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WrestleMania XI took place on March 31, 1996 at the then Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California. The WWF was in a down period and needed a main event that could grab the fans' attention. It was determined that the two biggest babyface draws, Shawn Michaels and Bret "The Hitman" Hart, would face each other for Hart's WWF Championship in a 60 minute iron man match. Both men had created one of the greatest rivalries in WWF history during this time. One of the "marquee" undercard matches was a Hollywood Backlot Brawl match between Goldust and Roddy Rowdy Piper. It was a WrestleMania that would launch the federation into a boom period......or into a bust period.
Here are four opinionated points about the twelfth edition of the Showcase of the Immortals.
THE UNDERCARD DIDN'T DO THIS EVENT JUSTICE
Obviously, the Iron Man match was the main focal point of the show, which is why it's the main event. The undercard wasn't one where you look and say "Man, this company could have thought this through and actually come up with better matchups." Undertaker vs. Diesel was one of the better bouts on the card. The Backlot Brawl was barely a brawl. The Ultimate Warrior made his return and squashed a pre-Game Triple H. Stone Cold Steve Austin made his way to everyone's consciousness during this event. The six-man tag match could have been better. If you can see, the undercard really didn't give the wrestling fan excitement since the company was clearly focus on the main event. Also, here's a nitpick. Razor Ramon is on the promotional poster of this WrestleMania. See here.
He didn't participate in this event on any platform. Razor was to face Goldust for the Intercontinental Championship in a Street Fight, but he felt uncomfortable about wrestling Goldust due to Goldust's character. Read that any way you want. Oh, and Ramon's suspension for a drug violation didn't help his cause. Also, faxing in his resignation made him not likable at this point. Could have easily taken him off the poster. Just saying.
RUMORS CIRCULATED THAT WWF WANTED O.J. SIMPSON TO PARTICIPATE IN WRESTLEMANIA XII
The Hollywood Backlot Brawl was clearly a novelty match since Roddy Piper wasn't really 100%. Goldust would escape Piper by climbing into a Ford Bronco and driving off. During the pandemic, WWE tried to insert cinematic matches into their pay-per-view events. Some were good and some were not. This was like that, but in the 90's and using very little cinematic work. Instead, they used footage of the infamous police chase with Al Cowlings and O.J. Simpson. Yep, that actually happened. The ending saw Goldust being striped down, revealing he was wearing women's lingerie. And Piper was the winner, somehow. Urban legend said that the WWF actually thought it was a good idea to bring O.J. Simpson into this WrestleMania. When the WWF brought in Mike Tyson for WrestleMania 14, it worked due to the company going into another vision which was the Attitude Era. Also, you had Stone Cold VS. Shawn Michaels in the main event. And he did bite off Evander Holyfield's ear, which made him a hot commodity. Read that any way you want. The idea that the WWF even had a thought about this is ludicrous. Bringing in a fellow who was acquitted of a double murder when a majority of the nation believes even to this day that he got away with it, wasn't going to balloon fan interest.
Here's another nitpick: At WrestleMania XI the previous year, the company was able to bring top-notch celebrities such as Pamela Anderson and Lawrence Taylor to Hartford, Connecticut of all places, because they were desperate for a push since the product was lacking interest......and it didn't work. Yet they were in Hollywood for this WrestleMania and didn't want to have top-notch celebrities here. Except O.J. (bleep) him.
THIS WRESTLEMANIA WAS BASICALLY THE PLATFORM FOR SHAWN MICHAELS' ASCENT TO THE TOP
When you see highlights for the career of Shawn Michaels.....or any WrestleMania highlights for that matter, the two images that are synonymous to both is Michaels flying down a zipline from the corridor of Arrowhead Pond and (spoiler alert) when Michaels won the title with Vince McMahon bellowing "The boyhood dream has come true for Shawn Michaels" with Shawn holding the title. At the time, the WWF needed another top babyface....or anyone to the top guy. Bret Hart was the top man in this scenario, but something needed to be fresh. Undertaker could be an option or Diesel....oh wait, Kevin Nash was leaving for WCW....but no one knew then. That Steve Austin cat also looks promising. Hart and Michaels had one of the greatest rivalries in the era. Both were polar opposites. Hart was the hard-nosed wrestling technician while Michaels was the flamboyant, high-flying showman...who could wrestle. So as you can see, Michaels had to be the choice. Here's the issue: this was the Shawn Michaels of the late 90's. A man who wasn't considered a great co-worker due to his attitude and demeanor. He relinquished his Intercontinental Championship because of "injuries" or because of a brawl with Marines in Syracuse, New York. Unfortunately, the company had their hands tied and Michaels would face Hart for the title and the match would be a classic.
THE IRONMAN MATCH WAS OVERRATED
Okay, okay. Before you get angry at me, go to the network and watch the match again. I mean really, observe it. I'll wait.......Ok, see what I mean. You have two of the greatest wrestlers/performers in the world and both deserve the main event of WrestleMania. Here's the problem: There were two interesting spots. One were Michaels super-kicks a ring attendant and the final minutes where Hart had the Sharpshooter applied on Michaels as time ran out. The finish where Michaels won the title was the writing on the wall since the match went to overtime. You have them in an Ironman contest and since it's 60 minutes, it limits both competitors from their abilities to showcase to the world. If it was a 25 minute match, that would be perfect. In a 60 minute match, two wrestlers of their caliber are reduced to slowing down the tempo of the bout so they could conserve their energy. Wrestling is tiring, folks. So I'm told. Don't get wrong, the contest was an emotional one. However, it seemed as though both were just hanging on till the end. I used to think that this was the best match in WrestleMania history. I watched it again and it's good, but not the best. Okay, you can get angry with me.
WrestleMania XII tried to employ wrestling instead of throwing celebrities into the mix, which was a good idea. Somehow, the atmosphere was electric watching the attendance at the Arrowhead Pond. Michaels and Hart was the best match of the night by a country mile. Undertaker/Diesel was second and the Hollywood Backlot Brawl was third by default. It was a little underwhelming......but it would open the door for special times in the future.
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