The History of WWE WrestleMania

[Mike]

For 25 years, WrestleMania has brought us some of the greatest moments in the history of professional wrestling. Throughout these years, we've seen many memorable matches, triumphant title wins, and glorious WrestleMania moments that we will never forget.

Discuss your favorite moments in WrestleMania history. I'll post the history as well over time.

[Sadie]

Where do I start?

I'll just post random moments that stick out in my head and in no particular order.

- Owen beating Bret at X.
-Angle and HBK stealing the show at 21.
-Benoit and Eddie ending the show at 20.
-Austin bleeding profusely at 13.
-Warrior beating Hogan.
-Cena making Triple H's punk ass tap.
-Flair's last match last year...

WrestleMania to me is so legendary. The moments are forever etched in my mind.

[Mike]

Yeah unbelievable. Here's some of my favorites...

--Andre slamming Studd at the first one
--Macho/Steamboat at 3 putting on an unreal match and the memory of Steamboat holidng the title up on that little ring riding back to the locker room.
--Hogan slamming Andre at 3.
--Savage winning the gold at 4 and 8.
--Warrior/Hogan Title for Title at 6.
--Piper/Bret at 8 for the IC gold with Bret pinning Piper for the first time in 15 years.
--2 Doinks at WM 9.
--Bret winning the gold at WM 10.
--Austin/Bret at 13.
--Austin finally winning the World Title in my favorite main event at 14.
--HHH's heel turn at 15.
--TLC at 2000.
--Ladder Match at 10 between Razor and HBK.
--Gimmick Battle Royal at 17.
--Hogan/Rock at 18...goosebumps I tell you.
--The entire 19, most notably Lesnar's shooting star and title win.
--Benoit/Eddie at 20.
--MITB, Angle/HBK and Eddie/Rey at 21.
--Cena/HHH at 22.
--Taker/Batista and HBK/Cena at 23.
--Edge main eventing 24, Orton retaining at 24, and Flair's retirement.

That only scratches the surface but that in itself is unreal.

[Mike]

WWE WrestleMania I[/u]

Sunday, March 31, 1985
Madison Square Garden
New York, New York
Attendance: 19,121
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse "The Body" Ventura
"The Greatest Wrestling Show of All Time"

Matches:[/u]

--Tito Santana def. the Executioner.

--King Kong Bundy w/ Jimmy Hart def. "Special Delivery" S.D. Jones.

--Ricky Steamboat def. Matt Borne

--David Sammartino w/ Bruno Sammartino fought Brutus Beefcake w/ "Luscious" Johnny Valiant to a No Contest.

--the Junk Yard Dog def. Greg "The Hammer" Valentine w/ Jimmy Hart by Count Out in a match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Due to this Valentine retained his IC Title.

--Nikolai Volkoff and the Iron Shiek w/ Classy Freddie Blassie def. The U.S. Express (Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham) w/ Captain Lou Albano to win the WWE Tag Team Championships.

--Andre the Giant def. Big John Studd in a 15,000 Dollar Body Slam Match.

--Wendi Richter w/ Cyndi Lauper def. Lelani Kai w/ the Fabulous Moolah to win the WWE Women's Championship.

--WWE Champion Hulk Hogan and Mr. T. w/ Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka def. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorf w/ Cowboy Bob Orton to win the WrestleMania I Main Event.

Match of the Night: For nostolgia's sake you'd have to go with the main event.

Interesting Notes:[/u]
--Vince McMahon put his life savings up for this event. If it wasn't a hit he would have gone bankrupt.
--The WWE aired two specials on MTV to promote the show.
--The IC Title was the first ever title to be defended at WrestleMania.
--The Tag Titles were the first to ever change hands at WrestleMania.
--This was the only WrestleMania to not feature a World Championship bout.
--The WWE stated that King Kong Bundy def. S.D. Jones in 9 seconds which was a record that held up for almost 10 years. However, in reality it was closer to 23 seconds.
--Valentine won the IC Match originally by putting his feet on the ropes. Santana came out and told the ref so he restarted the match but Valentine wouldn't get back in the ring and was therefore counted out.
--Sheik used Blassie's cane to win the tag title match.
--Wendi Richter would be screwed out of the Women's Title months later in a match where she fought a masked woman that actually turned out to be Moolah. She kicked out at one but the ref counted to three. Richter wasn't aware she was going to lose the title and she left WWE shortly thereafter.
--Andre the Giant put his career on the line against Studd's 15,000 dollars. If Studd slammed Andre and pinned him his career was over, however Andre slammed Studd and pinned him and then gave the money away to fans.
--The WWE and NWA were in a big time competition during these days. The WWE made WrestleMania to counter the NWA's Starrcade which debuted in '83. The NWA had plans to call in bomb threats, pay WWE employees to sabotage Mania from the inside, or even assassinate McMahon and his family to make sure WrestleMania didn't become a success. Luckily, none of these plans were carried out.
--The Main Event won Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Match of the Year for 1985.
--Gene Okerlund sang the National Anthem
--The Celebrities in this WrestleMania were Billy Martin, Liberace, The Rockettes, Muhamid Ali, and Cyndi Lauper.

[Mike]

WWE WrestleMania 2[/u]

Monday, April 7, 1986
"What the World has Come to"

Nassau Coliseum
Uniondale, New York
Commentators: Vince McMahon and Susan St. James

Rosemont Horizon
Chicago, Illonois
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Gene Okerlund, and Cathy-Lee Crosby

LA Sports Arena
Los Angels, California
Commentators: Jesse Ventura, Lord Alfred Hayes, and Elvyra

Combined Attendance: 40,085

Matches:[/u]

Long Island Matches:

--Paul Orndorf fought the Magnificant Muraco w/ Mr. Fuji to a double countout.

--Randy Savage w/ Miss Elizabeth def. George "The Animal" Steel to retain the WWE Intercontinental Championship.

--Jake "The Snake" Roberts def. George Wells.

--Mr T. w/ Joe Frazier and the Haiti Kid def. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper w/ "Cowboy" Bob Orton and Lou Duva by DQ in a boxing match.

Chicago Matches:

--The Fabulous Moolah def. Velvet McIntyre to retain the WWE Women's Championship.

--Corporal Kirschner def. Nikolai Volkoff w/ Freddie Blassie in a Flag Match.

--Andre the Giant last eliminated Bret Hart to win a 20 Man Over-The-Top-Rope Battle Royal consisting of NFL Players and WWE Superstars.

--The British Bulldogs (Daveyboy Smith and Dynamite Kid) w/ Capt. Lou Albano and Ozzy Osbourne def. The Dream Team (Greg "The Hammer" Valentine and Brutus Beefcake) w/ "Luscious" Johnny Valiant to win the WWE Tag Team Championships.

