WWF WrestleMania XI Results
April 2, 1995
Hartford, Connecticut (Hartford Civic Center)
Results by: Mike Tedesco of Wrestleview.com
A video kicks off the show highlighting all the celebrities that have appeared at all the past WrestleMania events. Starring in WrestleMania XI is Pamela Anderson from Baywatch, Jonathan Taylor Thomas from Home Improvement, MTV’s Jennifer McCarthy, NYPD Blue’s Nicholas Turturro, musical guests Salt-n-Pepa, and Lawrence Taylor’s All-Pro Team.
We go into the arena to see lights flashing. Vince McMahon is in the ring and speaking, but his microphone is off. Some music starts playing and he makes an announcement, but the volume is very low. Special Olympian Kathy Huey sings a rendition of “America the Beautiful” to a huge reception.
Vince McMahon and Jerry “The King” Lawler welcome us to the show. McMahon says WrestleMania is the standard of excellence for sports-entertainment. Lawler says it is the greatest spectacle in sports-entertainment. It’s an event fit for a King.
Lex Luger and “British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith vs. The Blu Brothers (Jacob and Eli Blu) w/ Uncle Zebekiah
The Blu Brothers go to blindside Smith and Luger, but they cut them off. They send the Blu Brothers into one another before sending them into the ropes. They go for stereo powerslams, but Luger forgets how to do the move and just slams the one Blu Brother in a heap. Luger then clotheslines the other one out of the ring. They hit the other Blu Brother with a double-team back elbow.
Smith applies an arm bar on one of the Blu Brothers (McMahon says Jacob) and hits a delayed vertical suplex. Smith looks around for a moment for a two count. Smith applies a chin lock, but Eli tags in. Smith wipes them both out with a double clothesline. Smith applies a side headlock to Eli, so Eli whips him off. Smith ducks a clothesline, but Jacob clubs him in the back of the head. Jacob tags in and punches Smith in the ribs. Eli distracts the referee, and Smith rolls Jacob up. Eli breaks up the pin before the referee even counts. Eli tags in and kicks Smith in the ribs. Eli hits a ridiculously sloppy sidewalk slam for a two count. Eli punches Smith down and tags Jacob in. The Blu Brothers send Smith into the ropes for a double-team big boot. Jacob gets Smith to his feet, but Smith fights back and punches him down. The Blu Brothers get out of the ring to recover. Eli gets in and the referee doesn’t notice the switch. Eli takes Smith down and drops an elbow for a two count. Eli sends Smith to the corner, but Smith boots him back twice. Eli quickly clubs him down and tags Jacob in. Eli stomps Smith. Jacob scoop slams Smith and goes to the second rope for an elbow drop, but Smith moves.
Luger and Eli tag in. Luger punches Eli before kicking him and hitting a knee lift. Luger sends him into the ropes for a clothesline. Luger sends him into the ropes again for a powerslam. Luger punches Jacob before hitting Eli with the bionic forearm. Jacob breaks it up. Smith attacks Jacob, and the referee backs him up. Uncle Zebekiah gets on the apron to distract Luger. The referee is still dealing with Smith as Jacob switches places with Eli. Jacob catches Luger with an inside cradle for a two count. Jacob attacks Luger and clubs him before going for a piledriver. Smith tags in and comes off the top rope with a sunset flip for the win.
Winners by Pinfall: Lex Luger and “British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith
Fireworks go off to celebrate Lex Luger and British Bulldog. They high five and pose in the ring.
Jim Ross interviews Uncle Zebekiah while he’s leaving with the Blu Brothers. There are no lights on. Zebekiah shouts that they pinned the wrong brother.
Mike’s Thoughts: That was a complete nothing of a match. Luger and Smith had absolutely no chemistry together as a team. That stereo powerslam spot at the beginning of the match that was anything but in sync pretty much was an omen for how this match would be. It stunk. Luger didn’t know how to do a powerslam. The guy was just an awful professional wrestler. How many good matches did Luger ever have that didn’t involve Ric Flair? The Blu Brothers, better known as the Harris Brothers, were awful in this as well and had no rhythm. It was a clunky mess.
