



Now, here are some discussion questions concerning the event:

What was your favorite match on this show, and why did you like it the most? What about the worst match of this show, why did you like it the least?

If you could change a few things about Wrestlemania 12, what would it be and why?

You may only use wrestlers who were available at the roster at that time or make changes that could have realistically taken place in March 1996. Please keep in mind the situations going into the show such as who could actually have been pushed into a title match, or what songs existed back then if you wanted to change the show's theme music, and so forth.

You may only discuss Wrestlemania 12 in this thread. The other Wrestlemania events will be getting their own retrospective threads shortly, any posts regarding other events will be considered spam and you risk getting an infraction.

Discuss!

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

Probably one of the most overrated WrestleMania's of all time, and the toughest one to rebook in my opinion due to the loss of Scott Hall on this card (due to a suspension for drugs), and the appearance of Steve "The Ringmaster" Austin...let's not forget there was no "Stone Cold" at this point, folks. I personally think the WWF knew that they were backed into a corner regarding talent at this point, and almost HAD to rely on a Broadway match to anchor the card. Combine this with the loss of other talent such as Jeff Jarrett, Bam Bam Bigelow and Shane Douglas, the use of Roddy Piper and Ultimate Warrior to help stock the card, and the condition of tag team wrestling at this point, and this card is just a nightmare to book.

That said, I would've attempted to somehow retain Shane Douglas and Bam Bam Bigelow at the least. Jarrett never really was one of my favorites, and if I had to lose someone, well, there you go. Razor's suspension was probably nothing they could account for but I'm going to make a controversial decision here.

That said, my card would probably try to lose the Iron Man match, in favor of a 2 out of 3 falls match which would've at least improved the pacing throughout.

Main Event: Best of 3 Falls Match for the World Title
Bret Hart Vs. Shawn Michaels (Same result...Michaels winning the title, but allow for better pacing and drama throughout the match. It can go long, but doesn't need to go the full hour now that the rest of the card is built up a bit more)

The Undertaker Vs. Diesel

IC Title Match:
Shane Douglas Vs. Golddust (who would started off as a face rather than a heel)

Tag Team Title Match:
Owen Hart and Davey Boy Smith Vs. Ahmed Johnson and Jake Roberts (Body Donnawhat? Godwinnwho?)

Vader Vs. Bam Bam Bigelow (True monster match -- Let these two beasts go at each other in a feud, and have Vader come out on top to set up his future feud with Michaels, rather than shoving him into a 6 Man Match

Hunter Hearst Helmsley Vs. Roddy Piper (I would've ditched the idea of UW altogether...at this point, McMahon HAD to have known that the man couldn't be worked with. Instead, this feud could've been built up into an actual match, not a squash, that pit common man Roddy Piper vs. blue blood HHH).

Steve Austin Vs. Razor Ramon (Yes, I'd make the call to keep Ramon on the card, but move him down the card and have him do the job for the new guy that I want to start to build up in Steve Austin. I'm not going to pretend that this is Stone Cold Steve Austin, in any way, however it's clearly a more exciting match up than Savio Vega.)

 

[MCMG]

It was an ok Wrestlemania. The Iron Man match was very good but not HBK's best Mania match or even the best Iron Man match there has been. I loved HBK's entrance. I love him finally getting his moment and become the champ. HBK is one of my favourites of all time and him winning the belt was awesome.

Taker vs Diesel was a pretty good match. Diesel actually had his moments and this was just before Taker was aloud to actually wrestle decent opponents. Nash allegedly said he was going to beat Taker but then he told Vince he was leaving for WCW. (Can you imagine!)

This Mania will be remembered for HBK and that is fine by me. He is Mr. Wrestlemania and, if I remember correctly, this is the only Wrestlemania he walked out as a champion.

 

[Celtic Tiger]

Hmm wasn't the worst mania for the roster they had at te time. But if I could re-book it I would of had a couple different feuds and matches.

With the Warrior coming back instead of wasting him on a HHH(he was a nobody then) I would have had him booked against Roddy Piper and hotrod could of carried the feud on the mic as a heel weeks leading up to the match.

The IC match I would of had Ahmad Johnson against Goldust I liked their matches in the past and their feud was always a good one.

The tag division was shit at the time and they had a tag team tournament for the new champs,the final should of been bulldog and Owen against the godwins,never liked the godwins personally but they were over back in 95/96.

The Austin-Vega match,Diesil-Taker match and the HBK-Hart match the same,I thought the main event was brilliant and takers streak match,and it was Steve The Ringmaster Austin's 1st big match.

So my wrestlemania 12 card would be booked as follows..

Steve Austin vs Savio Vega

Bulldog and Owen Hart vs Godwins TAG BELTS

Goldust vs Ahmad Johnson IC BELT

Undertaker vs Diesel

Ultimate Warrior vs Roddy Piper

Bret Hart vs Shawn Micheals WWF TITLE
IRONMAN MATCH

 

[Judah's Lion]

Vader Vs. Bam Bam Bigelow (True monster match -- Let these two beasts go at each other in a feud, and have Vader come out on top to set up his future feud with Michaels, rather than shoving him into a 6 Man Match

Hunter Hearst Helmsley Vs. Roddy Piper (I would've ditched the idea of UW altogether...at this point, McMahon HAD to have known that the man couldn't be worked with. Instead, this feud could've been built up into an actual match, not a squash, that pit common man Roddy Piper vs. blue blood HHH).

I really like these two matches. really like them. definitely good additions to a Mania with great potential.

HBK/Hart was perfect as is from a match standpoint. the only thing I'd change in the buildup is to have HBK enter the Rumble at #1 and go for 60 minutes to win the thing. that'd set up the 60 minute Iron Man Match a bit better I think.

