WrestleMania XII was the twelfth WrestleMania event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on March 31 1996 at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California.
The main attraction of this WrestleMania was the novelty of the WWF championship match that was guaranteed to last at least one hour. On-screen WWF president "Rowdy" Roddy Piper had announced on an edition of Monday Night RAW that reigning champion Bret Hart, who had retained the WWF Championship against Diesel at WWF In Your House in February 1996, must defend the title against Shawn Michaels, who had won the 1996 Royal Rumble and had defeated Owen Hart at February's In Your House for the right to keep the WrestleMania title shot in the first ever "WWF Iron Man Match"; whereby the winner would be the man with the most decisions over a sixty minute time limit.
The main event was built on Bret Hart wanting to retain the WWF Championship against Shawn Michaels, who had suffered a number of setbacks over the course of the previous year, including, losing his match the previous year at WrestleMania XI, being accosted by a group of thugs at a Syracuse, New York nightclub, forfeiting the WWF Intercontinental Championship at In Your House in October 1995 to Dean Douglas, suffering a storyline concussion at the hands of Owen Hart, and being betrayed by close friend Diesel at a house show at Madison Square Garden.
WWF Title (Iron Man Match): Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker vs. Diesel, Backlot Brawl: Roddy Piper vs. Goldust, The Warrior vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Jake Roberts, Yokozuna & Ahmen Johnson vs. Owen Hart, The British Bulldog & Vader Written by Anonymous
