The main event of WrestleMania XII remains a contentious one for many fans. On one side, some folks feel the bout was excellently orchestrated. On the other, many fans think the match was a snore fest, devoid of any real action until the final few minutes. Whatever the case, it was a monumental night for Shawn Michaels, who captured the WWF Heavyweight Title for the first time. On television, announcer Vince McMahon remarked that the 'boyhood dream had come true'. At the time, Bret Hart says he was delighted to pass the torch to Michaels, someone he felt he had a lot in common with. Their relationship would deteriorate from there, playing out both behind the curtain and in front of the cameras. In his autobiography, Hart expressly states that the original plan was for Michaels to drop the belt back to him at 'Mania 13 in a rematch. This is something Shawn wasn't so keen to do, and he decided to side step the bout altogether. Assuring everyone that he was injured and would have to retire, Michaels 'lost his smile', handing the belt over to Gorilla Monsoon and McMahon on a special edition of Raw. The WrestleMania match never happened, but Shawn was unsurprisingly back wrestling later that year.
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.