Nicholas Turturro is in the dressing of the Million Dollar Corporation, but we cannot hear him speaking. They just cut away from it. There are technical issues galore with this show so far. Vince McMahon sounds noticeably upset on commentary and sarcastically mentions the “crack audio group.” The camera has to pan around the center to buy the time the interview was supposed to take up.
Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett makes his entrance with The Roadie. Replays are shown from the Royal Rumble of the Roadie clipping Razor Ramon’s knee. Jarrett beat Ramon at the event for the title.
Razor Ramon is backstage with The 1-2-3 Kid. Ramon does not look happy. Kid cuts a promo, but it’s hard to hear because the audio levels are off. Kid threatens the Roadie if he gets involved.
WWF Intercontinental Championship
Jeff Jarrett (c) w/ The Roadie vs. Razor Ramon w/ 1-2-3 Kid
Ramon charges the ring and punches down Jarrett to start the match. Kid chases Roadie out of the ring. Ramon punches him down a few more times, and Jarrett bails out of the ring. Ramon does his pose and his entrance sparklers go off. The official holds up the Intercontinental Championship.
Jarrett gets in the ring and kicks Ramon, but Ramon whips him into the ropes for a clothesline and a two count. Jarrett hits the ropes and slides through the legs, but Ramon punches him down for another two count. Ramon sends him to the corner. Jarrett goes for a slingshot, but Ramon avoids it. Ramon then punches and clotheslines him over the top rope. 1-2-3 Kid comes over to make sure Roadie doesn’t get involved. Roadie helps Jarrett out and talks strategy with him. Jarrett sweeps Ramon’s feet, but has a whip reversed on him to the corner. Jarrett teases a cross-body block, so Ramon drops down. Jarrett then catches him with a flying sunset flip attempt, but Ramon punches him and covers for a two count. Jarrett kicks Ramon and shouts at the Roadie. Roadie gets on the apron to punch Ramon, but Ramon reverses a whip into the ropes. Roadie almost hits Jarrett. Ramon then sends Jarrett into the Roadie to knock him down. Ramon rolls Jarrett up for a two count. Ramon goes for the Razor’s Edge, but Jarrett pulls Jarrett out of the ring.
Jarrett goes to walk out, but 1-2-3 Kid stops him and orders him back in the ring. Jarrett nearly falls over a few of the ringside photographers. Jarrett gets in the ring, and Ramon rolls him up for a two count. Jarrett quickly sends Ramon hard into the corner before choking him on the ropes. The referee backs Jarrett up, so the Roadie chokes Ramon. Kid chases Roadie away. Ramon avoids a splash from Jarrett and sends Roadie into the ring post. Jarrett charges Ramon, but Ramon sends him over the top rope. Jarrett gets in the ring and hits Ramon with a swinging neckbreaker followed by a pair of dropkicks. Jarrett then splashes him against the ropes and struts. Jarrett whips him hard into the turnbuckle twice. Ramon blocks a kick and ducks an enzuigiri. Jarrett avoids an elbow drop and covers for a two count. Jarrett back elbows him for another two count. Jarrett then goes to a rear chin lock. Ramon fights up and elbows out. Ramon hits the ropes, so Jarrett goes for a hip toss. Ramon counters into a backslide for a two count. Jarrett clotheslines him down for a two count. Jarrett stomps Ramon and punches him. Ramon comes off the ropes and punches him back. Jarrett reverses a whip and jumps on his back for a sleeper hold. Ramon gets out, but Jarrett pulls him down by the hair for a two count. Jarrett goes back to the rear chin lock. Ramon fights up and hits a back suplex to get out.
Both men are down. Jarrett soon gets up and sends Ramon into the ropes, but they clunk heads and go back down. They get up and swing, each taking the other down with a punch. They’re down for a third time. Ramon slowly comes to and covers for a near fall. Ramon blocks a punch and punches Jarrett back. Jarrett hits the ropes and goes for a running cross-body block, but Ramon catches him and hits a fallaway slam for a near fall. Ramon sends him to the corner and punches him down. Kid grabs Jarrett’s legs, but Jarrett kicks him into the barricade. Ramon comes off the second rope for a bulldog, but Jarrett moves. Ramon’s knee, injured at the Royal Rumble, is acting up again. Jarrett hits a knee breaker and signals for a submission. Jarrett applies his Figure Four Leglock, and Ramon winces in pain. Roadie holds Jarrett’s hands to give more leverage. The referee didn’t see. Ramon begins to sit up and rolls over to reverse the pressure. 1-2-3 Kid tries to get in the ring to help, but the referee keeps him back. Ramon ducks a right hand and puts Jarrett on the top rope. Ramon then hits a back superplex. Ramon is in too much pain to make the immediate cover. Ramon stands up and signals for the end. Ramon gets him up for the Razor’s Edge, but Roadie runs in and clips the leg. The referee calls for the bell.
