This is the most divisive Wrestlemania main event, the marmite of its kind. Michael Cole does the voice-over for the promo. It goes into the training given to Michaels and Bret from Jose Lothario and Stu Hart respectively, Bret and Shawn both get some promo time talking about this match being the next chapter of their stories. Vince McMahon and Jerry “The King” Lawler are on commentary, Howard Finkel uses this time to introduce the new WWF President, Gorilla Monsoon.
Shawn Michaels' music plays and Jose Lothario comes out on his own, causing Lawler to speculate that he's chickened out. Jose Lothario points to the rafters and Shawn Michaels enters on a zip wire. He lands in the crowd and unharnesses himself. It takes so long his music plays through twice before he's ready in the ring. Bret Hart makes his way down quite briskly and Earl Hebner goes over the rules and wishes them both luck. Bret Hart gives his sunglasses to his son Blade, which either makes him a good father or selfish for wanting them at home depending on the mood you woke up in today.
BRET HART © VS. SHAWN MICHAELS
(60-minute Ironman match for the WWF Championship)
WWF Wrestlemania 12 (31st March 1996)
They lock up and the 60 minutes start now! Shawn Michaels backs Bret into the corner, Bret switches positions and breaks it clean. Another lockup, Michaels takes Bret down with a waistlock but Bret reverses into one of his own, forcing Michaels to scramble to his feet. They lock up and Bret Hart gets a headlock but Michaels takes him down. Michaels rolls out of another headlock, frustrating Bret before putting him in an arm wringer. He tries to add more pressure but Bret counters into one of his own and pulls HBK into another headlock, Michaels tries to roll through but Hart keeps the hold on. Michaels gets to his feet, he tries to roll out of it but can't, so he backs into the ropes. He tries to send Bret off the ropes but the headlock stays on as Bret Hart slides down to the mat, keeping the leverage over Shawn. Shawn Michaels gets to his feet but Bret takes him down again in the headlock for a nearfall. Shawn Michaels is able to get to his feet but Bret takes him down again for a nearfall, Michaels rolls Bret up for one of his own and we're at about the 4-minute mark.
Shawn Michaels gets to his feet and pushes Bret off the ropes finally escaping the headlock. He sends Bret down with a hip toss but Bret kicks out at him, Bret goes back to the headlock, because we haven't seen enough of that. Shawn Michaels counters with a headscissors and Bret kicks out, then back to a headlock takedown. Shawn Michaels gets back to his feet and from the first 5 minutes of the match, probably 3½ of them are in a headlock. Michaels tries to break free with forearms to Bret's back, he escapes with a top wristlock. They jockey for position until Bret sends Michaels down and puts him in a front facelock. Shawn makes it to his feet and gets taken down with another headlock, getting his shoulder up at 1 this time. He gets to his feet and uses forearm shots to try and loosen Bret's grip and sends him off the ropes, Michaels drops down and hits Bret with a pair of arm drags before keeping him grounded with an armbar. He works the arm on the mat as Lawler is taking shots at “The Huckster” and “The Nacho Man.”
Stu Hart is seen at ringside as Bret is still in the hold, sat next to Freddie Blassie. Lawler says Jose vs Stu would be a prehistoric match. Bret Hart makes it to his feet, sending Michaels off the ropes but gets hit with a shoulder tackle. HBK hits the ropes again, Bret drops down and catches Shawn in a drop toehold. Bret Hart struggles for a chinlock as he rides Michaels but Shawn Michaels reverses into a hammerlock, he drives his knee into Bret's arm and tries to roll him into a pin, but Bret is able to keep his shoulder off the mat. Bret Hart is able to make it to his feet and backs Michaels into the corner, this time he doesn't break clean clubbing at Michaels and hitting him with shoulder strikes to the ribs. Michaels puts Bret into the corner and hits rights and forearms. Bret Hart reverses an irish whip but Shawn Michaels grabs the top rope, he sends Bret out of the ring with a headscissors. That must have been pretty mindblowing in 1996, I don't think I've seen him do that ever again. Bret takes some time outside of the ring, getting back to the apron around 7.
