411’s Countdown to WrestleMania 23: The WrestleMania XII Roundtable Review

Posted by Larry Csonka on 03.22.2007

I…Am…Iron Man.

411's Countdown to WrestleMania 23: The WrestleMania XII Roundtable Review

I…Am…Iron Man.

Introduction~!
WrestleMania XI saw Bret Hart out of the title picture as he did battle with Bob Backlund for revenge over losing the WWF Title. Shawn Michaels the year prior tried and failed to gain the WWF Title as he did battle with former bodyguard Diesel. As different as their paths were, they ended up with the same destination, WrestleMania XII. The match was the Iron Man Match. A match guaranteed to go 60-minutes to give us a WWF champion. This would be a feud that would change the scope of the WWF in later years, but the first big match was here at WrestleMania XII. An Ultimate Champion would return to the biggest stage of the year and The Undertaker had another "big" challenge. A WrestleMania with the smallest card in terms of the number of matches presented due to the Iron Man Match. Let's meet our analysts and break down the card.



Our analysts today are…
This gentleman loves feats of manliness, Stuart Carapola!

ECW Reporter Mike Bauer!

The man that is always on the High Road, he is SAT!

And finally the man that loves Screw Jobs, Dan Wilcox!


WrestleMania XII~!:

Vader, Owen Hart & the British Bulldog (w/Jim Cornette) defeated Yokozuna, Jake Roberts & Ahmed Johnson (w/Mr. Fuji) @ 13:10 via pin

Stuart Carapola: Yokozuna had been left out in the cold by his former manager Jim Cornette, and so in this match, if Yokozuna's team won, he would get five minutes with Jim Cornette. They ended up losing when Vader killed Jake Roberts (making his return to WrestleMania) with the Vader Bomb. Still, decent little opener and teased a Yokozuna-Vader confrontation that would build over the next couple of months.

Mike Bauer: Yokozuna vs. Vader, god what were these people thinking? Overall, the match was pretty good, although it involves Yokozuna being a face, something I don't remember all that well, nor do I wish to remember. Jake Roberts returned to WrestleMania in the match and got absolutely killed in taking the fall. Still very odd to see Cornette on one side and Mr. Fuji on the other.

SAT: The stipulation of the match was that if Yokozuna's team won then he would have five minutes with Jim Cornette. This was a decent match. There were some good things in this match and some bad things in this match. Vader looked great in this match and I loved how the heels had all of the faces isolated from their partners at some point in this match. Also, I was surprised by the crowd. I thought that the crowd would be dead, but it was the complete opposite. I only recommend watching this match if you are a fan of any of the six competitors.

Dan Wilcox: So apparently WWF/E has always been good doing 6 man tags? This was a really fun opener and there was massive heat for this match, particularly for anytime the Yoko and Vader got it on (in a wrestling sense, sickos). Of course with Owen and Bulldog you were almost guaranteed a decent outing and that's what we got here. It got decent time as well which is always good. Oh yeah, stipulation, if the faces win, Yoko gets 5 minutes with James Cornette, the manager of the heels for this match. That didn't matter anyway because the heels won when Vader pinned Roberts. Great choice for opener and it had some good spots.

Steve Austin defeated Savio Vega @ 10:07 via pin

Stuart Carapola: It is so weird thinking of Austin's WrestleMania matches with Bret Hart, with Shawn Michaels, and his trilogy with The Rock, and then realizing that it all began here. It was even weirder when I remembered that Austin had to cheat to beat Vega! This was obviously before he got his big push to a feud with Bret Hart, and you could tell the way he was programmed that they didn't expect much out of him. Boy, would they be surprised. Here he is, one step above jerking the curtain, and the next year he was having the match of the night with Bret Hart. Just goes to show that you never, EVER know who that next big superstar is going to be.

Mike Bauer: This match was actually pretty good, despite Austin 3:16 being only a pipe dream when this match happened and Savio Vega being on the way down. Austin needs to cheat to win this one, but it is amazing what difference one year made for the Stone Cold one. Of course, I could spend a ton of time on that, but that's for next year.

SAT: This was a good match, but it was hurt by a few things that happened during the match. First, the crowd was completely dead for this match. There was no reaction from them at all. Second, the ending of the match hurt the match. It could have been a decent ending, but the crowd completely killed it. The biggest thing that hurt this match was that the match was playing second fiddle to the chase that was going on between Roddy Piper and Goldust. I think that it was a stupid idea to having Roddy Piper calling during this match and showing footage of the chase. Avoid this match.

Dan Wilcox: Really quick start to this match, but Austin took over and worked the arm of Savio. Austin looked great in this match but what was really awesome was the way that Savio Vega sold his injured arm the entire match. They had a really good 10-minute match but I didn't like the finish – ref bump plus belt shot from Ted DiBiase leading to Austin forcing Vega to submit to the Million Dollar Dream. Great match.

The Ultimate Warrior defeated Hunter Hearst Hemsley w/Sable @ 1:39 via pin

Stuart Carapola: The Ultimate Warrior, who had been out of the public eye for almost four years, made his return to the ring at WrestleMania 12 and squashed Triple H in a minute and a half. Now, I'd like you all to mark March 31, 1996 down on your calendars, because it is THE LAST TIME YOU WILL EVER SEE ANYTHING LIKE THAT HAPPEN EVER AGAIN. The really weird part was that this was BEFORE Triple H got buried because of the MSG Incident, which wouldn't happen for another two months. The return of the Warrior was supposed to help raise interest in the WWF, which was sorely lacking at the time, but he didn't draw as expected and, as usual, flaked out (or Self Destructed, if you will) and disappeared within months, never to be seen again. Triple H, in the meantime, is now a McMahon-In-Law and the most powerful worker in the company. Much like with Austin, you really have no idea what's going to happen down the pike.

Mike Bauer: So let me get this straight? The Warrior comes back from the depths of his very own mind and defeats Triple H in the biggest squash match of Hemsley's life? Are you kidding me??? Now you would think that this could be punishment for what HHH and Michaels did in 1996, but wait. That event happened two months later, so the WWF really, really missed the boat on this match. Of course, The Warrior disappeared off the face of the earth again after this and HHH, well… we all know about him.

SAT: This match was just a squash. Hunter Hearst Helmsley gets a few punches, hits the pedigree, Warrior no sells, hits a few clothesline and hits the splash for the win. The entrances of the two superstars were longer than the actual match. A classic line from Jerry Lawler, where he says that "his sources" have told him that the Ultimate Warrior is bald and four hundred pounds. Anyways, I would recommend avoiding this match because it is just a squash. The only notable thing that happened in this match is that the Ultimate Warrior no sold the pedigree. We don't see that these days.

Dan Wilcox: Warrior was brought back because it was felt there wasn't enough star power on this pay-per-view, and this was Trips' punishment for his part in the Kliq incident a few weeks before where the guys broke kayfabe in the ring. Sons a bitches. Anyway, Warrior sucks, and so did this match because it was a total squash. I'd feel bad for The Game if I didn't know what luxuries would be in his future. Hell, Warrior even got to no-sell Triple H's Pedigree, which is just ridiculous, but as least it didn't do any long-term damage to its credibility. The Game sells his ass off for Warrior's weak offence and this really did suck.

The Undertaker defeated Diesel @ 16:45 via pin

Stuart Carapola: This was before anyone was making a big deal out of Undertaker's undefeated streak, but I was personally pulling for Diesel at the time because I was really digging his new attitude since turning back to the heel side after losing the WWF Title. It was the attitude that made Diesel popular in the first place yet got sucked completely out of him during his year as champion. Of course, I had no idea he was on his way out of the WWF because I wasn't reading the sheets then, but I thought this was a really cool match back then, even though I grew to recognize Nash's deficiencies later on. I still kind of like watching it, and it's probably the only time you're ever going to see anyone get up from two Jackknife powerbombs from Nash. Undertaker giving Diesel the Tombstone was a cool visual, too. It turned out to be business as usual for the Undertaker at WrestleMania, but there was just something about this match that made it feel more special than a lot of the others.