Taker/Nash was a decent match with a logical build so leave that alone.

Vader needed a big win to be taken seriously and needed a reason to be in the main event at Summerslam against new WWE Champion HBK Shawn Michaels. a win here against the monster Bam Bam would have been a good start. and I actually think the match could have been pretty good as both wrestlers are often argued as two of the best big men in the business.

and Piper/Helmsley is an easy story to tell. the promos leading up to it would have been good and the match would have been very good also. I get that Triple H was being punished for the whole MSG Incident, but a less-than-2-minute-squash to Warrior is just mean. give him a loss here still but at least make it a match worthwhile.

this also frees up Warrior for a different match. I think Warrior/Goldust in a street fight type scenario could have worked. they had beef either prior to or right after this Mania. or better yet, go for Ahmed Johnson/Goldust for the IC Belt. they had good matches and the feud was established. and in 96, Goldust was a top heel and Ahmed was a fast rising babyface star.

so then put Warrior somewhere else again. I know his matches had much to be desired but he did have star power. always got a good reaction. how about Warrior/Jake the Snake Roberts? their feud from years earlier never resulted in a match. so give them one at Mania. doesn't matter who wins really, but we all know Warrior would have. so simply revisit that old rivalry.

and for the Tag Titles, definitely gotta put Bulldog and Owen over. my thoughts are that the Smoking Gunns would have been the best choice to drop the belts here. they had them at the Rumble so the stage is already set. and they were one of the best tag teams around at the time.

and make Austin's match with Savio Vega a Strap Match. they had a really fun match at In Your House with this stipulation, but build up that match for this show. it'd have been a great way to start Ringmaster Austin's rise to Stone Cold.

so my final card would be:

1. Austin beats Vega in a Strap Match.
2. Tag Titles: Bulldog and Owen beating the Smoking Gunns (retained Tag Titles at the Rumble).
3. IC Title: Ahmed Johnson beating Goldust (won IC Title at the Rumble).
4. Vader beats Bam Bam (maybe make it a #1 Contender's match for the WHC at Summerslam up front).
5. Warrior beats Jake Roberts.
6. Piper beats Triple H.
7. Taker beats Nash.
8. World Title: HBK beats Hart in an Iron Man Match.

as always, great series Dagger.

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

This one is going to be all about the main event. It seems that people either love it or hate it. I love it and wouldn't change a thing about the match. I also think this bout set up their feud in 97 as Bret just looked so damn pissed after he lost the match. From that point till the screw job you just didn't know what was real and what was part of the show and that made the product so good for the WWF. Since the match was over an hour you are limited in the undercard but I think they did a good job with this one considering they had to change the Goldust/Razor match just before the show. Taker/Diesel was a real good match and the 1st time Taker had a quality opponent who could possibly beat him. Of course it wouldn't happen as Nash was on his way out but back in 96 you didn't know those things. And for being thrown together last minute and having the silly OJ angle to go along with it I though Goldust and Piper put on a good brawl of a match.

Match of the card and in my opinion best Mania match ever is Bret/Shawn. As for worst match, I would go with the 6 man tag. Wasn't to interested in their story.

 

[MMK]

I would make only one minor change to the Iron Man Match. Everyone loves the finish to Royal Rumble 1995 with Shawn's infamous "one foot" victory, but in retrospect I feel that Rumble storyline should have been saved for Royal Rumble 1996.

I would have Shawn enter at #1 in 1996 instead of #18. Here's why. In 1995 they had only 1 minute intervals between Rumble entrants, making it the shortest Rumble ever. But in 1996 they were back to the traditional 2 minute intervals, meaning if Shawn had entered at #1 and won he would have lasted over 60 minutes. Making his Rumble win the perfect setup to a 60 minute Iron Man Match with Bret.

Bret: "So you lasted 60 minutes in the Rumble, huh? Let's see you last 60 minutes one on one with me".

Also, get Jose Lethario out of the way. Shawn clearly didn't even want him there anyway.

As for the rest of the card, here are a few more suggestions....

--Marlena vs Sunny
(not because they can wrestle, but maybe we get a wardrobe malfunction)

FOUR CORNERS MATCH FOR WWF TAG TITLES
--Owen & Bulldog def Smoking Gunns/ Bodydonnas/ Godwinns

--Vader def Yokozuna (Should have been Yoko's last match. Pass the torch to Vader. New big man in town.)

--Stone Cold def Razor Ramon
(I know Razor was leaving WWF, but as long as he's on his way out why not have him job to the next big thing Steve Austin instead wasting Austin in a meaningless match with Savio?)

Everything else can more or less stay as it was.

 

[LODemolition]

This is a WrestleMania they could have done a lot more with in my opinion. First off, I was bummed that Razor Ramon was left off the card since he was my favorite wrestler at the time. But that was his own fault, so nothing we can do to change that. While the Iron Man match was great, it didn't need to go a full hour to be great. 30 minutes would've sufficed. That only left room for 5 other matches on the card. I enjoyed the Hollywood Back Lot Brawl and Taker/Diesel match a lot. So I wouldn't change those a bit. I would make a few other changes, however. My card would've looked like this...

1. Jake "The Snake" Roberts vs. Tatanka. At this point, Tatanka was nowhere near what he had been and a loss to the returning Roberts wouldn't have hurt him any more than he already was. He and Waltman lost in the 1st round of the Tag Team Title tourney, so that tells you all you need to know about where his career was at this point.

2. Tag Team Title Match: Owen & Davey Boy vs. The Godwinns. No one gave a rat's ass about The Bodydonnas. That's why this match was on the Free For All. Yes, people wanted to see Sunny, but that was it.

3. Ahmed Johnson vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Somebody above said he was still "The Ringmaster" at this point, which is incorrect. Savio Vega had no business being on the card if you ask me.