Shawn Michaels puts Bret Hart in an arm wringer and takes him down with a fireman's carry, into the armbar on the mat. Bret Hart gets to his feet and sends Michaels off the ropes, Bret helps him along and Michaels goes over the top rope, skinning the cat back in as Bret turns around. Shawn Michaels takes Bret down in an armbar. Bret Hart gets to his feet and sends Michaels off the ropes, Bret goes prone then cuts off Michaels with a knee to the gut. Bret headbutts Michaels in the midsection and a legdrop before putting on a chinlock 20% of the way through the match. Michaels gets to his feet and counters with a jawbreaker before going back to the armbar, bridging up to apply more pressure. Bret Hart rolls through and kips up, he puts Michaels in a headlock but is sent off the ropes. Michaels leapfrogs the first time but gets caught the second, Bret slams him to the mat, but Michaels is able to block the Sharpshooter and makes it to the ropes. He gets to his feet and is immediately clotheslined over to the floor. Bret Hart stuns Michaels with a forearm but is sent into the ring post, leading to the now-famous timekeeper superkick from Michaels on the floor.
Bret Hart brings it back into the ring and hits an elbow drop to the back of Shawn's head before going to the chinlock. Someone comes down to check on the timekeeper and Bret drives his elbow into Shawn's head and goes back to it. We see a replay from different angles as Michaels makes it to his feet, but Bret Hart takes him down again. They've been working this for 2 minutes when Michaels snapmares his way out and knocks Bret down with a clothesline. Bret Hart reverses an irish whip and knocks Michaels down with a stiff clothesline. He goes back to the chinlock as we see the crowd of 18,000+ and Michaels is back on his feet, he breaks free with shots to the midsection, Lawler calls out the closed fist, Bret tries to lift Michaels up but he slips out the back and they run all the way across the ring in a waistlock and Bret Hart hooks the rope to send Michaels back and Shawn Michaels hits a dropkick. Bret runs into an arm drag, Michaels goes back to the armbar. Shawn drives his knee into Bret's ribs and puts Bret in an armbar, getting some nearfalls. Bret Hart tries to keep his shoulder off the mat and fight through the armbar, he gets to his feet but Michaels brings him back down to the canvas. Bret is able to break free and rolls over for a headlock but Michaels counters into a hammerlock, going to work with his knee again.
You can clearly see Bret say “fuck” as Michaels keeps the hammerlock in, Bret slams the mat in frustration, but is able to get to his feet. He backs Shawn Michaels into the corner, forcing the break, and catches him with a back elbow, then another. Bret keeps Michaels in the corner with uppercuts and forearms. Shawn Michaels reverses an irish whip, pulling Bret into a knee to the gut. Bret Hart's shoulder is sent into the ring post, Michaels wraps Bret's arm around the post and I've just noticed that Hebner looks really young, the attitude era must have aged him terribly. Michaels hits a shoulder breaker and a double ax handle from the middle rope to the shoulder then puts Bret in a hammerlock before slamming him. Shawn sends Bret's shoulder into the turnbuckle and the same across the ring. Michaels targets the shoulder with ax handles and they exchange arm wringers. Bret stuns Michaels with right hands and sends him off the ropes, but gets caught with an arm breaker by Michaels. Lawler says the Slammy that Shawn gave to Jose Lothario will be in a pawn shop in Tijuana tomorrow and I laughed harder than I should.
Shawn Michaels puts an armbar on Bret on the mat, then drives his knee into Bret's arm before going back to it. Bret Hart is able to make it to his feet and scrapes his boot across Michaels' face to get out of the hold, shaking some feeling into the arm. Shawn Michaels charges at him with a shoulder tackle and hits a back elbow in the corner. Michaels snapmares Bret out of the corner and puts on an elevated armbar, keeping his weight above Bret, then cannonballs down onto the shoulder, keeping it locked in. King makes a good point that last time Bret's parents showed up to one of his matches Helen threw the towel in for him. Bret Hart gets to his feet before she gets the idea, he breaks free and hot shots, Michaels, onto the middle rope. Bret catapults Shawn into the ring post, he's slow to cover and Michaels kicks out at 2.Michaels blocks Bret's attempt at ramming his head into the turnbuckle, instead, sending Bret's into it.