Winner by Disqualification: Razor Ramon
Jeff Jarrett remains the WWF Intercontinental Champion
1-2-3 Kid runs in and kicks Roadie down before sending Jarrett into the ropes for a stiff spin kick. Kid sends Roadie into the ropes for a spin kick before putting him in the corner and kicking him down. Jarrett attacks Kid from behind and hits a flapjack. Jarrett applies the Figure Four Leglock to Kid, so Ramon breaks it up. The referees run down to break it up. The brawl continues until Jarrett gets out of the ring. Jarrett holds up the Intercontinental Championship and walks off.
Jim Ross catches Jeff Jarrett going to the back. Jarrett’s nose is absolutely busted open. Jarrett says Razor Ramon is nothing. Payback is you know what.
Mike’s Thoughts: Pretty good match with a bad finish. The DQ finish is always a go to when you don’t want to beat the face but still want to keep the title on the heel, but this is WrestleMania. It just felt lazy. No creativity. Jarrett did get absolutely lit up by that kick from 1-2-3 Kid. The nose was gushing blood after this.
We go backstage for the segment we didn’t get last time. Nick Turturro doesn’t know where Pamela Anderson is. Jenny McCarthy walks up and says she’s having a great time before rejecting the advances of Kama the Supreme Fighting Machine. Shawn Michaels comes in and implies he knows where Anderson is. Sid says that Diesel is afraid of Michaels.
Footage is shown of the urn being stolen at the Royal Rumble.
Todd Pettengill is at ringside with Neil Anderson from the Chicago Bears. Anderson thinks Lawrence Taylor is going to beat Bam Bam Bigelow.
King Kong Bundy w/ “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase vs. The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer
Larry Young, an umpire for the American League of MLB, is the official for this match. Before the match begins, Ted DiBiase accidentally drops the urn.
Undertaker turns his back, but he still avoids an avalanche from Bundy. Undertaker punches and kicks at Bundy before wrenching the arm. Undertaker pulls him toward the ropes, climbs, and walks on the top rope before hitting a club to the back of the neck. Undertaker goes for a clothesline, but Bundy doesn’t go down. Undertaker tries again for the same result. A third clothesline finally takes Bundy down. Undertaker looks at Ted DiBiase for a moment. Bundy clotheslines Undertaker over the top rope, but he lands on his feet. DiBiase turns around and is face-to-face with the Undertaker. Undertaker steals the urn back and holds it up to loud applause. Undertaker then hands it to Paul Bearer, who also holds it up to applause. DiBiase is furiously. Bearer opens the urn, and a bright light shines out of it.
Undertaker punches Bundy back as he gets in the ring. DiBiase goes to the entranceway and motions for someone to come out. Kama the Supreme Fighting Machine runs out and kicks Bearer before stealing the urn back. Undertaker reaches over the top rope and grabs Kama at ringside. DiBiase holds the urn down. Bundy attacks Undertaker from behind, and Kama runs off with the urn. Jim Ross catches up with Kama at the entranceway and asks why he stole the urn. Kama says he’s going to melt the urn down, make it a chain, and put it around his neck. Kama runs off.
In the ring, Bundy rocks Undertaker with a clothesline before sending him over the top rope with another clothesline. Bundy steps on Undertaker’s head before choking him. Bundy punches Undertaker back and hits a scoop slam. Bundy drops a knee for a near fall. Bundy then goes to a chin lock. Bundy holds it on for a long time before Undertaker fights up. Bundy clubs Undertaker and sends him to the corner. Bundy hits a club and sends Undertaker to the corner. Bundy avalanches him, but the Undertaker isn’t affected by it. Undertaker boots Bundy back and hits a huge scoop slam. Undertaker hits the ropes and hits a flipping lariat for the win.