4. Yokozuna vs. Vader. I would've much rather seen these guys go one on one than in a 6-man tag. Could've and probably would've happened if the championship match wasn't over an hour long.

5. Ultimate Warrior vs. Triple H. I'm not sure if this squash was part of Triple H's punishment over breaking kayfabe at Madison Square Garden or not. That may have happened after WM12. If someone can refresh my memory, thanks.

6. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper vs. Goldust. Wouldn't change a thing here.

7. The Undertaker vs. Diesel. Wouldn't change this at all either.

8. WWF Championship: Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels. Like I said, I would've made this a 30-minute Iron Man match rather than 60. It just opens up time for a much better all-around card.

 

[The Warlord]

Just a couple things I would change here, but first: Favorite match was the Iron man match, without question. Least favorite: Backlot brawl...just a poor booking decision.

I wouldnt change anything in the main event or Warrior/HHH matches. Lets be honest...you werent going to get a good match out of Warrior anyway, and he damn sure wasnt going to lose. I dont mind squash matches as long as they're justified. This one was ok, IMO.

First thing I would change is Vader. A guy with so much potential and an already proven success gets stuck in a tag match? Vader and Taker would have been a much better match than what Nash gave him.

And for Nash....if he's going to do the job for someone before he leaves, I think Steve Austin would have been the perfect guy. Austin was already booked to go over so you know Vince was high on him. I think Austin and Diesel would have meshed well in the ring and added more value to Mania, regardless if they were both heels. Something that could easily be fixed with proper booking.

 

[Judah's Lion]

Ahmed Johnson vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Somebody above said he was still "The Ringmaster" at this point, which is incorrect. Savio Vega had no business being on the card if you ask me.

Ultimate Warrior vs. Triple H. I'm not sure if this squash was part of Triple H's punishment over breaking kayfabe at Madison Square Garden or not. That may have happened after WM12. If someone can refresh my memory, thanks.

to the two points above...

I can't remember Mania 12 exactly, so I can't definitively say that Austin was still going by "Ringmaster" or not. however, I am absolutely positive that two months prior, at the Royal Rumble, he didn't even go by the name "Steve Austin". he was simply known as "the Ringmaster". so again, maybe by Mania 12 two months later he was going by his name of Steve Austin, but he for sure was not "Stone Cold" by this point yet.

as to Triple H, I'm not sure if his match with Warrior was in order to punish him or not, but it'd be hard to argue otherwise. and yes, Mania 12 did happen after the MSG Incident where he broke kayfabe with Hall, Nash and HBK. as has been stated in multiple interviews and books, etc, HBK was getting the World Title, so he couldn't really take any punishment, and Hall and Nash were leaving the company. that left Triple H to take the brunt of, if not all of, the blame and punishment. tough break.

also, I originally liked my idea for Vader vs. Bam Bam, but I really like your idea for Vader vs. Yokozuna more. it'd be a great passing of the torch moment and they definitely planted the seeds at the Rumble with them basically eliminating each other. sure, HBK helped, but they brawled afterwards and so a one-on-one match between the two just makes sense. and have the winner face the WWF Champion at Summerslam. that sets up HBK vs. Vader. win/win.

good post.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

We get to 12 and as someone said, perhaps the most overrated show.

There are 3 big elephants in the room for me with this show... they affected how it was booked, how it could have been and how I would have rebooked it.

First let's get this out of the way. I am not a big fan of the Ironman match. Not the effort that went into it or even that Shawn ended up with the win... just the 0-0 tie made it dull to me. To me an Iron Man match should always have at least 3 falls and a 2-1 finish, in an hour probably 3-2. It's great they managed to call a match that long without, but it got dull for me quite quickly, especially with Bret's rep for rollups etc... but more on this later.

The Tag matches being vacated again barely a year after they had been previously shows what a joke WWE booking was at the time. There was never any real reason for Shawn and Diesel to get the belts in 95 other than "Kliq-teasing" (TM), they had the belts cos they could have them... no other reason. The division was now sadly petering out, wasting talent such as Chris Candido now everyone is saying Bulldog and Owen should have had the belts or being contending. I disagree, Davey Boy was far more valuable in the World title picture, the Kliq just didn't accept or allow him to be. Owen was IC material all the way, they could even have had him tweener at the time and I'll explain why in a mo...

The only real "proper" tag teams they seemed to have were The Gunns and The Godwinns who were a strong team, just with pig shit gimmicks. Irony is as Southern Justice they were great, I'd have given them this gimmick in 96 and had them win the titles from the Gunns. By all means throw in some makeshift teams but leave Davey and Owen out of it...

Dumbo's brother...A.K.A. 2nd big elephant in the room is Brian Pillman. For my purposes, I get him into WWE a little sooner, made sure he was at least on the road with Austin...ergo he didn't crash hims Humvee... This also means he didn't go to ECW.

Make no mistake, Pillman was signed in early 96 to be a World title contender to Bret and Shawn and more than likely the "Attitude" champion. Not Austin, Not Shawn with DX... The Pillman who signed his deal was as good if not better than Shawn and an equal to Bret. There were built in rivalries and stories to be had and a ready made ally in Stone Cold. So to me, it should have been priority to get him "integrated" for a potential Mania debut. He had other ideas/commitments, went out and celebrated and the rest is history... but this was 10 days after Mania 12... So I make sure he is there and working, not celebrating his deal.

The final "elephant" is I know Hall and Nash are offski and Shawn WANTS to go... The Kliq's power is finally crumbling, although those of you who have been reading my other posts know I booked matches around reducing this power... so some talent to me is available that wouldn't be in the real world (Bam Bam for example)

So analyzing the card as it was, we've covered the tags. So onto the IC title.