Mike Bauer: Now this was a match most people were looking forward to… if you like two near seven footers beating the hell out of each other. These two had been going at it for months after Big Daddy Cool got his edge back after losing the title to Bret Hart at the Survivor Series. I still remember seeing The Undertaker on top of a steel cage, giving Diesel the finger before it was cool to do so. As for this match, nobody cared about the Taker's streak and most would believe that Diesel would win this match. Especially after not one, but two Jackknife Powerbombs. I doubt you'll see anyone ever again kick out of even one of them. But again, Diesel was on the way out and the Taker was, and still is a lifer in the WWE. Taker got the win and the legacy had yet to even start.

SAT: The Undertaker and Diesel are not known for having a great match. But, this match was awesome and it definitely exceeded expectations. There were a few wrestling moves, but it was mainly a good big man match. There were a few slow moments in the match, but it didn't hurt the match. This was one of the Undertaker's best matches at WrestleMania and probably the hardest fought victory that he had. This match gets a solid recommendation from me.

Dan Wilcox: Apparently this is the only time these two ever met one-on-one which I suppose, when you think about it isn't all that surprising. What is surprising, however, is that this match is actually quite good and reasonably entertaining. Diesel was actually quite good in 1996 so this actually turned out as a decent match. If you had said to me a 17 match between these two would have been good I'd have thought you had the same supplier as Kurt Angle, but they put in a little extra effort and both guys tried some new stuff and it turned out all right.

Hollywood Back lot Brawl: Roddy Piper stripped Goldust @ most of the night

Stuart Carapola: I've always hated this "match" for some reason, although I've never been able to put my finger on quite why I feel that way. Maybe as a purist, I find something innately wrong with a match starting second on the show, taking a break, and then finishing before the main event. Maybe it's because it wasn't an official match and there was no rules to determine how a victor could be declared. Maybe I just thought, even in my markdom, that Goldust hitting Piper with a car, followed by the OJ chase video and then Piper stripping Goldust out of his suit to reveal women's underwear was just one of the stupidest things I had ever seen. They did stiff each other pretty bad, but even to this day, I don't like this one.

Mike Bauer: A Hollywood Back Lot Brawl? Yes, this match never really started and never truly ended and it was nothing more than two men attempting to beat the crap out of each other. Just the thought of what Goldust was wearing is enough to give me the chills, even until this day. All this "match" really did was show off exactly how nuts the Hot Rod really was.

SAT: This match drove me crazy because it lasted through three other matches. The Hollywood Back Lot Brawl sucked. The chase sucked. The stuff in the ring sucked. This was a just a huge mess. The best option would have been just to do the Back Lot Brawl because that was the best part out of the three segments. I'm tired about talking about his match, so I'll leave you with one word. Avoid.

Dan Wilcox: Wow this really was a mess. The only good thing I can remember from this is Goldust showing up in a gold car. Classic. This is really kind of embarrassing to watch and even though there some good weapon shots, but the finish came when Goldie pissed Piper off by kissing him, so Piper stripped him. Goldust was wearing women's underwear. Yep. Let's just move slowly on.

WWF Heavyweight Championship, 60-minute Iron Man Match: Shawn Michaels (w/Jose Lothario) defeated Bret Hart to become the NEW WWF Champion @ 61:55 via pin (1-0)

Stuart Carapola: There's mixed opinions on this one. There's people who thought it was slow, boring, and had a stupid ending. Then there's people like me who dig Broadways, and were able to appreciate the psychology that went into this match. I didn't care about any backstage politics that may or may not have prevented both men from refusing to job first. I didn't care, because I just saw my two favorite wrestlers of all time go 60 minutes and neither one was able to score a fall on the other. The overtime stipulation was certainly unexpected, but as soon as the match was restarted, I knew it was going to be Shawn's night. Sure enough, after lasting over a minute in the Sharpshooter as time ran down, Bret continued the beating as soon as the match was restarted, but Michaels hit two superkicks and pinned Bret Hart for what I believe was the first time ever and won the WWF Title that I wanted to see him win so bad for so long. Shawn kneeling in the ring, cradling the championship belt in his arms is still one of my favorite moments to this day. Say what you will about Shawn Michaels and his backstage behavior, but he earned this.