Winner by Pinfall: The Undertaker
Mike’s Thoughts: Not one of the all-time great Streak matches. There was a lot going on outside, which I can only presume was happening because this match had no shot at being good. Bundy was slow and plodding and couldn’t do much. Undertaker did what he could.
We go backstage to see Nicholas Turturro outside Pamela Anderson’s dressing room. Turturro says Anderson had an argument with Shawn Michaels and left the building. Lawrence Taylor’s All-Pro Team walks up and says they’re coming after the Million Dollar Corporation. Turturro walks into another dressing room and finds Bob Backlund playing chess with Jonathan Taylor Thomas. Thomas gets him with a checkmate, which infuriates Backlund. Backlund quizzes him on the presidents and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, which Thomas correctly answers. Backlund says young people are taking advantage of elders and think they know everything.
Owen Hart makes his way to the ring. Hart says he’ll give us the moment we’ve all been waiting for. This man beat his brother for the WWF Championship. His partner is Yokozuna!
We see WWF Tag Team Champions The Smoking Gunns backstage. Billy Gunn says this is a big surprise, but that’s ok with them. They’re going in as the champions and leaving as champions. Bart Gunn says they considered a lot of people to be Owen’s partner, but weren’t thinking Yokozuna, but they can do it.
WWF Tag Team Championship
Owen Hart and Yokozuna w/ Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette vs. The Smoking Gunns (Billy and Bart Gunn, c’s)
Yokozuna waves around the Japanese flag. Vince McMahon says Yokozuna is even bigger than the last time we saw him. Owen and Billy Gunn start it off. They lock up, and Billy backs him to the ropes. Hart shoves him, so Billy shoves back. Hart slaps him and poses. Billy kicks him and applies a side headlock. Hart whips him off and drops down before trying a leapfrog, but Billy slaps him in the face. Bart tags in and comes off the top rope with an arm breaker. Bart wrenches the arm, but Hart twists and flips out of it before thumbing the eyes. Yokozuna tags in and sends Bart into the ropes. Bart avoids a clothesline, but Yokozuna soon takes him down with a slam. Bart avoids an elbow drop, but Yokozuna quickly chops the throat. Hart tags back in and wrenches Bart’s arm. Bart backs Hart into the ropes. Hart shoulder blocks him and hits the ropes, but Bart hits a hip toss and an arm drag. Bart applies an arm bar before tagging Billy in. The Smoking Gunns hit a double-team side leg sweep. Yokozuna gets in the ring, but the Smoking Gunns double dropkicks him out of the ring.
Hart gets on the apron, but Billy brings him in the hard way. Bart tags in and kicks Hart. Billy tags in, and the Smoking Gunns hit a double-team back suplex/neckbreaker combo for a near fall. Billy tags Bart back in. Bart kicks Owen and punches him before sending him sternum-first into the corner for a near fall. The Smoking Gunns then hit a sidewalk slam/leg drop combo, but Yokozuna is distracting the referee. Billy covers, but Hart kicks out. Yokozuna tags in. Hart hits a drop-toe-hold on Billy before Yokozuna drops a leg on the back of his head. Billy rolls out of the ring to recover. Hart grabs Billy and drives his spine into the ring post. Yokozuna head-butts Billy, but Billy punches back at him. Yokozuna quickly chops him down and applies a nerve hold. Billy fights up after a while, so Yokozuna holds him up. Hart comes off the top rope with a missile dropkick, but he accidentally hits Yokozuna when Billy moves. A “USA” chant picks up.
Bart tags in and punches Hart before press slamming him. Bart then goes after Yokozuna. Yokozuna sends him into the ropes, but Bart pulls him down by the hair before kicking Hart out of the ring. Billy tags in. The Smoking Gunns hit the ropes, but Hart pulls the top rope down to get Bart out of the ring. Yokozuna then hits Billy with a belly-to-belly side suplex. Yokozuna goes to the second rope and hits a Banzai Drop! Bart quickly breaks it up, but Yokozuna makes a comeback and knocks him out of the ring. Hart tags in and drags Billy to the center of the ring. Hart teases a Sharpshooter and then just covers him for the win. Owen Hart is finally a champion!
