WrestleMania title shot: Defeated Bret Hart at WrestleMania XII After going the distance in the 1995 Royal Rumble and coming up short at WrestleMania, Shawn Michaels had a lot to prove in 1996. Entering the Rumble at a much more palatable #18, Michaels outlasted everyone, last tossing the man who beat him at Mania the previous year, Diesel. Michaels and WWF Champion Bret Hart would meet at WrestleMania XII in a 60-minute Iron Man match that ultimately would need overtime to be decided. Michaels quickly won with Sweet Chin Music and captured his first world title. HBK would hold the title through most of 1996, with the reign putting Michaels on the map as a top guy in WWF. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlBeQshE1R8 Unfortunately for HBK, his first title reign coincided with a bleak ratings period for the WWF, but the story of Michaels finally achieving his dream was a great one for wrestling fans.
Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fortunately became a fan in time for WrestleMania III and came back as a fan after a long high school hiatus before WM XIV. Monday nights in the Carlson household are reserved for viewing Raw -- for better or worse.