As much as I love They Live's street fight and appreciated the joke of OJ and Goldust's defrocking... I didn't need to see any of them at Mania 12. Piper can be there sure, as a referee for the Ironman match or even in the role I pick for him, but not in this as it was a waste of a title opportunity... If you're going to use a legend, here is where you use Warrior and have him pick up the IC in a similar way to Honky... maybe, if you trust him.

Here is where my Owen tweener theory comes in. Owen was known for being a thoroughly decent guy, family oriented and quite "straight", when the Razor angle wasn't working out cos of Hall's failed drugs test I can see why they went with Piper, the "blow on your bagpipe" promo etc... but to me Owen was the perfect opponent for Goldust at that time, someone who cos he had a wife and kids etc Goldust would almost "pick on" and try to dare I say "turn him". It would have been a risky angle, but no more so than Piper and Razor's borderline homophobia. Owen starts off bemused, embarrased, puzzled...then as Goldust's attentions become more outrageous and he starts to involve Marlena offering "Triple Threat Matches" it starts to really piss Owen off... They could almost have played off the movie Disclosure which was out at the time and have Owen file suit against Goldust... which he agrees to drop for an IC title match at Mania with the stipulation that if he loses, he must be Goldust's "toy" for 30 days... if he wins Goldust must end his campaign of "terror". You'd have gotten a great match out of both guys guaranteed, it's the kind of angle that Owen might have not been too happy with, but as he was the sympathetic figure he might have done it knowing he's going over for the belt. Goldust would win it back quite quickly after promising to "turn over a new leaf" only to go right back to his old ways. They kind of did a lite version of this with Ahmed Johnson, but again it went a little too far down the homophobic route to really work. With Owen in this kind of feud it'd be more about "Hey man I'm flattered, but I don't go that way and you're really upsetting my wife..." Owen could still be heel, for other matches but against "Dust" he'd be tweener/face.

Next was Undertaker v Diesel... Assuming my other bookings had gone ahead, Diesel would have not been champion by now... but I would have made a big deal to keep him... assuming I can't and knowing what I have planned for Pillman, I let him go and keep this as is. Jobbing out to Taker wasn't the worst thing he could do on the way out, he looked strong and more to the point so did Taker. This was right off of the Mabel injury (RIP) and the start of the phase where Taker was booked right instead of against Monster Of The Month... his learning process started with Diesel in that match and he learned bloody quick.

I also make Hall job out on the night but not to Austin... Davey Boy gets the win here as he is Shawn's first challenger and he wins very strong indeed... no cheap finishes, none of Hall's favourite "kick out of your finish", he takes the Powerslam once and stays down... "don't let the door hit you in de ass chico". In reality he was on a drugs suspension/self imposed strike from it... so fuck him, he wants the money let him take it but he's going over having made someone to replace him.

This leaves Vader out of the Camp Cornette match so I am going with a tag match... Vader and Bam Bam Bigelow vs Ahmed Johnson and Ron Simmons (in My WWF Bam Bam doesn't go face or leave cos of the Kliq... he and Vader teamed in NJPW and were one of the most exciting teams so I play up on that. Simmons debuted last year and has had a solid mid-upper mid spot since.

Here is where I also bring Jake Roberts back as referee... however he turns on Ahmed and Ron and becomes manager for Bam Bam and later Vader as well moving Cornette to focus solely on Davey and Owen.

Stone Cold Vs Marc Mero - This ends up at KOTR anyway but I put Mero on the card ahead of Savio purely from the perspective of Sable being in the match.

Shane Douglas vs The Ultimate Warrior - No squash here and a countout loss for Warrior when old enemy Jake shows up and costs him the win... Over the next weeks I build a stable of Douglas,Jake, Bam Bam and Hunter Hearst Helmsley called The Snake Pit. Warrior of course runs them off after the bell and the feud continues with him going over Hunter on RAW, losing to Bam Bam at KOTR and a no contest at Summerslam vs Jake when Vader joins the group... This sets up a Survivor match later in the year with Vader, Bam Bam, Douglas, Jake and Helmsley v Warrior, Ahmed, Sid, and the Smokin Gunns.

Piper's Pit - Piper the WWF commissioner comes out and introduces his guest - Brian Pillman who makes his way to the ring in his bearded/sunglasses look with the cane. This is a very controversial skit with lots of barb throwing between the two men and Pillman pushes Roddy to his limit... Pillman then goes one further and threatens to kick his ass (first use of the word in WWF history) back to Scotland. Piper loses it but just as he is about to attack he is grabbed by Austin, who he hasn't seen come in... Pillman breaks his cane over Piper's head, causing juice and tells the camera that this is just the beginning and if you don't like it you can F.... Vince just manages to speak over the F-Bomb and the camera cuts but it's clear what Pillman meant as he and Austin trash the Piper's Pit set. I do this cos Monsoon was just a bad idea, it I personally wouldn't have had Monsoon at all and had Piper as commish all through 95-96... of course Piper being hurt this way this has ramifications later on for Bret v Shawn and the next 6 months.

So we come to the main event and much of the match is as I described earlier, many of the spots are the same but I have a Bret roll up pin to go 1-0 up, Shawn to counter that with a crucifix for 1-1. As time ticks down there is a referee bump. Pillman sees his chance and counts as both guys shoulders are down... declaring the match a 2-2 draw! Earl Hebner says he can't do that but Pillman removes his jacket to show a referee's outfit and says the NEW commisioner said he could... and that this match is gonna continue cos he says so!

Bret is furious of course, just as he was when Monsoon did it but he really gets in Pillman's face, adding that element of he can't touch him or he loses his title... Shawn is quicker to accept but also unhappy as the match restarts with Pillman ejecting Hebner and now the referee...