Winners by Pinfall and new WWF Tag Team Champions: Owen Hart and Yokozuna
Mike’s Thoughts: Not much of a match. Yokozuna was pretty immobile in this one. Even bigger than WrestleMania X. Hindsight is 20/20 but knowing Yokozuna died from complications of being morbidly obese at the far too young age of 34, it’s sad watching how out of control he was getting with his weight. I know WWF tried to get him to drop weight but were unsuccessful. Here he was blown up after not doing much and was moving like André the Giant was toward the end. Sad.
We see some video shots from the Stridex blimp in the arena, but the images are grainy and blurry.
Todd Pettengill is backstage with Bam Bam Bigelow. Footage is shown of Bigelow shoving Lawrence Taylor at the Royal Rumble. At the Pre-WrestleMania Workout, Taylor attacked Bigelow. Bigelow says he’s in great shape and will take LT down. Pettengill says a lot of the country is behind Lawrence Taylor. What impact does that have on Bigelow psychologically? Bigelow says he won’t be known as the man who lost to Lawrence Taylor at WrestleMania XI. This is the first time in his career he has to look over his shoulder, but he has the Million Dollar Team to look over him. Taylor doesn’t have a prayer against him.
Howard Finkel announces that the I Quit Match is coming up. The loser must say the words “I Quit” on the microphone. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper will be the special referee for this match.
I Quit Match
Bob Backlund vs. Bret “Hitman” Hart
Special Guest Referee: “Rowdy” Roddy Piper
Piper calls for the bell, and the match begins. Hart quickly pounces on Backlund and punches away at him. Hart sends him hard into the corner, and Backlund goes down. Hart head-butts and punches Backlund down before grabbing the legs, but Backlund kicks him away. Hart tries again, but Backlund gets out. Hart drops a pair of elbows on Backlund. Piper asks if Backlund wants to quit, but he gets no response. Hart punches Backlund in the corner and chokes him on the ropes. Piper asks Backlund if he wants to quit, but he says no. Hart gets Backlund in the ring and takes him down before trying for a Sharpshooter, but Backlund gets out. Hart drags him into the middle of the ring and applies a Figure Four Leglock. Piper asks Backlund if he wants to quit, but he gets no response. Backlund turns over to reverse the pressure. Hart will not quit. Hart turns him over, and Backlund gets to the ropes. Piper makes them break it up.
Hart drags Backlund into the center of the ring and yanks at the leg of Backlund. Hart drops an elbow on Backlund’s leg and stretches it. Backlund will not quit. Hart attacks the leg and continues to stretch it. Backlund still won’t quit. Piper asks Hart if he wants to quit… Hart is the one applying the submission. Backlund soon gets out and works on the arm of Hart. Backlund signals for a Crossface Chickenwing, but Hart gets to the ropes. Backlund whips him hard into the corner before taking him down with an arm bar. Hart refuses to quit. Backlund transitions into a hammerlock and elbows him in the face. Backlund reapplies an arm bar and cinches it in. Hart fights up and hits a scoop slam. Hart kicks him down and hits a backbreaker. Hart goes to the second rope for a diving elbow drop. Hart goes for a Sharpshooter, but Backlund rolls to the ropes. Piper breaks them up. Hart punches and whips him to the corner before charging, but Backlund moves and Hart hits the ring post shoulder-first. Backlund applies a Crossface Chickenwing, but Hart is holding the top rope. Backlund pulls him off the rope and has him in the middle of the ring. Hart reverses the hold and applies the Crossface Chickenwing to Backlund. Hart takes him down. Piper sticks the microphone in Backlund’s face. Backlund grunts a few times, so Piper calls the match off. Backlund never said, “I Quit.”
Winner by Submission: Bret “Hitman” Hart
Jim Ross catches Bob Backlund at the entranceway. Ross says he never thought Backlund would ever quit. Backlund says he’s seen the light. Backlund walks off looking psychotic.
Mike’s Thoughts: This match stunk. Roddy Piper was super distracting in this, but the action itself wasn’t great. Piper was adamant about rope breaks sometimes and then other times didn’t enforce it. Then the finish was totally botched. Howard Finkel emphatically said at the beginning of the match that the losing wrestler must say, “I Quit.” Backlund grunted and never said it so either Piper jumped the gun with the bell or Backlund forgot how the finish was supposed to go. Either way, it’s about as bad a Bret Hart match as you’ll see and one Hart personally considers to be his worst PPV match.