Shawn Michaels tries a Stinger splash but eats shit and gets caught across the corner, Bret kicks him in the midsection bouncing back down to the mat. Bret Hart hits an inverted atomic drop and a clothesline, covering for a nearfall. Bret Hart hits the bulldog out of the corner and climbs to the top rope, Shawn Michaels tries to cut him off, but Bret is able to fight him off, hitting a facebuster using his knee onto Michaels and knocking the referee down in the process as we reach the halfway point of the match. Michaels sends Bret off the ropes and hits a powerslam for a nearfall. He sends Bret into the ropes but gets kicked when he ducks for the backdrop. Bret hits the piledriver and gets a close nearfall. Bret hits a leg drop and goes to the top rope, this time Michaels brings him back down. Shawn Michaels hits a standing hurricanrana with punches and sends Bret off the ropes, Bret Hart holds on, able to avoid Michaels' attack for a couple more seconds before a flurry of rights and a rib breaker for a 2 count. Bret is sent off the ropes into a back elbow, Michaels sets up the Sweet Chin Music but Bret decides to take a breather on the floor.
Even Jerry Lawler gives him credit for that move Shawn Michaels hits a body press from the top rope to the arena floor, they tease a count-out but Michaels is in the ring at 6, Earl Hebner restarts the count for some reason and Michaels gets bored of waiting, retrieving Bret, and getting the match back into the ring. Shawn Michaels hits another crossbody but Bret rolls through 1,2, 2.9 as HBK kicks out. There are 26 minutes left as Bret rocks Michaels with right hands but the irish whip gets reversed, Bret Hart blocks a hip toss and they struggle for a backslide, Bret is able to lift Michaels but he rolls over Bret's back and rolls him into the small package for a close nearfall. He sends Bret off the ropes into a punch to the midsection setting up a fisherman suplex (called the Perfectplex by commentary) for another nearfall. Shawn Michaels sends Bret off the ropes into a sleeperhold. Bret backs Michaels into the corner but Michaels re-applies straight away like someone desperate for the damn job. Bret starts fading but keeps his arm elevated on the third attempt.
They work back to their feet and Bret tries to back Shawn into the corner again, but Michaels throws him into the turnbuckles. Shawn Michaels goes back to the sleeper hold, Bret tries to counter with a back suplex but Michaels lands on his feet, Michaels uses the corner to get both his feet up to kick Bret, then sends him into the turnbuckles. Shawn Michaels charges at Bret Hart but is backdropped over the ring post and out of the ring, but the cameraman was too close to the action and decided to save himself instead of getting a decent shot of it. We see a better angle in the replay and Fuck. That. Bump. Bret Hart brings Shawn back into the ring and starts to focus on his lower back with a shot to the kidneys and a headbutt. Bret sends him from corner to corner and hits the elbow drop from the middle rope. Bret Hart sends Michaels off the ropes and they fumble before Hart gets a rib breaker and a legdrop. We're in the final third as Bret brings Michaels to his feet and sends him into the corner, Bret kicks at Michaels' back as he's slumped in the corner and cannonballs onto Michaels' back. Hebner tells Bret to watch the hair as he brings Michaels to his feet, he sends Michaels from corner to corner so hard he flips up and is crotched on the top rope, Bret immediately follows and hits a back suplerplex! Bret crawls over for the cover but Michaels still kicks out before 3.