LA Matches:

--Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat def. Hercules Hernandez.

--"Adorable" Adrian Adonis w/ Jimmy Hart def. Uncle Elmer.

--Terry Funk and Hoss Funk def. Junkyard Dog and Tito Santana.

--Hulk Hogan def. King Kong Bundy w/ Bobby the Brain Heenan in a Steel Cage Match to retain the WWE Championship.

Match of the Night: The Main Event

Interesting Notes:[/u]
--WrestleMania 2 was the first and only WrestleMania to take place on a Monday.
--WrestleMania 2 was the only WWE event to ever take place in three different locations.
--WrestleMania XX, 21, and 22 all took place in the three cities that WrestleMania 2 took place in (XX-NY, 21-LA, 22-CHI).
--This is the only WrestleMania to feature a traditional Cage Match.
--Much like WrestleMania I, Vince McMahon put all of his money on the line for WrestleMania II.
--Ray Charles sang the National Anthem.
--Bret Hart made his debut at this WrestleMania, and would appear in every single WrestleMania up until 13. His streak of 12 consecutive WrestleMania's is a record.
--This is the first WrestleMania to ever be aired on PPV.
--

[Mike]

WWE WrestleMania III[/u]

Sunday, March 29, 1987
Pontiac Silver Dome
Pontiac, Michigan
Attendance: 93,173
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse "The Body" Ventura
"Bigger! Better! Badder!"

Matches:[/u]

--The Can-Am Connection (Rick Martel and Tom Zenk) def. Bob Orton and Magnificent Muraco w/ Mr. Fuji.

--Billy Jack Haynes and Hercules w/ Bobby "The Brain" Heenan fought to a Double Count Out in the Battle of the Full Nelsons.

--Hill Billy Jim, the Haiti Kid, and Little Beaver def. King Kong Bundy, Lord Littlebrook, and Little Tokyo in a mixed tag match.

--Harley Race w/ Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and The Fabulous Moolah def. the Junkyard Dog in a match where the loser must bow down to the king.

--The Dream Team (Greg "The Hammer" Valentine and Brutus Beefcake) w/ "Luscious" Johnny Valiant and Dino Bravo def. The Fabulous Rougeaus (Jacques and Raymond).

--"Rowdy" Roddy Piper def. "Adorable" Adrian Adonis w/ Jimmy Hart in a Hair vs. Hair Match.

--The Hart Foundation (Bret "Hit Man" Hart and Jim "Anvil" Neidhart) and Danny Davis w/ Jimmy Hart def. The British Bulldogs (Daveyboy Smith and the Dynomite Kid) and Tito Santana in a six man tag match.

--Butch Reid w/ Slick def. Koko B. Ware.

--Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat w/ George "The Animal" Steele def. The Macho Man Randy Savage w/ Miss Elizabeth to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship.

--the Honkey Tonk Man w/ Jimmy Hart def. Jake "The Snake" Roberts w/ Alice Cooper.

--The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff w/ Slick def. the Killer Bees (Brian Blair and Jim Brunzell) by DQ due to interference from Hacksaw Jim Duggan.

--Hulk Hogan def. Andre the Giant w/ Bobby "The Brain" Heenan to retain the WWE Championship.

Match of the Night: While many people remember WM III for Hogan/Andre, the clear match of the night was Macho Man vs. Ricky Steamboat.

Interesting Notes:[/u]
--This was one of only two WrestleManias to have a mini cart lead the wrestlers to the ring.
--Vince McMahon opened the show by saying four famous words: "Welcome to WrestleMania III." Vince would later say he felt the spirit of his father with him before saying those words. His father died three years earlier of cancer.
--Bundy got DQued for body slamming Little Beaver, therefore the heel and face midgets both teamed up with Hill Billy Jim against Bundy. Little Beaver had to retire from wrestling due to a back injury suffered from the bodyslam. He eventually died of emphysema, but Bundy said in an interview he hoped he wasn't responsible for his death, which would be impossible.
--The Dream Team split up at this WrestleMania because they argued throughout the entire match. Bravo, Valiant, and Valentine left the ring without Beefcake.
--Beefcake would interfere in the next match and help Roddy Piper shave Adonis' head leading to his face turn and his new gimmick as "The Barber"
--Piper's match was dubbed as his farewell match as he was leaving wrestling to make movies. He'd make two movies during his hiatus and make a return at WrestleMania V. when he left WWE after WrestleMania 2, Adrian Adonis turned the Piper's Pit segment into the Flower Shop, leading to this feud.
--Danny Davis became a wrestler because he was banned for life from being a referee due to his crooked refereeing in a tag title match between the Bulldogs and the Hart Foundation which led to the Harts winning the tag titles. Davis then teamed with the Harts.
--During the build up for the Honky Tonk Man and Jake Roberts, Honky accidentally used a guitar that wasn't meant to break to hit Roberts over the head. Due to this, Roberts suffered a legit neck injury.
--Hogan slamming and pinning Andre was Andre's first ever loss. Hogan was nervous going into it becaue he wasn't sure if Andre would keep his word and lose, but Andre did.
--Like the other 2 WrestleManias, Vince McMahon gambled all of his money on this one. After this one was such a huge success, he never had to gamble on WrestleMania again.
--The 93,000 plus attendance is often disputed and people claim it was embellished, however there is no proof. It was the largest crowd at a North American sporting event in history.
--This was one of the only WrestleMania's to not feature a Tag Team Championship match.
--Celebrities for this WrestleMania included Bob Ueker, Mary Hart, and Alice Cooper.
--Aretha Franklin sang "America the Beautiful."

[Mike]

WWE WrestleMania IV[/u]

Sunday, March 27, 1988
Trump Plaza
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon & Jesse “The Body” Ventura
Attendance: 18,165
"What The World Is Watching!"

Matches:[/u]

--Bad News Brown last eliminated Bret Hart to win a 20 Man Over-The-Top-Rope Battle Royal to win a trophy.

First Round Tournament Matches:

--"The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase w/ Andre the Giant and Virgil def. "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan.

--"The Rock" Don Muraco w/ Superstar Billy Graham def. Dino Bravo w/ Frenchie Martin.

--Greg "The Hammer" Valentine w/ Jimmy Hart def. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat.

--"Macho Man" Randy Savage w/ Miss Elizabeth def. "The Natural" Butch Reed w/ Slick.

--One Man Gang w/ Slick def. Bam Bam Bigelow w/ Oliver Humperdink by Count Out.

--Ravishing Rick Rude w/ Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and Jake "The Snake" Roberts fought to a draw as the time limit expired.