Nicholas Turturro says he’s looked all over for Pamela Anderson, but she’s nowhere to be found. They’ve made some celebrity changes.
Todd Pettengill is backstage with WWF Champion Diesel. Pettengill says Shawn Michaels said there is no way Diesel will leave with the belt on his shoulder. Diesel says he feels the same way. He’s here to do one thing: Diesel stumbles on his words and then says he’ll show why he is the World Wrestling Federation Champion.
Howard Finkel announces Jonathan Taylor Thomas to the ring to be the guest timekeeper. Nicholas Turturro will be the guest ring announcer. Jenny McCarthy accompanies Shawn Michaels to the ring. Diesel comes out with Pamela Anderson.
WWF Championship
Shawn Michaels w/ Sid and Jenny McCarthy vs. Diesel (c) w/ Pamela Anderson
The bell rings, and Michaels punches Diesel a few times. Michaels hits the ropes, avoids a few strikes, gets out of a slam, hits the ropes, and Diesel finally flattens him with a big forearm to the face. Michaels wrenches the arm and punches it, but Diesel pushes him to the corner and elbows him in the face before throwing him across the ring. Diesel sends him into the ropes and hits a ridiculously high back body drop. Diesel whips him into the corner and the momentum sends Michaels out of the ring. Michaels takes one of the many ringside photographers and throws him out of the way. Michaels is furious. Sid is trying to calm Michaels down.
Sid gets on the apron to distract Diesel. Michaels goes for a blindside, but Diesel turns and forearms him down. Diesel sends him into the ropes, but Michaels holds on. Michaels spits at him. Diesel charges, but Michaels sidesteps him and punches away at him. Diesel pushes him off, but Michaels jumps back on him. Diesel shoves him off and elbows him down. Diesel sends him into the ropes and military presses him. Diesel’s arm gets hurt, and Michaels lands on his feet. Michaels goes for a suplex, but Diesel blocks it and hits one of his own. Diesel then knees him in the face. Michaels tries to go over the top rope but gets stuck. He then falls out of the ring through the bottom rope. Sid checks on Michaels again. Sid gets on the apron and shouts at Diesel. The referee admonishes him. Diesel grabs Michaels by the hair and pulls him to the apron. Michaels rakes the eyes and slides through the legs before punching him. Michaels punches Diesel before having a whip reversed. Michaels goes for a sunset flip, but Diesel lifts him up and drops him crotch-first on the top rope. Diesel bounces the rope up and down for maximum pain on Michaels. Diesel sends him into the ropes for a big boot, but Michaels moves. Michaels then clotheslines him over the top rope before skinning the cat to get back in the ring. There are ringside photographers everywhere. Michaels hits Diesel with a cross-body block off the top rope to the floor. The camera misses a good shot of it because of the number of people clamored at ringside taking photos. Michaels gets in the ring and hits a baseball slide to take him back down. Michaels goes for another baseball slide, but Diesel sidesteps him. Diesel knocks him into a photographer, and Michaels pie-faces the guy. Michaels then sends Diesel headfirst into the ring post.
Michaels gets in the ring and waits for Diesel to get up. Michaels then gets on the apron and hits a splash to the floor. Diesel is holding his ribs at ringside while Michaels waits in the ring. Michaels distracts the referee to stop him from doing the count. Sid approaches Diesel but doesn’t do anything. The referee threatens Sid. Diesel slowly gets in the ring, and Michaels attacks the ribs. Michaels kicks the knee a few times before booting him in the head. Michaels boots the face a few times before coming off the second rope with a diving bulldog for a near fall. Michaels punches and kicks Diesel down. Michaels bounces him off the turnbuckle before having a whip to the corner reversed on him. Michaels quickly springboards off the second rope with a back elbow for a near fall. Michaels clubs Diesel’s back and takes him down. Michaels clubs the back and knees him in the back a few times. Michaels goes to the top rope and hits a diving elbow drop for a near fall. Michaels grabs a front facelock, but Diesel slams him off. Michaels quickly goes back to it, but Diesel gives him the same move. Michaels attacks, but Diesel reverses a whip. Diesel catches him trying a slingshot, but Michaels slides off and sends him ribs-first into the top turnbuckle. Michaels jumps on the back with a sleeper hold. Diesel drops to a knee and is fading away. The referee checks on Diesel’s arm. It drops twice, but not a third time. Diesel fights up and slams Michaels into the corner. Diesel elbows him in the face and sends him to the corner for a corner clothesline. Diesel sends him to the opposite corner and hits another corner clothesline. Diesel drops him face-first on the top rope and splashes him on the ropes. Diesel whips him hard into the corner, turning him inside out, and knocks him to the floor.
