Pamela Anderson's indifference didn't take the shine off of WrestleMania XI - but only because there wasn't any there to begin with.
As locations go, Hartford's Civic Centre was an almost-literal home base for WWE. Within spitting distance of the company headquarters in Stamford, the venue at the back of a Connecticut mall was presumably cheap rather than overtly cheerful.
Most armchair fans would giddily rebook most WrestleManias, but this one in particular desperately needed work. For all of 1995's failings, the pay-per-views had an astonishing hit-rate thanks to an underrated undercard buttressed by belters featuring Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. This card let almost every performer down in the matchmaking, and the one time it didn't, it still didn't offer a fan-friendly finish...
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 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. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, 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