Bret Hart rolls him over into a camel clutch Michaels is able to get to his feet but he's selling the back, he gets a nearfall with a sunset flip and Bret's the first to his feet, cutting Michaels down with a shot to the lower back. Bret crotches Shawn on the top rope but gets knocked back. Michaels jumps into a punch to the gut, Bret hits a russian leg sweep for another nearfall. He sends Shawn's head into the top turnbuckle then sends him across the ring. Shawn goes over to the floor, clipping Jose Lothario as he falls. Bret Hart sends Michaels into the ring steps and again Jose is in the way, which Bret has a word with him about before bringing it back into the ring. He hits a belly-to-belly suplex for a 2 count. Bret knocks Shawn back into the ropes, but Michaels rebounds with a shot of his own. He chops at Bret but gets cut off with a shot to the back. Lawler mentions that as the time starts to dwindle the decision is more crucial, even though only 2 matches have gone beyond 15 minutes tonight. (The Hollywood Backlot Brawl and Taker vs. Diesel)
Bret hits Michaels with forearms in the corner, Shawn Michaels counters a suplex, landing on his feet, and rolls Bret up with the O'Connor roll for 2, Bret kicks out sending Michaels out of the ring. Bret Hart takes a breather in the ring before a tope suicida through the ropes to Michaels. Earl Hebner starts counting him out but Bret breaks it by not keeping his distance. Shawn Michaels gets back on the apron, Bret tries to suplex him back into the ring, Michaels lands on his feet again but Bret counters into his own waistlock, he hits a bridging german suplex for a 2 count. Shawn Michaels tries to fight from underneath, but Bret has all the momentum standing over him. And raining down punches and kicks. Bret headbutts Michaels and he has to rest before locking in a camel clutch. He works it for a long time before Michaels starts fighting up to his knees, Bret puts a chinlock on but Michaels is able to get to his feet and gets out of it with back elbows to the midsection.
They collide with clotheslines and they're both down. Shawn Michaels is the first to connect with a punch as they get to their feet, a few shots knock Bret back into the corner, he kicks Michaels in the gut to cut him off and crotches him on the top rope, he finally hits the superplex, he tries to put Michaels in the Sharpshooter but Michaels kicks his way out, although Bret keeps hold of his ankle. Bret locks in a figure four leglock, no he can't get that either so he settles for a single-leg boston crab but Michaels is too close to the ropes. He holds on for a second longer than he should and hits a backbreaker to Michaels. Bret's elbow drop falls into Michaels' boots with less than 5 minutes left. Shawn Michaels knocks Bret back into the corner with a dropkick and runs at him with a clothesline, Bret's sent sternum-first into the corner. Bret Hart is able to reverse an irish whip but Michaels knocks him down with a forearm. Shawn Michaels kips up and stomps at Bret, Bret is sent off the ropes into a back elbow, he slams Bret and climbs to the top rope, knocking him down with a double ax handle for a nearfall. He hits a suplex and an elbow drop for a nearfall as we close in on 2 minutes left. Michaels sends Bret off the ropes into a kick to the gut and hits a gutwrench powerbomb, Michaels goes to the top rope and hits a moonsault for a nearfall as Lawler says Bret just has to survive the last 90 seconds. Michaels is sent into the corner but he gets his boot up. Bret Hart almost counters a hurricanrana from the middle rope into a powerbomb, but Michels rolls him through and covers for 2. He slams Bret and he's slowly making it to the top rope. Bret is able to trip Michaels on his way down and locks in the Sharpshooter, waiting out the time limit.
Bret Hart starts leaving with his belt as Gorilla Monsoon talks to Fink and Hebner, The Fink announces that the match goes into overtime Sudden Death rules. Bret gets back in the ring and asks Monsoon what the deal is before asking for the bell. He goes right for the back with right hands and knees. Bret Hart sends Michaels off the ropes into a backdrop and hits a backbreaker. Bret sends Shawn Michaels from corner to corner, Michaels floats over and Bret Hart turns around into a Superkick! They both struggle to get to their feet, Michaels can't capitalize yet, crawling to the ropes. He faintly tunes up the band and hits the Sweet Chin Music to win his first WWF Championship.
WINNER: SHAWN MICHAELS (NEW WWF Champion)
I like this match more just watching it than I do reviewing it, as it emphasizes how much time they were putting into the simple holds at the start of the match. It was a new concept and they worked it well with their styles, Shawn Michaels was able to show more of his actual wrestling, not something he did much of at this point in his career, and they put on one hell of a match. As much as I griped about the 3-minute headlocks and armbars, by the end of the match they were important to the accumulated damage of the two men. Not a bad way to spend just over an hour of an afternoon..– As a match, it's *** ½ but personally, I'd rate it 7.25/10
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