Diesel chases Michaels back into the ring and punches away at him. Diesel punches him out of the ring. Michaels attacks Diesel coming out of the ring. Referee Earl Hebner falls and twists his ankle. Michaels hits Diesel with Sweet Chin Music and covers, but Hebner is still outside. Sid gets Hebner in the ring. The referee counts, but Diesel kicks out. Sid takes out a pocketknife and cuts the top turnbuckle pad away. Michaels brings Diesel near it, but Diesel hits a back suplex. They’re both down now. Michaels slowly turns over and covers Diesel for a near fall. Michaels jumps off the second rope, but Diesel catches him and hits a sidewalk slam. They’re both down again.
They slowly get to their feet, so Diesel takes him down. Diesel catapults him toward the exposed turnbuckle, but they’re so far away Michaels barely makes it to the middle turnbuckle. Diesel gets fired up and elbows Michaels down twice before sending him to the ropes for a big boot. Diesel gets fired up and hits a Jackknife Powerbomb, which Michaels over rotates for, to pick up the win.
Winner by Pinfall and still WWF Champion: Diesel
Diesel celebrates in the ring with Pamela Anderson, Jenny McCarthy, Nicholas Turturro, and Jonathan Taylor Thomas. Jim Ross catches up with Shawn Michaels and Sid. Sid shouts that Michaels isn’t through with Diesel.
Todd Pettengill now catches Shawn Michaels and Sid backstage. Michaels says he had Diesel pinned and the whole world saw it. Sid says there should have been more than one referee in case something like this happened. Michaels paid a severe price. Sid says Diesel knew he was close to losing the title. Michaels is not finished with Diesel. Michaels says if Diesel is even half the man he says he is, he’ll face him again.
Mike’s Thoughts: An ok match. Unlike last year where Shawn Michaels did all the work in the Ladder Match and turned it into an all-time classic, there’s only so much you can do with Diesel. The match just never really clicked for me. Diesel didn’t look great in it, the ringside photographers (there were way too many of them at this event) were constantly in the way, making the ringside action hard to see (and film for the company), and the finish stunk with a horrible looking Jackknife Powerbomb. A few things of note – Sid using the pocketknife he had on him to cut the top turnbuckle pad made me chuckle because the wrestling war made everyone so evil (see the story about Sid and Arn Anderson). Also, I’m glad they’ve done away with the sleeper hold/arm drop spot in today’s wrestling. I forget when they got rid of that (it’s probably been about a decade), but I’ve seen that spot on nearly every WrestleMania so far and it is beyond tired. The crowd didn’t get fired up for Diesel at all as he was getting fired up. So that’s that.
They cut out the performance from Salt-n-Pepa as they’re on the stage as the Million Dollar Corporation is coming out.
Main Event
Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Lawrence Taylor
Million Dollar Corporation: King Kong Bundy, Tatanka, Nikolai Volkoff, Kama the Supreme Fighting Machine, Irwin R. Schyster, and Ted DiBiase
All-Pro Team: Ken Norton, Jr., Chris Spielman, Ricky Jackson, Carl Banks, Steve McMichael, Reggie White
Before the match, Kama gets knocked off the apron. Chris Spielman knocks Tatanka off the ring apron as well. King Kong Bundy is also knocked away.
Pat Patterson will be the referee for the main event. Bigelow and LT go face-to-face before Bigelow shoves him. LT laughs it off. Patterson explains the rules and wants them to shake hands. LT viciously slaps Bigelow in the face! The bell rings, and LT elbows Bigelow down before kneeing him in the face and shoving him down. LT then clotheslines him over the top rope, and the crowd is going wild. Bigelow regroups with the Million Dollar Corporation.