Mike Bauer: And for the main event, heck even the of the night event, we have the first ever Iron man match. When I first heard about this, I was very skeptical. It was very unusual for non Royal Rumble matches to go thirty minutes, let alone a full hour in this day and age. But the stage was set for this match perfectly. You had Shawn Michaels winning his second straight Royal Rumble by eliminating Diesel with the superkick (see this year's Rumble, except the part of Taker ducking) to get the title shot. But of course, this year, WrestleMania was held in San Antonio, Texas, which is Shawn Michaels' hometown. The build up to the match was unreal. We got to see Bret Hart train in the dungeon and Shawn Michaels work with his old trainer. They really built this match up to be the ultimate battle. And the match was unbelievable to say this least. With no decisions in the sixty-minute time limit and the overtime stipulation, you had to feel it was Shawn Michaels' night. No Iron Man match has come close to duplicating this and only a handful of matches have been better WrestleMania matches.

SAT: This match right here is the best match in WrestleMania history. Both guys did a great job in this match. This first half of this match was really slow, but that is understandable. Both guys had a feeling out process and they wanted to wear the other person out. The last half of this match was awesome as both guys picked up the pace. The ending in regulation was perfect. The entire match was good because after the match, fans of both superstars could make an argument for their wrestler. Last but not least, I think that Bret Hart deserves a lot of credit in this match for the ending. He put over Shawn Michaels cleaning, when he could have kicked out right at three. If you get a chance, definitely watch this match.

Dan Wilcox: I think an Iron Man match is probably the hardest to wrestle, and keep entertaining at the same time. And don't get me wrong, this is an amazing match, but is it wrong that I enjoyed Shawn Michaels' entrance from the rafters more than the match? Some are critical of the first half of this match, but I think that's a little harsh when you consider you have 60 minutes to work with and you don't want to blow everything to early on so obviously, you have to pace yourself. I can understand people who get bored by the first 20 minutes or so because it is mostly headlocks and arm bars and such, but overall I don't think the overall quality of this match can be disputed. Kickass match, and yes, the boyhood dream did come true.

The Conclusion:

Stuart Carapola: This was a lot more entertaining on the whole than WrestleMania 11 was, but the problem was that since Bret and Shawn had to get over an hour (between the match, overtime, entrances, and post match), everything else on the show necessarily had to be short. If you insist on including the Hollywood Back lot Brawl, there were only five other matches on the show and, if we don't count the match that started second and ended in the semi-main, none of the matches went much more than fifteen minutes. That said, Bret vs. Shawn is worth the price of admission alone...for people like me. If you're somebody who likes hardcore brawling, high spots, or the goofy ring styles of a guy like The Rock or John Cena, then you probably won't like it much. However, if you're a fan of the hour long draws you see in ROH, then this is right up your alley.

Mike Bauer: Like WrestleMania XI, this was a lackluster PPV overall, but the Iron Man match makes it a worthwhile watch. And with only six matches on the card, it again did not feel like a WrestleMania, other then the main event. The other matches, for the most part, got decent time and the Parking Lot Brawl was horrible at best. WrestleMania 13 had to deliver a lot to the WWF to get back on track with their biggest show of the year. We will see later if that one delivered where this event fell short.

SAT: The best matches on this card were the Iron Man Match and the Undertaker/Diesel match. The worst match was the Hollywood Back Lot Brawl. This was a pretty solid card and I would recommend watching it. Just avoid the Hollywood Back Lot Brawl.

Dan Wilcox: This card was rather mediocre aside from the Iron Man match. Austin/Vega was good but nothing to go out of your way to see, while Taker and Diesel put on a good show considering big man matches ups tend to suck. Again, apart from the main event, a very average WrestleMania.