--The Ultimate Warrior def. Hercules (Non-tournament match).

Quarter-Final Matches:[/u]

--Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant w/ Ted Dibiase and Virgil fought to a Double DQ.

--Ted Dibiase w/ Virgil def. Don Muraco w/ Billy Graham.

--Randy Savage w/ Elizabeth def. Greg "The Hammer" Valentine w/ Jimmy Hart.

--Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake def. the Honky Tonk Man w/ Jimmy Hart and Peggy Sue by DQ in a match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship, therefore Honky retained the title. (Non-Tournament Match)

--The Islanders (Haku and Tama) and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan def. the British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and the Dynamite Kid) and Koko B. Ware w/ Matilda and Frankie in a Six Man Tag Match.

Semi-Final Match:

--Randy Savage def. One Man Gang to advance to the tournament final.

--Demolition (Ax and Smash) w/ Mr. Fuji def. Strike Force (Rick Martel and Tito Santana) to win the WWE Tag Team Championships.

--"The Macho Man" Randy Savage w/ Miss Elizabeth def. "The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase w/ Virgil and Andre the Giant in the Tournament Final Match to win the WWE Championship.

Match of the Night: Macho vs. Dibiase for the gold.

Interesting Notes:[/u]
--After Bad News won the battle royal, Bret Hart destroyed the trophy which would be one of the events leading to his face turn.
--There were two byes in this tournament. The first was One Man Gang who got a buy into the semi-finals due to Jake/Rude fighting into a draw, the second was Dibiase who got a bye in the semi-finals which took him all the way to the finals. Macho Man, the winner of the tournament, faced and defeated both men who had byes.
--This WrestleMania, along with V both took place from the same exact venue, making it the only time in WrestleMania history that two consecutive Manias were held in the same venue.
--This WrestleMania had 16 matches, the most had at any WrestleMania event.
--This was the first event to feature the winged-eagle World Championship.
--Hogan/Andre became the first people to ever have a WrestleMania rematch, as they rematched the main event of III.
--This was the first WrestleMania in which Hogan didn't win a match.
--Hogan aided the Macho Man to victory in the finals by hitting Dibiase with a chair.
--Macho Man and Miss Elizabeth wore different color outfits matching each other with each round of the tournament.
--This was the Ultimate Warrior's PPV debut.
--The title was vacated because Andre the Giant def. Hogan controversially on the Main Event to win the Championship and then turned around and sold it to Dibiase. Andre became the man with the shortest reign in history as it took him all of 47 seconds to win the belt and sell it. President Jack Tunney didn't allow this sale to go down and vacated the belt and announced this tournament.
--This was the first and only WrestleMania to have a tournament involved, and was the only PPV to ever have one (Other than King of the Ring which only started being a PPV in '93 despite being held in the 80's on TV) up until the Survivor Series of 1998
--This was the first time the WWE Title was vacant since it was started in 1962.
--The celebrities at this event were Gladys Knight, Bob Uecker, Vanna White, Robin Leach, Donald Trump, and Sugar Ray Leonard.

[Mike]

WWE WrestleMania V[/u]

Sunday, April 2, 1989
Trump Plaza
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse "The Body" Ventura
Attendance: 18,946
"The Mega Powers Explode"

Matches:[/u]

--Hercules def. King Haku w/ Bobby "The Brain" Heenan

--The Twin Towers (Big Bossman and Akeem the African Dream) w/ Slick def. the Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty).

--Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake and "The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase w/ Virgil fought to a double count out.

--The Bushwhackers (Luke and Butch) def. the Fabulous Rougeaus (Jacques and Raymond) w/ Jimmy Hart.

--Mr. Perfect def. the Blue Blazer.

--Demolition (Ax and Smash) def. the Powers of Pain (The Warlord and the Barbarian) and Mr. Fuji in a handicap match to retain the WWE Tag Team Championships.

--Dino Bravo w/ Frenchie Martin def. "Rugged" Ronnie Garvin.

--The Brain Busters (Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard) w/ Bobby "The Brain" Heenan def. Strike Force (Rick Martel and Tito Santana).

--Jake "The Snake" Roberts def. Andre the Giant w/ Bobby "The Brain" Heenan

--The Hart Foundation (Bret "Hitman" Hart and Jim "Anvil" Neidhart) def. The Honky Tonk Man and Greg "The Hammer" Valentine w/ Jimmy Hart.

--"Ravishing" Rick Rude w/ Bobby "The Brain" Heenan def. the Ultimate Warrior to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship.

--"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan and Bad News Brown fought to a Double DQ.

--The Red Rooster def. Bobby "The Brain" Heenan.

--Hulk Hogan def. "The Macho Man" Randy Savage to win the WWE Championship.

Match of the Night: The Main Event.

Interesting Notes:[/u]
--This WrestleMania aired from the same venue as WrestleMania IV, making them the only WrestleManias to ever air at the same venue two consecutive years.
--Strike Force teamed up for the first time in months due to Martel being injured at WrestleMania IV. Martel walked out on Santana in this match and the Brain Busters took him out 2 on 1 and won easily.
--Mr. Fuji was shown running a 5 K before WrestleMania.
--Big John Studd was the guest referee for the Jake Robers/Andre the Giant match.
--Hulk Hogan ended over a year long reign for Randy Savage as World Champion. Hogan was the very man who helped Savage win the title one year earlier in the exact same venue.
--Run DMC performed the WrestleMania Rap for the audience.
--Due to the increase in audience from WrestleMania IV, the WWE had to add more seats to the Trump Plaza for this one.
--Despite many people liking this one, it was dubbed as the "Worst Major Wrestling Show" by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
--"Rowdy" Roddy Piper returned to the WWE here to do a Piper's Pit Segment. This was his first WWE appearance since WrestleMania III.
--WWE Women's Champion Rockin' Robin sang "America the Beautiful."
--To counteract WrestleMania, the NWA aired Clash of the Champions for free on TBS. They outdid WrestleMania in the ratings war so some may say that strategy was a success.
--This was the first time Ted Dibiase debuted his Million Dollar Championship. He brought it in because he was unsuccessful at buying a WWE Championship.
--Miss Elizabeth was in a neutral corner for the main event.
--"Superfly" Jimmy Snuka made a surprise appearance before the Bravo/Garvin Match. This was his first WrestleMania appearance since being in Hogan and Mr. T's corner in WrestleMania I.
--This was the first time the World Title actually changed hands at WrestleMania. (WM 1: Hogan held the title in the main event tag match, 2 and 3 Hogan retained, 4 Macho won but it didn't change hands as no one held the title going in).
--This was one of three times Hogan would become the New World Champion at WrestleMania as he beat Macho here, beat Slaughter to win it at 7, and beat Yoko to win it at 9.
--The Ultimate Warrior suffered his first pinfall loss ever when Rude beat him for the IC title, thanks to Heenan holding down his leg.
--This was Shawn Michaels' WrestleMania debut.
--Along with Run DMC, Donald Trump and Morton Downey Jr. were also guest celebrities for this WrestleMania. Downey was on Piper's Pit.