Bigelow gets in the ring, but LT sidesteps him and hits a bulldog for a near fall. LT forearms him back and hits a hip toss. Bigelow gets out of the ring again and regroups. LT jumps over the top rope and confronts the entire Million Dollar Corporation. The All-Pro Team runs over to help. Bigelow gets in the ring and stomps LT getting in. Bigelow kicks LT in the ribs and stomps him. LT tries to fight back, but Bigelow punches away at him. LT fights back, but Bigelow knocks him down and chokes him with his boot. LT grabs him, but Bigelow hits a scoop slam. Bigelow goes for a falling head-butt, but LT moves. LT then clotheslines Bigelow down. Bigelow quickly drives him into the corner, but LT kicks him back. Bigelow again drives him into the corner and chokes him on the ropes. Bigelow head-butts LT down and stands over him. Bigelow goes for a Boston Crab and turns him over to apply it. LT winces in pain. Bigelow loses his grip on the submission and applies a knee lock instead. Bigelow drags him away from the ropes and applies another knee lock. LT gets to the bottom rope to break it. Bigelow drags him back to the center of the ring and applies a deathlock. LT soon gets to the bottom rope to break the hold.
LT rocks Bigelow with a forearm, but Bigelow hooks a side headlock. LT then counters with a big back suplex! Bigelow soon gets up and clubs LT down before dropping a head-butt. Bigelow continues to drop head-butts before going to the top rope. Bigelow hits a big moonsault on LT, but he hurts his knee on the landing. Bigelow writhes around in pain. Bigelow then covers for a near fall. Bigelow grabs him, but LT hits a (sort of) Jackknife Powerbomb for a near fall. They slowly get up to their feet, and Bigelow hits an enzuigiri. Bigelow drops some more head-butts before going to the top rope for a diving head-butt, but LT kicks out. LT forearms away at Bigelow before shouldering away at the midsection. LT crushes him with a pair of stiff forearms. LT then goes to the second rope and dives off with another forearm for the win!
Winner by Pinfall: Lawrence Taylor
Jim Ross catches up with Ted DiBiase berating Bigelow as they go to the back. The All-Pro Team lifts LT on their shoulders. LT celebrates in the ring with his son.
Mike’s Thoughts: Hard to really criticize anything in this match. This was Lawrence Taylor’s first and only wrestling match and it was the main event of WrestleMania. I’ll give the guy credit: he worked super hard to prepare and hit (or nearly hit) all the spots they gave him. It was a strong celebrity appearance at the show. You have to also give credit to Bigelow (man he got rocked by some super stiff shots…) and Pat Patterson for keeping this whole thing together. The crowd was into it at the beginning and for the finish, but quiet mostly throughout the match and immediately after.
Overall this was not a good WrestleMania at all. It’s one of those that is almost always consistently at the bottom of the list for best WrestleMania shows. Most “bad” WrestleMania shows have one or two matches that were in the great to excellent category (WM 8 and 10 spring to mind). This one had no great matches (or even any really good ones), but the passable performance by LT does make it sort of memorable. Still, 1995 was a creative black hole for WWF and one of the worst years they ever had at the box office (Diesel was champion the whole year – there’s a correlation) and this WrestleMania mirrored a lot of that with the numerous technical difficulties and campy attempts to look totally mainstream. They will navigate these times and we’re just three years away from them becoming a complete juggernaut. Kind of amazing when you watch this show and think about what is to come.
Quick Match Results
— Lex Luger and “British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith def. The Blu Brothers (Jacob and Eli Blu)
— Razor Ramon def. Jeff Jarrett via DQ; Jeff Jarrett retains the WWF Intercontinental Championship
— The Undertaker def. King Kong Bundy
— Owen Hart and Yokozuna def. The Smoking Gunns (Billy and Bart Gunn) to win the WWF Tag Team Championship
— Bret “Hitman” Hart def. Bob Backlund in an I Quit Match
— Diesel def. Shawn Michaels to retain the WWF Championship
— Lawrence Taylor def. Bam Bam Bigelow
E-Mail – mike@wrestleview.com
Twitter – @MikeTedescoWV
Thanks for reading!