Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart - Wrestlemania 12
http://vimeo.com/21613496 When I started this list, I wasn't sure of where each match would be placed, except for this, which would always be my number one. For me, the Iron Man match represents everything that winning the Royal Rumble match should be, earning a spot at the main event of Wrestlemania and ascending to your first major championship with WWE's biggest audience. Shawn Michaels' achieved that at Wrestlemania 12, when his win at the 1996 Royal Rumble set up a match between him and WWE Champion Bret Hart. Bret & Shawn had been the two main stars in what's referred to as the 'New Generation'; a group of wrestlers whose athleticism, talent and desire to put on quality wrestling matches set them apart from the cartoonish wrestling of the previous decade. Bret & Shawn stood for the new direction that WWE was heading. It was decided that the match should be a 60 minute Iron Man match, which was a fitting tribute to both men's fitness and dedication. It was unheard of to have an hour long match to close out Wrestlemania, but it demonstrated WWE's faith in Shawn & Bret's abilities. There's not much I can say about the match that you probably don't already know, and there's a reason it's considered one of the best pure wrestling matches ever. The pacing and timing were spot on, and while there were obvious rest holds, the match didn't seem to drag. Perhaps the stand out moment is the finish, as it fittingly came to a 0-0 draw at the end of the 60 minutes. The match went into sudden death overtime, where Shawn would pin Bret after hitting two Sweet Chin Musics to become WWE Champion for the first time. Shawn's crowning moment is one of the most iconic endings at Wrestlemania, and although there's controversy surrounding his behaviour, it still remains an important moment in WWE history in general.