The match ends similarly to how it did... Bret is furious as Pillman backs away from the ring saying "he called it down the middle" and smirking while Shawn celebrates.

The upshot of all this is that the "Commish" would be a mystery for a period of time before being revealed as a returning Rick Rude (who had stayed a lot longer with my Manias)... he allows Pillman and Austin unusual leeway while making life difficult for old foes Bret and Ultimate Warrior. Pillman wins KOTR and goes on to face Bret and Shawn in the first Triple Threat main event to Summerslam.

 

[Ubermensch]

Despite not being a big fan of the Warrior. I will always love the squash match where destroyed HHH before he started gaming his way to the top of the WWE.

This is a decent Wrestle Mania. The WCW really made the effort to put the company on Hart and Michael's shoulders. The Iron Man match was great in regards to the creativity and athleticism required to go that long, but it was still difficult to pay attention to because of it's length..

Diesel vs Undertaker is decent but not all that noteworthy. I believe he left shortly after this.

I have never been big on Roddy Piper so I wasn't too impressed with his match Goldust.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

I have never been big on Roddy Piper so I wasn't too impressed with his match Goldust.

It brought back bad memories of a match that Rhodes and Barry Darsow wrestled in the back of a moving tractor trailer. I've come to believe that there are two types of Falls Count Anywhere matches: Those that decide to go outside of the arena/outside the viewing area of the ring audience, and those that stay in the general ring area. The first are almost universally horrible. The audience feels gipped, and they immediately quiet down as soon as the action is not in front of them. It just never works. The second can be truly exciting, though often a bit dangerous particularly with the way things were getting all "extremey" in the 90s.

 

[Blade222]

This was the first Wrestlemania I attended so I would want to change very little about it. I remember it being great live.

You did neglect to include The Nacho Man vs. The Huckster, which was billed as a match but was just another Billionaire Ted skit during the free-for-all. It's probably not worth mentioning, but it is funny looking back on it. Vince was claiming Ted Turner was stacking WCW with WWF has beens while he already knew Hall & Nash of his "new generation" were heading south in a few months.

 

[Wolf Pac]

Favourite match is Bret vs Shawn in the Ironman match. At the same time though, I feel this is the most overrated Wrestlemania main event of all time. It was a good match, don't get me wrong, but the last 5 minutes and the Sudden Death is where the match gets exciting. The rest of the 55 minutes is just headlocks and submissions to pass away time, that's how I remember it anyway. There's only one word that can describe this match - LONG!

Worst match....I don't know. I felt every match was actually good as was the Backlot Brawl (c'mon, it was hilarious especially the OJ chase) and the HHH/Warrior squash. But I'm not saying 12 was a great Wrestlemania - the PPV was a one match show and every other match on the card was clearly rushed to make time for the Ironman Match, which took up half the show.

The only change I would make - I may regret saying this later on because it was history in the making, but I could've done without the Ironman stipulation in the main event. My reasons for this are above. There was nothing in this 1 hour match that these two couldn't have done in a regular one-on-one match. Shawn & Bret could've gone 25 minutes without a result and then had a 5 minute overtime to decide a winner. Without the Ironman stipulation, the show wouldn't have been rushed and more matches could've been added on - Yokozuna vs Vader in a singles match which they were originally building towards, Owen & Bulldog vs Ahmed & Roberts for the Tag Titles, "Wildman" Marc Mero making his debut against the 123 Kid in a filler match? Mero could still have rescued Sable from Hunter Hearst Helmsley later on in the PPV.

 

[WWEIsLife2]

The only thing I would have really changed was putting the Tag Title Match on the actual Show instead of the Free For All. I don't know what they could have put on the Pre-Show but at Wrestlemania the Tag Titles need to be defended especially if its a Tournament Finals.

The rest of the Show I wouldn't change anything,Bret/Shawn I enjoyed,Taker/Diesel was a fun big man Match,the 6-Man is a good Opener,the Piper/Goldust I would have started in the alley and had it gone to the Ring right away (ok so two things I would change),Austin (who was Stone Cold by this point) & Savio was pretty good.

By the way HHH was punished after WM 12 because the MSG Incident happend in May of 1996 which is why he didn't win KOTR that year. I doubt it would have mattered who faced Warrior that night because he was going over no matter what.

 

[Pedigree1]

WM12 is known only for one match and we all know what that match is. That aside,it wasnt a bad WM. Certainly not top five overall but not a bad one. I would have scraped the UW vs HHH match,having Trips get squashed accomplished nothing. I still dont know why they did that. I much rather would have had,Triple H go against Roddy Piper,pull goldust from the event.

Also i would have had Vader go against Bam Bam Bigelow. Vader would have gone over but what a match that would have been. Brute force meeting brute force. Bulldog should have gone against Ahmad Johnson. I believe that match would have been the sleeper of the night,Power vs Power. I personally would have pulled Yokozuna from the match,IMO he had no business competing as he was grossly overweight and woefully out of shape.

The Undertaker vs Diesel match,was a great match. Perfect match by two big men. That night the both of them just clicked and a tombstone right in the middle of the ring was a perfect ending. The Iron Man Match,5 star match. Perfect!!

 

[Ubermensch]

It brought back bad memories of a match that Rhodes and Barry Darsow wrestled in the back of a moving tractor trailer. I've come to believe that there are two types of Falls Count Anywhere matches: Those that decide to go outside of the arena/outside the viewing area of the ring audience, and those that stay in the general ring area. The first are almost universally horrible. The audience feels gipped, and they immediately quiet down as soon as the action is not in front of them. It just never works. The second can be truly exciting, though often a bit dangerous particularly with the way things were getting all "extremey" in the 90s.

You're right on that.