[Mike]

WWE WrestleMania VI[/u]

Sunday, April 1, 1990
The SkyDome
Torono, Ontario
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse "The Body" Ventura
Attendance: 67,678
"The Ultimate Challenge"

Matches:[/u]

--Rick "The Model" Martel def. Koko B. Ware.

--Demolition (Ax and Smash) def. The Colossal Connecton (Andre the Giant and Haku) w/ Bobby "The Brain" Heenan to win the WWE Tag Team Championships.

--Earthquake w/ Jimmy Hart def. Hercules

--Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake def. Mr. Perfect w/ the Genius

--"Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Bad News Brown fought to a No Contest.

--The Hart Foundation (Bret "Hit Man" Hart and Jim "Anvil" Neidhart) def. the Bolsheviks (Nikolai Volkoff and Boris Zhukov).

--The Barbarian w/ Bobby "The Brain" Heenan def. Tito Santana.

--Dusty Rhodes and Sweet Saphire w/ Miss Elizabeth def. "The Macho King" Randy Savage and "Sensational Queen" Sherri in a Mixed Tag Team Match.

--The Orient Express (Sato and Tanaka) w/ Mr. Fuji def. The Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty).

--Hacksaw Jim Duggan def. Dino Bravo w/ Jimmy Hart and Earthquake.

--"The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase w/ Virgil def. Jake "The Snake" Roberts by countout to retain the Million Dollar Championship.

--The Big Bossman def. Akeem w/ Slick.

--"Ravishing" Rick Rude w/ Bobby "The Brain" Heenan def. "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka.

--The Ultimate Warrior (Intercontinental Champion) def. Hulk Hogan (WWE Champion) in a Title For Title Champion vs. Champion Match to retain the WWE Intercontinental Championship and win the WWE Championship.

Match of the Night: Warrior vs. Hogan Title for Title.

Interesting Notes:[/u]
--The attendance of 67,678 was a new attendance record for the SkyDome.
--Andre the Giant appeared in his final televised match at this PPV. He knew his career and life were winding down so he wanted to leave as a face. After the match, Heenan slapped Andre in the face and Andre manhandled Heenan and Haku to complete his face turn.
--This was the second and last WrestleMania to have the wrestlers come down on mini carts.
--This was Mr. Perfects first televised loss and dubbed as his first ever pinfall loss, however Hogan and Warrior both had pinned Perfect at house shows months prior.
--Not counting the double countout at IV, this was Hogan's first WrestleMania loss. His next WM loss would come in the very same venue 12 years later against the Rock at WrestleMania X-8.
--The Ultimate Warrior became the first man to ever win the World Championship while holding another singles title. Shawn Micchaels and Triple H would both later reach this feat.
--The Ultimate Warrior's IC Title as vacated soon after this match and won in a tournament by Mr. Perfect.
--Lasting 22:51, the Hogan/Warrior match had been the longest in history at this point in WrestleMania.
--Hogan/Warrior wouldn't square off again until WCW Halloween Havoc 1998 where Hogan scored the win.
--Diamond Dallas Page drove a pink Cadillac to bring Rythm and Blues to ringside to perform. During the performance the Bushwhackers crashed their set. DDP would return to SkyDome as a competitor at WrestleMania X-8. He drove the car to the ring because he owned it.
--Edge was in attendance as a kid and sat in the eleventh row. He would also return to the SkyDome as a competitor at WrestleMania X-8.
--This was the final WrestleMania that Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura hosted together as Ventura left the WWE in August of 1990 due to a dispute over Vince McMahon putting him in a video game. They had hosted every WrestleMania together up to this point, excluding WM 2 because Ventura was in LA and Gorilla was in Chicago.
--This was the first ever WrestleMania to take place from Canada, and the first WWE PPV to take place from Canada (The first Rumble was in Canada, but was aired on USA as a special).
--Piper painted himself half black for his match with Bad News Brown. A lot of people were against this idea and found it racist, but not big issue was raised because of it.
--The Hart Foundation beat the Bolsheviks in just 19 second, after challenging the winners of the Tag Title match to a title match at a time TBD.
--The mixed tag match was the first ever in WWE history. It is believed Vince made Dusty dress in polka dots because he was an NWA bred talent. Sapphire was played by a former WWE production truck driver.
--Even though they were in Canada, Hacksaw Jim Duggan still tried to get the "USA" chant going, which confused fans in the SkyDome.
--The Big Bossman turned face due to Dibiase making him pick his Million Dollar Title out of Jake The Snake's snake Damien's bag. Bossman did it but Dibiase taunted him saying everyone had a price, thus turning him face. Since Dibiase's match was scheduled right before Bossman's, he hid under the ring and attacked Bossman upon him entering the ring.
--This was the first time that the IC Champion fought the World Champion with both titles on the line.
--Demolition became just the second team in history to capture the Tag Team Championships three times. The first was Professor Tanaka and Mr. Fuji. Mr. Fuji managed the Demolition originally.
--The celebrities at this event were Steve Allen, Rona Barrett, and Mary Tyler Moore
--Robert Goulet sang "Oh Canada" to open the show.

[Mike]

WWE WrestleMania VII[/u]

Sunday, March 24, 1991
LA Sports Arena
Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan
Attendance: 16,158
"Superstars and Stripes Forever"

Matches:[/u]

--The Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty) def. The Barbarian and Haku w/ Bobby "The Brain" Heenan.

--The Texas Tornado def. Dino Bravo w/ Jimmy Hart.

--The British Bulldog def. the Warlord w/ Slick.

--The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags) w/ Jimmy Hart def. the Hart Foundation (Bret "Hitman" Hart and Jim "Anvil" Neidhart) to win the WWE Tag Team Championships.

--Jake "The Snake" Roberts def. "The Model" Rick Martel in a Blindfold Match.

--The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer def. Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka.

--The Ultimate Warrior def. the Macho King Randy Savage w/ "Sensational" Queen Sherri in a Retirement Match.

--Tenryu and Kitao def. Demolition (Crush and Smash) w/ Mr. Fuji.

--The Big Bossman w/ Andre the Giant def. Mr. Perfect w/ Bobby "The Brain" Heenan by DQ for Perfect's WWE Intercontinental Championship. Due to the DQ, Perfect retained.

--Earthquake w/ Jimmy Hart def. Greg "The Hammer" Valentine

--The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) def. Power and Glory (Hercules and Paul Roma) w/ Slick.

--Virgil w/ "Rowdy" Roddy Piper def. "The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase by countout.

--The Mountie w/ Jimmy Hart def. Tito Santana.

--Hulk Hogan def. Sgt. Slaughter w/ General Adnon to win the WWE Championship.

Match of the Night: the main event.

Interesting Notes:[/u]
--This event was supposed to be held at the larger LA Olympic Stadium outdoor and hold 100,000 people however due to real life threats of bombs and other things against Sgt. Slaughter for portraying an Iraqi sympathizer, this event was moved to the adjacent LA Sports Arena which only held 20,000. Sgt. Slaughter was frequently wearing bullet proof vests under his ring gear due to the way people reacted when they saw him.
--This was the first WrestleMania to not have the combination of Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura as Bobby Heenan hosted it with Gorilla due to Ventura leaving the WWE in August of 1990 due to a dispute with McMahon. When Heenan had to manage other commentators stepped in such as Jim Duggan and Lord Alfred Hayes.
--This was the first WrestleMania to have a theme as to go along with the main event, this WrestleMania took a patriotic American theme. The banners and apron were all red white and blue.
--The Undertaker made his WrestleMania debut at this event and has yet to lose a WrestleMania match.
--The Nasty Boys used Jimmy Hart's motorcycle helmet to beat the Harts for the tag titles.
--The reason for the blindfold match was due to Martel spraying his arrogance spray in Jake's face and blinding him. A month later, his vision returned and he challenged Martel to a blindfold match. The fans at home weren't that into the match as the two couldn't find each other throughout, but the crowd loved it. Martel made it funny by swinging at the air and thinking the referee was Jake Roberts.
--After Macho lost to the Warrior, he reunited with Miss Elizabeth in one of the greatest WrestleMania moments. The crowd cheered Macho and though is career was seemingly over, he won back Elizabeth.
--In an interesting note, after the Warrior "ended" Macho's career, six months later the Warrior was gone and Macho was reinstated to feud with Ric Flair.
--Demolition added Crush as a new member due to Ax having health problems. Ax eventually left and Demolition became just Crush and Smash. This was Demolition's last WrestleMania appearance as Smash later became the Repo Man and Crush adapted a Hawaiian gimmick.
--WrestleMania VII was Andre the Giant's last ever WrestleMania appearance.
--Dibiase attacked Piper, who had a leg injury, with his crutches. After the match, Sensational Sherri came out and double teamed Piper w/ Dibiase. Sherri was now Dibiase's new manager.
--The Mountie's character caused controversy in Canada due to the WWE using him as a bad cop. The WWE had to start to state on their shows that the Mountie had no affiliation with the mounties of Canada.
--During the build up to the Slaughter/Hogan match, Slaughter was supposed to burn the American flag, however the networks threatened to never air WWE programming again if they did, therefore he instead burned a Hulk Rules T-Shirt.
--On the Superstars episode after Mania, it was revealed that during Hogan's post WrestleMania interview with Mean Gene, Slaughter threw a fireball at him and stole the belt. Hogan would get it back at MSG in a Desert Storm Match.
--This was the first of three consecutive WrestleManias that Shawn Michaels opened the show.
--This was the only WrestleMania that the British Bulldog fought in a singles match, the Bulldog fought in 7 Mania matches.
--Willie Nelson sang "America The Beautiful."
--After WrestleMania VII, the Nasty Boys partied with Willie Nelson all night. The next day, they showed up to a live event with only one tag belt as they reportedly gave the other belt to Nelson as a souvenir.
--The celebrities in this WrestleMania included George Steinbrenner, Paul Maguire, Regis Philbin, Alex Trebek, Marla Maples, Henry Winkler, Chuck Norris, Macaulay Culkin, Lou Ferrigno, and Donald Trump.

[Mike]

WWE WrestleMania VIII[/u]

Sunday, April 5, 1992
Hoosier Dome
Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan
Attendance: 62,167
"The Macho/Flair Affair"

Matches:[/u]

--Shawn Michaels w/ Sensational Sherri def. "El Matador" Tito Santana

--The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer def. Jake "The Snake" Roberts.

--Bret "Hitman" Hart def. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship.

--The Big Bossman, Virgil, Sgt. Slaughter, and "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan def. the Nasty Boys (Brian Knobs and Jerry Sags) w/ Jimmy Hart, Repo Man, and The Mountie in an Eight Man Tag Match.

--The Macho Man Randy Savage w/ Miss Elizabeth def. "the Nature Boy" Ric Flair w/ Mr. Perfect to win the WWE Championship.

--Tatanka def. Rick "the Model" Martel.

--The Natural Disasters (Earthquake and Typhoon) def. Money Inc ("The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase and I.R.S.) w/ Jimmy Hart in a match for Money Incs WWE Tag Team Championships. Due to the DQ, Money Inc retained.

--Owen Hart def. Skinner.

--Huk Hogan def. Sid Justice w/ Dr. Harvey Whippleman by DQ.

Match of the Night: Tie between Bret/Piper and Macho/Flair.

