10 WrestleMania Main Events That Changed The Direction Of WWE

2. Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels - WrestleMania 12

Bret vs Shawn. What more needs to be said about this match? When many fans of a certain age are asked what their favourite wrestling match of all time is, the answer often lies in the main event of Wrestlemania 12. Whilst Bret had won his first WWF Championship in 1992, Shawn Michaels was honing his Heartbreak Kid gimmick and regularly niggling at Bret€™s side both in and out of the ring. At the time of Wrestlemania 12, Hart was a three-time WWF Champion but Shawn€™s star was firmly on the rise. The cocky Boy Toy had soon become a fan favourite and it was he and The Hitman who were to battle it out for the WWF Title at Wrestlemania. The milestone of change here isn€™t so much the result (Shawn won, by the way), but the fact that the two guys who were heralded as the brightest lights of the New Generation were headlining Wrestlemania; a spot only afforded to the elite (well, apart from King Kong Bundy). As well as the culmination of seemingly years of work, it was this event that also put the star of Shawn Michaels firmly up amongst the big hitting main event players. It€™s just a good job that Shawn was humble and didn€™t let it go to his head€
Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.