I do find wrestlers being placed in random scenarios entertaining. However, the longer the segment the more restless the audience gets. There isn't a really good solution to this. Hardcore matches that are ringside are still, but when you add a random location or even just for a spot like Booker T and Austin had, it can be very entertaining.

I think may be the best solution is to placate fans with a jobber match at ringside, and show the hardcore match on television. Maybe even have the hardcore match on the tron while the regular match is going on, everyone wins that way.

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

Like Wrestlemania XI, this one suffered (though not as badly) through WWE's poor booking of 1995. However, this was a MUCH better ppv than it's predecessor. After experiencing what I consider its' Annus Horribilis of July 1994-July 1995, WWE put on a decent Summerslam and an amazing Survivor Series, all things considered. Yet all the hard work that went into rebuilding the company from the dark days of WMXI were abruptly postponed in the aftermath of SS'95.

Sorry to discuss another ppv first, but I need to so my WMXII post has added context.

The Survivor Series was the best ppv of 1995 in my opinion. They gave low-carders, women, mid-carders and top liners all pretty much equal spotlights, and tested a few new elements out (such as Diesel propelling Bret Hart through the poor Spanish Announcers' table); the 'underdogs' match especially really showcased the strength in depth the WWE now had in their roster. What they SHOULD then have done is what they ended up doing 18 months later, and started to scrap dodgy gimmicks in favour of a more 'realistic' approach: for example, rather than having Dr Tom Pritchard bleach his hair blonde and join the BodyDonnas, why not have Skip become a more serious wrestler, either by adding a surname or using his real name (Chris Candido), and leaving the fitness gimmick behind. By all means still team Candido & Pritchard, and they would have got over a lot more. Likewise Dean Douglas - tone down the gimmick, let him be more 'himself'. Rad Radford is another - another rubbish name for a decent wrestler. Even just calling him Louie Radford, using his real first name, would be better than 'Rad'.

The amount of wrestlers who were on Survivor Series but didn't make it to Wrestlemania speaks for itself. Many of whom left due to reported issues with the Clique. The Clique should NEVER have been allowed to get so powerful - perhaps then my suggestions may have actually happened. But whatever the reasons between Nov '95 and March '96, 24 out of the 36 who wrestled on SS'95 were not featured on WMXII's care, and a 25th, Jerry Lawler, was back on commentary.

As for Wrestlemania, even though I feel the Hart v Michaels match is the most overrated in history, I still leave it in place, as Wrestldmania is the rightful place for spectacular (on paper at least) match ups like that one. Similarly, the Undertaker finally got a decent opponent - and match - against Diesel; Vader v Yokozuna would have made sense as they were pushing Vader as the next big thing at the time, though the 6-man is ok as well (and makes more sense than an Ahmed-Jake team); and the Warrior squashing Triple H may as well stay - as others point out, once Warrior was booked, he wasn't going to lose his return match; the other matches I would change.

Stone Cold v Savio was boring. Austin could have had a better match with anyone. How about Marty Jannety? (Don't laugh!) the point was showcasing Austin, another wrestler they were willing to invest in, at their biggest show, why not give him a mini-feud that would start him off in a positive light.

The tag team title match should have been on the main show, with the same result, but it should have been Candido and Pritchard winning, not as Skip and Zip the BodyDonnas, in keeping with my policy of ousting the awful gimmicks.

Finally, I hated Piper v Goldust. Worst match on the card. There are two ways to rectify this: have Razor face (and lose clean) to Goldust as his last act before suspension (whilst withholding his WM bonus), or, if Razor had to be suspended (and it was only fair, since they released Rad Radford weeks earlier due to an overdose) have Piper win via pinfall/submission - part of the reason I hated it was there was no clear winner.

*nb. In a perfect world, I would have had Douglas, Bigelow, Radford (who is massively underrated, in part due to the stupid name and gimmick) and Alundra Blayze stay on, at least for a few more months; Bigelow would have made a decent opponent for Vader, perhaps at the Royal Rumble in 1996. Douglas could have gone literally anywhere with his character; and I would have booked Blayze v Aja Kong at Wrestlemania XII for the Women's Title *

 

[The Brain]

When I think of WrestleMania XII I remember the excitement and anticipation I felt leading up to the event. I couldn’t wait to see Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels wrestle for sixty minutes. They were by far my two favorites to watch so the thought of them wrestling for the title for sixty minutes in the mania main event was the best I could hope for.

I know a lot of people did not care for the main event but it’s got to be the best match on the six match show. I find it interesting the mixed reaction this match gets on this forum. Some love it and call it a classic and some hate it and think it was boring. I’m in the group that loved it. The action was good and the slow rest spots made sense as pace and endurance were heavily discussed going into the match. The match told a story and made sense. The 0-0 score as time expired was brilliant. It made both guys look great and as time went on we all realized how important that first fall was going to be. Honestly, I can see why some don’t like the match but I loved it.

I didn’t dislike any of the matches on the card but I guess if I had to pick a least favorite it would be Roddy Piper vs. Goldust. It’s one of the things I would change about WM12. I don’t mind them wrestling each other but I would have just had a regular match in the arena. No DQ would have been fine but I didn’t like that the match started in some parking lot across town and ended up in the ring an hour or so later. It may sound minor but I didn’t like that Goldust didn’t get his entrance at mania. He was still relatively new and people were still getting used to his character. His entrance was a big part of his character and I would have liked to have seen it at mania.

Another change I would have made was to not have made the change with Vader and Yokozuna. They were originally supposed to go one on one and I would have kept it that way. I assume it was made a six man tag to get the others on the show. Once again, keeping mania at four hours would have allowed the others to get on the show and keep Vader vs. Yoko one on one. Just put Ahmed Johnson vs. Davey Boy Smith and Jake Roberts vs. Owen Hart and you have a more full mania card than just six matches. The tag title match should have also been on the main show instead of the pre show. Putting a tournament final title match on a pre show sent the message that the tag titles weren’t as important as they used to be.

to the two points above...