Interesting Notes:[/u]
--The original plan for the finish to the main event was for Papa Shango to interfere and attack Hogan to cause a DQ. Due to Shango missing his cue, Sid improvised and actually kicked out of Hogan's leg drop. Whippleman then hit Hogan causing the DQ.
--Shango would interfere after and he and Sid would double team Hogan until the Ultimate Warrior made a surprise return to aid Hogan.
--The Legion of Doom were supposed to face Money Inc. for the Tag Titles, but due to L.O.D. leaving the WWE before WrestleMania, plans were changed. L.O.D. did return at WrestleMania for a special interview with Gene Okerland.
--The original plan was for Hogan to fight Flair for the World Title but it is rumored that due to the steroid scandal of the 1990's, those plans had to change. Those rumors however were never proven true. Hogan and Flair would eventually square off in Hogan's debut match at Bash at the Beach 1994 in WCW and Hogan would win the WCW Championship.
--The British Bulldog was scheduled to face the Berzerker, but the match was scrapped due to time constraints.
--This was the last WrestleMania until X-7 to be in a large stadium.
--This was the first WrestleMania since the first one to have less than ten matches, and that is because they wanted to emphasize more focus on storylines and good matches.
--Shawn Michaels was originally slated to face Marty Jannetty to open the event, but Jannetty was released by WWE prior to this WrestleMania due to his battle with drugs and alochol.
--The nickname "Heartbreak Kid" was the idea of Mr. Perfect.
--Jake the Snake left the WWE right after this WrestleMania because he was upset that he wasn't offered a position on their writing staff. He didn't return until the 1996 Royal Rumble.
--When Bret Hart def. Roddy Piper, it marked the first time that Piper was pinned in his 15 year career.
--This was the first time in WrestleMania history that the WWE Champion wasn't involved in the main event.
--WCW would later use the Macho/Flair/Elizabeth love triangle in storylines for their later feuds.
--Ric Flair had paid money for the WCW belt and carried it around in WWE. WCW eventually paid him the money back and he stopped carrying it around.
--Actual members of the Lumbee tribe of North Carolina sang Tatanka down to the ring.
--It is rumored that Macho Man choreographed every single move of his match with Ric Flair. It's also assumed that he wore gold to hint at his title victory that night.
--Jimmy Hart betrayed the Natural Diasters for Money Inc, leading to that tag match.
--Skinner vs. Owen Hart marked the 100th match in WrestleMania history.
--Hogan's match was dubbed as his Farewell match, even though he would return to WWE months later.
--Flair was fined several thousands of dollars by the WWE for being caught blading on camera.
--When the Warrior returned, he looked different as he was presumably off steroids and thus not as ripped and his hair was cut shorter. Many fans thought it was a different actor, however only one man has played the Warrior throughout his every stint in WWE.
--Reba McIntyre sang "America the Beautiful" to open up WrestleMania.
--Ray Combs was the host of the eight man tag match.

[Mike]

WWE WrestleMania IX[/u]

Sunday, April 4, 1993
Caesar's Palace
Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Jim Ross, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, and "Macho Man" Randy Savage
Attendance: 16,891
"The World's Largest Toga Party"

Matches:[/u]

--Tatanka w/ Sensational Sherri def. Shawn Michaels w/ Luna Vachon by countout in a match for Shawn's WWE Intercontinental Championship. Due to the countout, Shawn retained.

--The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott) def. the Headshrinkers (Samu and Fatu) w/ Afa.

--Doink the Clown def. Crush.

--Razor Ramon def. Bob Backlund.

--Money Inc. (The Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase and I.R.S.) def. The Mega Maniacs (Hulk Hogan and Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake) w/ Jimmy Hart via DQ in a match for Money Inc's Tag Team Championships.

--Lex Luger def. Mr. Perfect.

--The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer def. Giant Gonzales w/ Harvey Whippleman by DQ.

--Yokozuna w/ Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette def. Bret "Hitman" Hart to win the WWE Championship.

--Hulk Hogan def. Yokozuna w/ Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette to win the WWE Championship.

Match of the Night: Honestly, as far as quality goes you have to go with the opener between Shawn Michaels and Tatanka, with Luger/Perfect a close second.

Interesting Notes:[/u]
--This was the first time the WWE Championship changed hands twice in one event, and was the only time until No Mercy 2007 that this occured. It is the only time it happened at WrestleMania, though the next year the Championship was also defended twice.
--The reason the belt was defended twice was because Hogan stated in an interview he wanted to face the winner of the match at a later date. After Yokozuna won, Hogan came out to check on Bret and Mr. Fuji challenged Hogan to fight the Championship right there. Hogan pinned Yoko in 21 seconds.
--Hogan was supposed to drop the title to Bret Hart at SummerSlam 1993 in order to pass the torch to him, however Hogan refused. He agreed to drop the title to Yokozuna, but refused to lose cleanly. He lost to Yoko at the King of the Ring in '93 due to a cameraman exploding his camera in Hogan's face, which was Hogan's idea for the ending. Hogan didn't return to WWE until February 2002.
--It's interesting to note that the Championship went from a Canadian to a Japanese man to an American all in one night.
--This WrestleMania is seen as one of the worst from critics due to many people seeing Hulk Hogan's ego as a problem, and many of the matches having false conclusions.
--This was the first WrestleMania to be held in an open-air forum, and remained the only one until WrestleMania XXIV.
--WWE made the Palace look like ancient rome and dressed announcers, TV crew, workers, and other personell in togas. Actors who played Cleopatra and Julius Caesar came out to start the night, and Bobby Heenan rode backwards on a camel and claimed Savage stole his ride. Six live animals were also there to bring people to the ring, and Howard Finkels name was changed to "Finkus Maximas."
--The WWE have named Heenan riding backwards on the camel and Hogan's title win two of the best 50 moments in WWE history.
--This was the first WrestleMania to not have a National Anthem singing as they started out with Gorilla Monsoon announcing the opening ceremonies.
--Kamala and Bam Bam Bigelow were supposed to square off, but the match was canceled prior to the show with no on-air explanation.
--This was Jim Ross' WWE and WrestleMania debut.
--Luna Vachon made her WWE debut as a surprise manager for Shawn Michaels. She attacked Sherri during the match and then again reportedly backstage.
--During the Doink/Crush match, the referee was knocked out and a second Doink came from under the ring and hit Crush with a prostetic arm, leading Doink to win. Doink had eluded that Crush would be "seeing double vision" in his pre-match interview. Bobby Heenan tried to tell the audience that it was an "illusion". People later found out that Skinner played the second Doink, though that was never revealed on air.
--Brutus Beefcake wore a face mask due to a legitimate parasailing injury he suffered in 1991. He made his return to the WWE in '92 hosting the Barber Shop interview segment. On RAW, Dibiase tried to reinjure his face, but Jimmy Hart stood up for him, turning face.
--Hogan had a legitimate black eye and stitches and the on air story was that Dibiase and IRS paid people to attack him the night before WrestleMania. However, the real reason was debated for years. WWE officials said Hogan was involved in a jet-ski accident. Others claimed that Savage and Hogan got into an altercation backstage over Savage confronting Hogan over an alleged affair he had with Savage's wife Elizabeth. Most people state that the jet-ski accident is the true version.
--Lex Luger had a legitimate metal plate in his forearm due to a real-life motorcycle accident. WWE exploited this by having him "knock out" his opponents with the plate. In storyline, Luger knocked out Bret Hart earlier in the day at the WrestleMania brunch.
--Luger pinned Perfect, and the ref counted the three without seeing Perfect's foot on the ropes. Perfect went backstage to attack Luger, and Shawn Michaels attacked him. This led to a match between Perfect and Michaels at SummerSlam 1993.
--Giant Gonzales played basketball in the NBA for the Atlanta Hawks.
--The match between Taker/Gonzales is the one asterisk on Taker's streak as he didn't actually defeat Gonzales by pinfall or submission, rather he won by DQ when Gonzales used a chloroform soaked rag. This is seen as one of the worst matches in WrestleMania history.
--Natale Cole was the only celebrity on hand for this event.
--Bret Hart defended the WWE Championship at WrestleMania IX, making him the first Superstar to compete for three different titles at three consecutive WrestleMania events - at WrestleMania VII he and Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart defended their World Tag Team Championship, and at WrestleMania VIII, he defeated Roddy Piper for the Intercontinental Championship.

