Wrestlemania 12: A Retrospective Look

[thebarber]

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.

You are wrong, Wrestlemania 12 took place on March 31 1996, the CURTAIN CALL AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN WAS IN MAY 1996, on Hall and Nash's last night with the company. HHH wasnt being punished at all for the curtain call, it had not happened YET, this was to put Ulitmate Warrior over in his return to the company over a guy who was happy to just be on the card. They only had 6 matches, HHH was happy to be in the same ring with somebody of Ultimate Warrior's level and the payday that went with it. It also helped him commence his feud with the debutting Marc Mero in a backstage interview segment following the match. Lets not recreate history folks.
Regarding the show, 6 matches was far too few. Having the IC Champion being demolished and embarrased by Piper was silly, I know it was stop gap covering for Hall's drug suspension, but burying your numkber 2 belt on the biggest show of the year was poor booking. Having the tag titles on the pre-show was stupid too.
I think Vader should have been showcased in a one on one match where he could have destroyed a Jake Roberts, another former big name who still had relevance. Maybe Mick Foley could have debutted and interfered in Takers match with Diesel also, instead of the following Raw tapings. This card, all in all was a disappointment. Maybe Shaw had enough stroke to have the card booked in this manor to make his WWE Title win so much more memorable, who knows.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

It's not beyond the realms that Trips was semi punished with Warrior... after all his buddies were leaving, Shawn was getting the push - someone had to get the brunt of Vince's frustration of Nash and Hall's leaving, even before he broke protocol...

Not saying it was "planned" but when Warrior is coming back, the "expendable" one in the Kliq is an easy pick to job out in seconds. Let's face it it did Trip's no harm whatsover in the short, medium or long term... he couldn't "lose" and by doing as asked he stored up valuable respect with Vince... had they gone with someone else at Mania 12 and the MSG thing still happened, Hunter is gone or made a Godwinn...

 

[PingPongBundy]

It brought back bad memories of a match that Rhodes and Barry Darsow wrestled in the back of a moving tractor trailer.

Oh GOD!! Blacktop Bully!! I can never decide which was worse for Darsow, this or Repo Man. I can't remember the PPV this was on. I want to say War Games 1994, or maybe one of the Clash of the Champions.

 

[thebarber]

it was at Superbrawl or Uncensored, 1995 I think off the top of my head. Probably where Vince got the idea for the Goldust-Piper match

 

[Hitman80]

The curtain call happened on May 19th 1996 so Triple H was not being punished at that time as it had not happened. I believe Triple H volunteered to job just to be in a high profile match on the card.

 

[LBGetBack]

Sunny lifting her skirt......one of the great moments of my childhood. They could've just put her on screen for the entire show at that point, and I would've been happy.

Also, I remember being taken aback at how fat Jake Roberts had gotten. That show was the first time I'd seen him in years, and he had grown a huge stomach.

The Piper-Golddust match was just bizarre. Corny.

I was heated that Bret lost and how he lost. Had him locked in the sharpshooter! It was over!

 

[bitesthedust]

I don't know how much of this Wrestlemania I would change.

I would have Vader win a singles match to maintain his push from the Rumble, maybe over Razor Ramon, who he did go over at a later In Your House after he gave notice.

Undertaker v Diesel is fine, finishes their feud from the Rumble. Piper v Goldust, Warrior v HHH, Austin v Vega, no changes either.

Keep the result and finish of the Bret v Shawn match the same, just make it a 30 minute iron match, rather than an hour.

 

[Mac]

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?

My favorite match was Taker/Diesel. I'm a Taker fan so it was nice to see him involved in a meaningful Mania match for the first time since WM 8. These two had great chemistry and this was one of the early matches that they allowed Taker to really display his abilities. Great buildup to this match as well.

My least favorite match was Warrior/HHH this was 1996 squash matches on ppv's were very 80's.

Considering how thin the roster was around this time I thought they produced a solid Mania. But if I were to rebook this show I'd make a few changes.

WWF Championship Match- Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels
This match still happens but I'd do away with the iron man stipulation. Just give them 20-25 minutes. The Iron Man match was great but IMO it was unnecessary.

Undertaker vs Diesel
This stays as is.

Intercontinental Championship Match- Goldust vs Rowdy Roddy Piper
This match stays only difference is that this is for the IC Title, and it's a regular match.

British Bulldog vs Jake The Snake Roberts
Bulldog was being pushed heavily around this time and since he was getting ready to feud for the title, he gets a big 1on1 win over Jake.

Vader vs Yokozuna
Vader was a big monster and what better way to establish him as a force down the road than to give him a big victory over another monster in Yoko. Considering Yoko's poor shape this would be quick.

Ahmed Johnson vs Owen Hart
Ahmed was hot at this time albeit a bit raw. Owen could bump around for Ahmed and hide his flaws a bit. Owen can do the job and it wouldn't have hurt him.

Ultimate Warrior vs Hunter Hearst Helmsley
This match stays but it wouldn't be a squash. And Warrior still goes over.

Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Savio Vega
This stays as is.

 

[Cub McCallister]

I know I'm late posting my card on here it's just come to me now haha, my card for this event would change quite a bit tbh because I thought it could of been done much better.

1) The Godwins (C)(with Sunny) Vs The Bodydonnas Vs Owen Hart & British Bulldog Vs Ahmed Johnson & Jake Roberts
Tag Team Title four corners elimination match, have Hart and Bulldog win the straps here beating Roberts and Johnson to win.

2) Vader Vs Bam Bam Bigelow
#1 Contenders Match
I would of scrapped the six man tag match and put these two together and it could of been very entertaining.

3) Triple HHH Vs Roddy Piper
This match would of been much better give it a good 10, 12 minute match with Piper teaching HHH about respect.

4) Razor Ramon (c) Vs Goldust
Intercontinental Title Match
I would of saved this one for Mania making it a street fight and have Goldust winning the title and that would of lead to Hall leaving the WWF.

5) Stone Cold Steve Austin Vs Savio Vega
Strap Match

I'd have an in-ring segment with Brian Pillman talking about making an impact.

6) Undertaker Vs Diesel

7) Bret Hart (C) Vs Shawn Michaels
WWF Title

 

[klunderbunker]

The main event drags this show down. Yeah it's an entertaining match at times, but there was no reason for this to be an iron man match other than for Bret to complain about getting screwed, which you could get to many other ways. It's a thirty minute match spread out twice that long and it just drags near the halfway point. I'll give it this though: I popped off my couch when Shawn hit that superkick. It's an awesome moment.

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

The main event drags this show down. Yeah it's an entertaining match at times, but there was no reason for this to be an iron man match other than for Bret to complain about getting screwed, which you could get to many other ways. It's a thirty minute match spread out twice that long and it just drags near the halfway point. I'll give it this though: I popped off my couch when Shawn hit that superkick. It's an awesome moment.

Which one are you talking about. The one in overtime that turned the match before the second one that sealed it, or the one early on outside the ring where he blasted the time keeper and they had to stretcher him off (side note to this day I truly believe that time keeper needed the stretcher)?