WrestleMania XII was a 1996 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the 12th annual WrestleMania and took place on March 31, 1996, at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim in Anaheim, California. Eight matches were held at the event, including two on the Free for All pre-show.
In the main event, Bret Hart lost the WWF Championship to Shawn Michaels in the first televised Iron Man match in company history, lasting over 60 minutes. In his return to the company after a four-year hiatus, Ultimate Warrior defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Roddy Piper had his first match since 1994, taking on and defeating Goldust in a "Hollywood Backlot Brawl" match.
Production
Background
thumb|The event was held at the [[Honda Center|Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim in Anaheim, California.]]
WrestleMania is considered the World Wrestling Federation's (WWF, now WWE) flagship professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event, having first been held in 1985. It has become the longest-running professional wrestling event in history and is held annually between mid-March to mid-April. It was the first of the WWF's original four pay-per-views, which includes Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, which were dubbed the "Big Four", and was considered one of the "Big Five" PPVs, along with King of the Ring. WrestleMania XII was scheduled to be held on March 31, 1996, at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim in Anaheim, California.
A match that was originally planned for WrestleMania XII was a Miami Street Fight between Razor Ramon and Goldust, which would later be changed to a "Hollywood Backlot Brawl" between Goldust and interim WWF President Roddy Piper. After debuting in late 1995 and defeating both Marty Jannetty at In Your House 4 and Bam Bam Bigelow at Survivor Series, Goldust would begin an angle with then-Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon, in which the former had expressed his personal love and admiration for the latter, which had disgusted Razor. The two would wrestle at the 1996 Royal Rumble, leading to Goldust defeating Razor and winning the Intercontinental Championship after outside interference from both Goldust's debuting manager Marlena and The 1-2-3 Kid. Both Goldust and Razor were scheduled to face each other in a Miami Street Fight at WrestleMania, but Scott Hall (portraying the Razor Ramon character) had no intention of re-signing with the WWF and was planning on leaving for WCW. Because of this, the angle was soon changed with Roddy Piper taking Razor Ramon's place and the Miami Street Fight becoming the Hollywood Backlot Brawl. Before this, Piper was pencilled in to have a celebrity match against O. J. Simpson, who had been acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman 5 months before WrestleMania. Despite getting into contact with O. J.'s representatives, the WWF abandoned their plans due to fears of potential public backlash and loss of sponsorship.
Event
{|class=wikitable style="font-size:90%; margin: 0.5em 0 0.5em 1em; float: right; clear: right;"
|+ Other on-screen personnel
!|Role:
!|Name:
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|rowspan=2|English commentators
|Vince McMahon
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|Jerry Lawler
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|rowspan=2|Spanish commentators
|Carlos Cabrera
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|Hugo Savinovich
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|rowspan=3|Interviewers
|Mr. Perfect
|-
|Todd Pettengill
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|Dok Hendrix
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|Ring announcer
|Howard Finkel
|-
|rowspan=4|Referees
|Mike Chioda
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|Jack Doan
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|Earl Hebner
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|Tim White
|-
|}
thumb|[[Marc Mero debuted in the World Wrestling Federation at WrestleMania XII.]]
The opening bout, which aired on the free-for-all broadcast, was a tag team match for the vacant WWF Tag Team Championship between the Bodydonnas (Skip and Zip) and the Godwinns (Henry O. Godwinn and Phineas I. Godwinn). This match was the final bout of a tournament held to determine the new champions after the titles were vacated in February 1996. The match ended when Skip pinned Phineas I. Godwinn using a roll-up, making the Bodydonnas the new WWF Tag Team Champions.
The fourth bout was a "Hollywood Backlot Brawl" between Goldust and Roddy Piper. The match began in a parking lot, with the men brawling and using weapons. After Goldust fled in a golden Cadillac, Piper pursued him in a white Ford Bronco. In 2015, Ryan Dilbert of Bleacher Report called it the 16th greatest of the first 30 WrestleMania events.
While the Iron Man match got positive reviews, PWInsider's Mike Johnson pointed that in the match both wrestlers "were working in spite of each other, not together".