[Mike]

WWE WrestleMania X[/u]

Sunday, March 20, 1994
Madison Square Garden
New York, New York
Commentators: Vince McMahon and Jerry "The King" Lawler
Attendance: 18,065
"Ten Years in the Making"

Matches:[/u]

--Owen Hart def. Bret “Hit Man” Hart

--Bam Bam Bigelow & Luna Vachon def. Doink & Dink in a Mixed Tag Team Match.

--Randy "Macho Man" Savage def. Crush w/ Mr. Fuji in a Falls Count Anywhere Match.

--Alundra Blayze def. Leilani Kai to retain the WWE Women's Championship.

--Men on a Mission (Mo and Mabel) w/ Oscar def. The Quebecers (Jacques and Pierre) w/ Johnny Polo by count-out in a match for the WWE Tag Team Championships. Due to the countout, the Qubecers retained.

--Yokozuna w/ Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette def. Lex Luger by DQ to retain the WWE Championship.

--Earthquake def. Adam Bomb w/ Harvey Wippleman

--Razor Ramon def. Shawn Michaels in a Ladder Match to become the Undisputed WWE Intercontinental Champion.

--Bret “Hit Man” Hart def. Yokozuna w/ Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette to win the WWE Championship.

Match of the Night: I feel you have to go with Owen Hart vs. Bret. To have a singles match between two brothers like that and be that good of a match is uncanny. Best opener in history. The Ladder Match is a close second.

Interesting Notes:[/u]
--Bret Hart became the only man in WrestleMania history to fight in both the opening match and the main event.
--This was the first WrestleMania to not feature Hulk Hogan.
--The Ladder Match and the Brother vs. Brother match are noted as two of the best matches in WrestleMania history.
--Bret Hart and Yokozuna became the only two wrestlers to ever compete against each other in consecutive main events. Yokozuna defeated Bret at IX, and Bret defeated Yoko here.
--The scheduled ten-man tag team match featuring Irwin R. Shyster, Rick Martel, Jeff Jarrett and the Headshrinkers against the 1-2-3 Kid, Sparky Plugg, Tatanka, and the Smoking Gunns did not happen due to time constraints. The on-air reason given for this cancellation was that the heel team couldn’t decide whom the team captain was. However, they did have the match the next night on RAW with the heel team getting the win when IRS pinned 1-2-3 Kid.
--Throughout the night, the WWE aired highlights of the first 9 WrestleManias. This was the first time the word "WrestleMania Moment" was stated.
--The title was defended in two title matches because Bret Hart and Lex Luger co-won the Royal Rumble and both deserved title shots at WrestleMania. Jack Tunney decided the belt would be defended twice and a cointoss would determine who got to wrestle first. Luger won the toss, so Bret had to fight a match early in the show to make up for either Luger/Yoko having to do double duty. Bret had to face Owen to open the show. Had Luger lost the toss, he would have faced Crush earlier in the night.
--The Falls Count Anywhere match had the rule that once you were pinned you had exactly one minute to get back to the ring or you lost. The ending saw Savage hang Crush upside down from a rope in the back. He then celebrated at the Paramount Theatre with the fans watching on a giant screen.
--Lellani Kai lost her Women's Championship at MSG in the very first WrestleMania. Her next appearance was 9 years later in the same venue at WrestleMania X where she contended unsuccessfully for the Women's Championship, losing in the exact same building at the same event.
--Mr. Perfect was the surprise Special Guest Referee for Luger/Yoko. Luger pushed a distracted Perfect when he missed the fact that Luger had a pin on Yoko. Perfect then called for a DQ and Luger lost the match. Luger then yelled at Perfect in a backstage interview. The two were supposed to engage in a feud leading to SummerSlam 1994, but Perfect left the WWE until Survivor Series 1995.
--Earthquake pinned Adam Bomb in just 32 seconds.
--The reason two IC Titles hung above the ring for the ladder match was due to Jack Tunney stripping Michaels of the title in storyline for not defending the belt in 30 days. Razor Ramon and Rick Martel won a battle royal to crown a new champion for the vacated belt. Ramon then had to face Martel one on one and beat him for the title. HBK returned to the WWE claiming to be the real IC Champion and carrying around his old belt, thus the ladder match was made.
--This was actually the second ladder match in WWE history, but the first one between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels wasn't televised, so this was dubbed as the first in history.
--Ramon and Michaels were the first two to ever use the ladder as a weapon and an aparatis to jump off of, revolutionizing the ladder match. Both men received a standing ovation.
--"Rowdy" Roddy Piper was the surprise Guest Referee for the main event.
--After Bret won, Luger came out to confront him, but the two shook hands and all the babyface wrestlers poured out of the back to congratulate Bret. Owen, who beat Bret before he won the title earlier on in the night, stood in the entrance way thinking that it should have been him holding up the title.
--Lex Luger was originally supposed to leave WrestleMania with the title, as the WWE taped a TV show before WrestleMania that was slated to air after WM and had Luger with the belt. However, WWE did that to swerve people as Bret Hart was really going to win. However, Luger was supposed to beat Yoko and then drop the belt to Bret at the end of the show. Unfortunately for Luger, he missed his chance at history due to getting drunk in a NYC bar and telling people the plan. Making things worse, a reporter for a New York newspaper was on hand in that bar and wrote a story about the angle. McMahon was furious that the WrestleMania plans leaked, and thus decided to have Yoko beat Luger and then lose to Bret as a way to swerve the audience and punish Luger.
--Pat Patterson warned celebrity Burt Reynolds not to walk too close to the fans when going to the ring because he was worried they'd rip off his toupee.
--A Bill Clinton impersonator was interviewed during this event.
--The King had taken time off from WWE, but returned at WrestleMania.
--WrestleMania X was the first Mania to have two World Championship matches planned. As everyone knows, the title was defended twice at WrestleMania IX which saw the title transition from Bret to Yoko to Hogan, but that wasn't advertised.
--Little Richard sang "America the Beautiful."
--The celebrities were Cy Sperling, Jenny Garth, Donnie Whalburg, Burt Reynolds, and Rhonda Shear.