I can't remember Mania 12 exactly, so I can't definitively say that Austin was still going by "Ringmaster" or not. however, I am absolutely positive that two months prior, at the Royal Rumble, he didn't even go by the name "Steve Austin". he was simply known as "the Ringmaster". so again, maybe by Mania 12 two months later he was going by his name of Steve Austin, but he for sure was not "Stone Cold" by this point yet.

as to Triple H, I'm not sure if his match with Warrior was in order to punish him or not, but it'd be hard to argue otherwise. and yes, Mania 12 did happen after the MSG Incident where he broke kayfabe with Hall, Nash and HBK. as has been stated in multiple interviews and books, etc, HBK was getting the World Title, so he couldn't really take any punishment, and Hall and Nash were leaving the company. that left Triple H to take the brunt of, if not all of, the blame and punishment. tough break.

I do remember WM12 pretty well. Steve Austin was Stone Cold at mania. He wasn't the foul mouthed, beer swilling Stone Cold but he was definitely Stone Cold Steve Austin. Also the MSG incident was after WM12 so Triple H's match against the Warrior was not a punishment for that. The MSG incident took place in May 1996 and Mania was in March.

 

[Winds-Of-Change]

Hmmm...

Yokozuna Vs Vader
Big man Vs big man.. If Yokozuna wins he gets 5 minutes in the ring with Jim Cornette. If Vader wins, Yokozuna retires.

Tag Team Title Match
The Smoking Gunns (c) Vs Owen Hart & The British Bulldog.
Where were The Smoking Gunns during this time? I can't remember if they had split before or after the event.

IC Title Match
Ahmed Johnson Vs Goldust (c)
Have Ahmed bulldoze his way to the IC. Who better then to have a great match with then Goldust?

Hunter Hearst Helmsley Vs Razor Ramon.
Forget The Ultimate Warrior having a match at this point.

Steve Austin Vs SID
Yes, I would book this.

Piper's Pit
Special Guest - The Ultimate Warrior
Image the madness that could of come out of this!

Undertaker Vs Diesel
Would'nt change a thing.

WWF Title Ironman Match
Shawn Michaels Vs Bret Hart (c)
Would not change a thing.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

This Wrestlemania the undercard is fine with me. Could shuffling it made it a bit better? Sure but not by much since this WM12, as someone years ago described, was a "one trick pony" event. That one trick pony was the Iron Man Match, this even was going to sink or swim based on that one match.

And there wasn't really anything to change to be honest. Austin was a mid carder so his match up with Vega was fine. Warrior went over a young Hunter Hearts Helmsley in a squash, though I don't mind Warrior looking dominant it should, at least, been 5 mins longer. Goldust/Piper should have been a real match.

As for the Iron Man Match, like I said, this event was riding on this one match and nothing else. Personally I thought it was a very good match so, hence, my thought of WM12 is positive.

It could have been better I didn't like that this match was mostly rest holds and the there were no decisions made after the 60 mins. I don't mind it going to OT but making it 0-0 at the end of 60 mins full of rest holds is NOT a good way to introduce people to the Iron Man Match. Which made it's WWE debut at a big stage at WM12.

That would be like me introducing them to hockey and the match up I show them is a match that goes scoreless after regulation with both teams playing Trap Style Hockey. It's going to bore a lot of people and not win people over.

I would rather this match went 3-3 after regulation then HBK wins at OT to make it 4-3.

I can see the decisions play out like this
Bret Hart gets the fall via Count Out at 20 mins to make it 1-0
Shawn Michaels via a Small Package at 29 mins to tie it 1-1
Bret Hart via a Roll Up after a Sweet Chin Music Counter at 35 mins to retake the lead at 2-1
Bret Hart via a pin fall decision at 43 mins to make it 3-1
Shawn Michaels via another Countout at 50 mins to make it 3-2
Shawn Michaels via a pin fall decision at 55 mins to tie it 3-3
- Bret Hart locks up the Sharpshooter like he really did until time expires.
Shawn Michaels via a Sweet Chin Music at OT to win the Title.

Same result but more exciting things going on since deicsions are being made within the 60 mins.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

I do remember WM12 pretty well. Steve Austin was Stone Cold at mania. He wasn't the foul mouthed, beer swilling Stone Cold but he was definitely Stone Cold Steve Austin. Also the MSG incident was after WM12 so Triple H's match against the Warrior was not a punishment for that. The MSG incident took place in May 1996 and Mania was in March.

3. Ahmed Johnson vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Somebody above said he was still "The Ringmaster" at this point, which is incorrect. Savio Vega had no business being on the card if you ask me.

I'll own up to this one. I remember Austin coming down to ringside with the Million Dollar Belt and DiBiase by his side, and went off of memory. I thought Austin only turned into Stone Cold after he and DiBiase were finished, and just before the King of the Ring.

 

[dd23beatlesfan1]

I wouldn't change very much of this Wrestlemania card.

I'm in the "Iron Man Match was awesome and one of the best matches ever" camp. I can see where people hate the match or find it overrated, but I just don't feel that way. The one thing that's odd to me is that all of these people complaining (not necessarily on this particular thread, but in general among the IWC) that the match was "too long" are usually the same people that love all the old Flair NWA championship matches which were usually 60 minutes long. Interesting.

So I would've kept the Iron Man match exactly as it was. It ushered in Shawn's rise to the top, while leaving the ending a bit screwy so Bret would be justified in wanting his rematch when he came back. And it was a classic match. Why change it?

