WrestleMania Recall: Top 5 matches from WrestleMania 12

The main event made this event very specialThe twelfth annual WrestleMania took place on March 31, 1996, at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California. The event had only 7 matches on the card but the main event brought a certain aura to the show. The event also witnessed the WrestleMania debuts of two of the greatest the industry has ever had -- Stone Cold and Triple H. Austin managed to make his WrestleMania debut on a winning note whereas Triple H started off with a loss.With that being said, we will quickly go and recap some of the interesting things from WrestleMania 12-

#5 Stone Cold vs. Savio Vega

Austin’s WrestleMania debut

The match between Stone Cold and Savio Vega at WrestleMania 12 gains prominence because this was the first WrestleMania appearance for Austin. The match lasted for more than ten minutes and during most part of the match, the momentum kept shifting between the two superstars.

Vega and Austin exchanged punches and chops and there were also a few near falls during the course of the match. During the closing moments, Vega accidentally hit the referee with a spinning heel kick and the referee was immediately taken out of the equation.

Ted DiBiase, who stood by the side of Austin, asked him to capitalize on this and offered him the Million Dollar Championship. Austin knocked down Vega with the title and covered him for the win.

Winner: Stone Cold

#4 Triple H vs. The Ultimate Warrior

Warrior strikes

The Cerebral Assassin made his WrestleMania debut at WM-12. He faced one of the returning stars in WWF, The Ultimate Warrior. After a lengthy absence of 4 years, Warrior made his WrestleMania return and fought the 'Game'.

Triple H initially stunned Warrior with a Pedigree but couldn't get him pinned as Warrior kicked out of the three-count. Warrior immediately powered up and delivered three clotheslines in a row.

He followed it up with a Flying Shoulder tackle, Gorilla press slam and a Big Splash to the back. He pinned Triple H and won the match in less than 2 minutes.

Winner: The Ultimate Warrior

#3 Roddy Piper vs. Goldust

A very entertaining match

The Hollywood Backlot brawl between Goldust and Roddy Piper was very entertaining and the match obviously didn’t have much wrestling elements to cherish.

Piper used Kendo Sticks backstage and beat the heck out of Goldie. He took him all over the place and rag dolled him all across the arena. Both men also released a jet of water on each other and a lot of action took place in the parking lot as well.

All in all, the match was entertaining, but no winner was declared here as the match ended in a no contest.

Winner: None

#2 Undertaker vs. Diesel

Big Daddy Cool and The DeadMan

After 4 consecutive victories at WrestleMania, The Undertaker had become a popular name in the WWE by then and Diesel, at that time, was already an established top star in the company.

At WrestleMania 12, the WWE fans got to see an epic battle between these two behemoths. In a match that lasted for more than 16 minutes, Undertaker defeated Diesel and went 5-0 up at WrestleMania.

During the closing moments of the bout, Undertaker ended it in trademark phenom style – a usual sit-up, Choke Slam, Tombstone and 1..2..3! That’s it! The gong hits the bell and the arena turns blue.

Winner: The Undertaker

#1 Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart

Iron man match

The best thing that happened at WrestleMania 12 was the main event between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. This was an Iron Man Match for the title and the match lasted for more than an hour. Michaels won the title from Bret and did the unthinkable in the process.

He showed his resilience and character in what is considered an epic WrestleMania match even today. Michaels’ entrance in this match was awesome as he glided above the crowd to make his way to the ring. At the count of 60 minutes, Shawn was locked in the Sharp Shooter and the referee called for the bell.

Hart walked back with the title but WWF President Gorilla Monsoon came out and announced some extra time to have a winner. Shawn capitalized on this with a Sweet Chin music and won the match.

Winner: Shawn Michaels