[Mike]

WWE WrestleMania XI[/u]

Sunday, April 2, 1995
Hartford Civic Center
Hartford, Connecticut
Commentators: Vince McMahon & Jerry “The King” Lawler
Attendance: 16,305


Matches:[/u]


-- The Allied Powers (Lex Luger & Davey Boy Smith) def. Eli & Jacob Blu w/ Uncle Zebekiah

--Razor Ramon w/ 1-2-3 Kid def. Jeff Jarrett w/ the Roadie by DQ in a match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Due to the DQ, Jarrett retained the title.

- The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer def. King Kong Bundy w/ "The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase

--Owen Hart & Yokozuna w/ Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette def. The Smokin' Guns (Billy and Bart) to win the WWE Tag Team Championships.

--Bret Hart def. Bob Backlund in an "I Quit" Match.

--Diesel w/ Pamela Anderson def. Shawn Michaels w/ Sid and Jenny McCarthy.

-- Lawrence Taylor w/ the All-Pro Team def. Bam Bam Bigelow w/ the Million Dollar Corporation.

Match of the Night: Shawn Michaels vs. Diesel as it was match of the year caliber.

Interesting Notes:[/u]
--This WrestleMania has received mixed reviews. Some tout it as an event that saved WWE from losing to WCW, and some tout it as the worst WrestleMania of all time.
--Pamela Anderson was supposed to be in HBK's corner in storyline due to him winning the rumble, but the storyline stated they couldn't find her so McCarthy accompanied Michaels. It turned out that Anderson was with Diesel the whole time and came out with him.
--Bam Bam Bigelow's loss to L.T. led to him being kicked out of the Million Dollar Corporation and turning face.
--Jerry Lawler accidentally unplugged a few microphone chords during the broadcast and Vince McMahon had to later go back and re-record the English.
--Lawrence Taylor enlisted help in the form of his “all-pro team” - football players Ken Norton Jr., Carl Banks, Rickey Jackson, Steve McMichael, Reggie White and Chris Spielman.
--Yokozuna was a mystery partner for Owen Hart.
--Roddy Piper served as guest referee for the I Quit match. It was the second consecutive WrestleMania event at which Piper was the guest referee for Bret Hart’s match, as he reffed the match where Yokozuna lost his title to Bret at WrestleMania X.
--With baseball players on strike, American League umpire Larry Young stepped into the ring, as the referee for the match between the Undertaker and King Kong Bundy at WrestleMania XI.
--WrestleMania XI was the second consecutive WrestleMania event at which Razor Ramon competed in an Intercontinental Championship match. The year before, he and Shawn Michaels competed in their legendary Ladder Match, and at WrestleMania XI, he challenged Jeff Jarrett for the title.
--WrestleMania XI was the only WrestleMania held in Connecticut - the home of WWE corporate headquarters.
--Other celebrities included Johnathon Taylor Thomas, Salt 'N Peppa, Nicholos Turturo among others.

[Mike]

WWE WrestleMania XII[/u]

Sunday, March 31, 1996
Arrowhead Pond
Anaheim, California
Commentators: Vince McMahon and Jerry “The King” Lawler
Attendance: 18,853

--Camp Cornette (Vader, Owen Hart and the British Bulldog) w/ Jim Cornette def. Yokozuna, Ahmed Johnson, and Jake "The Snake" Roberts w/ Mr. Fuji in a Six Man Tag Match.

--"The Ring Master" Steve Austin w/ "The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase def. Savio Vega.

--The Ultimate Warrior def. Hunter Hearst Helmsley w/ Sable.

--The Undertaker def. "Big Daddy Cool" Diesel.

--WWE President "Rowdy" Roddy Piper def. Goldust w/ Marlena in a Backlot Brawl.

--Shawn Michaels def. Bret "Hit Man" Hart in an Iron Man Match to win the WWE Championship.

Match of the Night: Shawn vs. Bret.

Interesting Notes:[/u]
--The Iron Man Match was an idea in real life by Pat Patterson which was first laughed at, but then became the main event. Piper announced on RAW that this match would be an Iron Man Match.
--This was forever known as the "boyhood dream" coming true of Shawn Michaels when he won the Championship.
--If Yokozuna's team won, he would have had five minutes in the ring alone with Jim Cornette.
--The Body Donnas def. the Godwinns on the Free for All to win the vacated WWE Tag Team Championships in the tournament finals. The titles were vacant because Bart, one half of the Smoking Gunns, was injured and so they had to forfeit the titles.
--Fans and Wrestlers all voted the Iron Man Match as the best match in WrestleMania history on a 20th anniversary of WrestleMania special hosted by Ric Flair in 2004.
--The WrestleMania XII logo was a spoof of the 20th Century Fox logo.
--The Backlot Brawl happened all throughout the night. During part of it, Piper was on a slow speed chase with Goldust. The WWE used the footage of the LAPD chasing OJ Simpson as a joke. Piper called the announce booth twice from the road telling McMahon he came for a fight.
--Before the main event, Shawn Michaels actually zipped on a line from the rafters to the ring.
--The Iron Man Match actually went into overtime as there wasn't one pinfall throughout regulation. HBK won the title a few minutes into OT.
--Jake Roberts didn't have Damian anymore, but he now had a yellow python named Revelations to symbolize his faith in God.
--HHH's character as a blue-blood snob was actually McMahon's idea to make fun of his real life neighbors. HHH losing to the Warrior in less than two mintues was punishment handed to him by McMahon for breaking character during the clique thing when it was Razor Ramon's last night with the company at MSG.
--The Ultimate Warrior was the same guy who played him all along, however he was released in the Summer of '96 for no-showing events.
--Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart hated each other in real life going into this match. Due to his real life hatred for HBK, Bret felt that the Iron Man was a way of making Shawn look good and Bret look over-the-hill. Bret left the WWE right after WrestleMania XII and wouldn't return til November of that year at the WWE Survivor Series.
--Vince McMahon was the first to test the zip that Shawn Michaels rode out on.
--Stone Cold and Triple H both made their Mania debuts here.
--HHH brought a different valet to his every match, after this one Todd Petengil was interviewing a newcomer named "Wild Man" Marc Mero and HHH was berating Sable and blaming her for his loss. Mero attacked him and after that Sable became his valet.
--Although Owen Hart and Yokozuna teamed up to win the World Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania XI, they were on opposite teams at WrestleMania XII.
--This WrestleMania had the least number of matches on any WrestleMania card, having only six to make room for the over hour-long Iron Man Match.
--This WrestleMania had no celebrities.
--During the Free For All prior to WrestleMania, “The Huckster” fought the “Nacho Man,” with “Billionaire Ted” as the special guest referee to knock on WCW.
--No national anthem was preformed.