Diesel and Taker was also perfect and no reason to change whatsoever. I'm glad pretty much everyone's in agreement with that. Diesel and Taker were the other top two dogs in the company (along with Bret and Shawn), and it was only natural for these two to collide. It's easy to forget, but in the three years that Diesel had been with the company and risen to the top, he never really crossed paths with Taker until late 95 when the two often teamed with Shawn in 6 man tag matches (against Camp Cornette), so it was not only logical, but it was fresh too. And it was by far the most high profile and best match Taker had on a Wrestlemania event up to that point. As others have pointed out, this was the beginning of the end of the "Putting Taker with the latest monster of the month" type matches they had Taker in for his run in the company up to that point. Diesel was a legit threat and just as big a star, and it was a good, big-man styled worked match. Perfect. Definitely stays.

A lot of people have made changes to the Hollywood Backlot Brawl match. I may be in the minority, but I loved it. It was different and fresh in that day and age for the WWF. You didn't really have anything goes type brawl matches in the WWF then, so it was really cool to see the match start off in a parking lot, go all over the city (has that really been done since), then back into the ring. It was ridiculous, yeah, but it was a lot of fun and something different. I kind of didn't like that there wasn't a clear cut ending, and it was really not a sanctioned official match. But in the same token, that very fact made it a groundbreaking match for the WWF. The alternatives that people have thrown out like Ahmed Johnson against Goldust, or even having Razor on the show to put Goldust over are good alternatives. I even like RobTaylor's idea of an Owen/Goldust feud too. That could've been really interesting and resulted in a great match. But I'm fine with Piper and Goldust as is.

Ultimate Warrior and Triple H, I'm also fine with it as is. Warrior wasn't going to come back to "put a young guy over." And he hadn't really wrestled on a regular basis for almost four years up to that point, so beings he wasn't ever a great worker to begin with, coming off nearly four years of a regular schedule, he wasn't gonna put on a great match. So a squash match was very appropriate and smart to do. Hunter wasn't really going anywhere at that point. So why not do the job? It was memorable and it brought Warrior back in a big way. I'm cool with it.

Steve Austin and Savio Vega. Their matches are really underrated actually, and they weren't really getting behind Steve Austin majorly yet anyway. So there was no reason to push him to the moon by having him go over Kevin Nash or Scott Hall like others have suggested. The bottom line is that Steve wasn't up to that level in the company yet. So having him go against a fellow mid-carder worked just fine. The one change that people have suggested that I liked was instead of a regular match, go with the strap match that came at a later ppv. I would've liked some type of stipulation match which would've made their feud and match more interesting for Wrestlemania. If you want to save the Strap Match as the conclusion to their feud later on, use a different stipulation match. Like maybe a lumberjack match or a 2/3 Falls match or something.

The one match on the card that I would change was the 6 man tag team match. I love the idea that people have brought up of WWE keeping Bam Bam , who I wish would've never left in the first place. If Bam Bam could've just held on, he could've seen 3/5 of the Clique leave the company and others like Stone Cold, Rock, Mick Foley, Goldust, and others rise in the company along with Bret and Taker leading to largely counter-act the power hungry HBK/HHH duo. Bam Bam could've lead the charge with Taker and Bret behind the scenes to keep HBK and HHH in check. And in the process he could've made for a strong heel challenger for HBK to defend against, as long as the two could get along enough to put on some good matches. But anyways, if Bam Bam had stayed, he could've easily been thrust into a feud with Vader which would've been amazing. I'll admit in wrestling back then the dream match was more Yoko and Vader, especially in 93 when the two were dominating their respective companies and dream match articles between the two were all over the wrestling magazines. But by 96, Yoko was at the end of his rope as he could barely walk, let alone wrestle and put on good matches. Vader was also declining although he could still go all out, unlike Yoko. I'm sure that's why they ended up doing a 6 man tag, as it got Owen, Bulldog, Ahmed (all three important members of the roster obviously) and Jake on the card, but also I'm not sure Yoko could've handled a straight one on one match at this stage. He was too out of shape. So the dream match was definitely Vader and Yoko, but Yoko just couldn't really go anymore. So Vader and Bam Bam while not having the dream match hype would've still been a great alternative, a much better match. And if WWE wanted to start going towards their more realistic, mature style like later on, they could've hyped up Vader and Bam Bam's past in Japan as a team together to make the feud even more interesting. It would've been gold.

Of course if WWE went with just a Vader/Bam Bam match, that would leave Owen, Bulldog, Jake, and Ahmed out in the cold. So just having them in a tag team match would've been fine leaving Vader and Bam Bam out and having their own match.


With the kind of wrestlers WWF had at the time, I can see why people find Wrestlemania XII disappointing an why many people want to change around the card to make it a better, all around show. But the show was basically a one match card, so unless you want to completely ax the 60 minute Iron Man Match, you can't really change the card that much due to time constraints. I think it was one of the better Wrestlemania's of the 90's actually (I'd probably only put VIII, X, and XIV over it). Tons of memorable moments (the Piper/Goldust brawl, Warrior's return, Austin's Wrestlemania debut), and one of the greatest matches in WWE history. I think the show was just fine the way it was.

 

[Elchicano15]

Hmm this isn't a Wrestlemania I would write home about. By no means was it a horrible one. After 11 this was an improvement, but it's not in my top 5. The Iron man match was awesome. HBK's entrance was pretty cool. I enjoyed the build up to this match. I also liked Taker's match against Diesel. They had a pretty good build up to and the match backed it up. I work in production and film and I loved that shot of Diesel after Taker's victory, zoom out.

I do agree with a poster above that Yoko and Vader should have been a match. I would probably have Goldust vs Ahmed for the IC title, make Piper a heel and have him go against The Warrior.