10 Best Ever WWE WrestleMania Entrances

2. Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania XII)

Shawn Michaels WrestleMania XIV
WWE.com

"Hanging from the rafters" was common wrestling hyperbole for a jam-packed crowd, but it was a truism for one night at least. Every bit as grandiose as Vince McMahon's orgasmic screams from the commentary table suggested, Shawn Michaels' zip-line arrival at WrestleMania 12 wasn't the first time Bret Hart was humiliatingly overshadowed before the bell even rang (more on that later), but it was by far the most ostentatious.

1996's Iron Man main event had long been predicted as the moment 'HBK' would take the throne in WWE, but the company themselves couldn't have made it clearer when the challenger flew through the skies of the Anaheim Pond to rapturous applause just seconds before the supposed Champion had to make his workmanlike walk to the ring.

Remarkably calm in the face of a potentially preposterous stunt, Michaels didn't lose an ounce of cool in the contraption, unlike his head cheerleader McMahon in the booth. "Oh no! Look at that!" yells the Chairman, unable to form structured sentences in the sheer heady excitement of it all.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett