Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels 60 Minute Iron Man Match Review

Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart for the WWF Championship at Wrestlemania 12 in a 60 minute Iron Man match…
a wrestling masterpiece or a tedious affair?

Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart shared the ring multiple times during the 1990s, but none were more infamous that their 60 man Iron match at Wrestlemania 12, where both men would battle over the allocated time before Hart was rocked by the Sweet Chin Music and pinned, crowning a new world champion in the Heartbreak Kid. However, many fans have debated over the years whether the match was as outstanding as first made out to be. Some say it was a memorable match between two great wrestlers, but some look in retrospect at a lingering match that had an inevitable climax and lasted way too long for its own good. So I thought that I’d take an hour out of my day to see what caused such large cotreversy surrounding the match.

It must be mentioned straight off that everyone involved within the match played a very important role in keeping the match alive. Bar Michaels and Hart, the referee played a largely significant role in making the match feel authentic and keeping the action in control. Also, Lawler and McMahon did a fantastic job in keeping fans interested while Michaels and Hart exchanged in never-ending headlocks.

Moreover, slowing down the pace of the match using headlocks meant that the match was able to pass time efficiently. Hart would keep Michaels on the ground for a large amount of time and Michaels would do likewise, yet every so often in between these headlocks, the two would perform an exchange of hits inside or outside the ring to keep fans invested. One of the top spots in the first fifteen minutes was when Shawn inadvertently hit the Sweet Chin Music on the ring announcer. After that, they would head back in the ring and would work their way back in to ground headlocks. This was a great way to make the most of the time while keeping their audience engrossed, waiting for the next big spot.

Both men did a great job in the structure of the match. It would seem as if both men would spend ten to fifteen minutes dominating the match, rather than the momentum changing every few minutes. This gave a chance for both men to put a spotlight on their strengths for a long enough amount of time for one another to gain back their energy. This had been done to benefit both men and to make sure both had enough in their arsenal to finish the match.

Needless to say that the last ten minutes of the bout and beyond were the most entertaining out of the whole match. Both men were in their stride and the audience were convinced that one man would finally get the winning pinfall or submission. Shawn looked to be steadily in control to take his chance, but was halted by the resilient Hart and had been locked in the Sharpshooter with a minute to spare. It looked all but over for Shawn, yet time was up and Shawn still had not given up. It was still 0-0. Bret though he had retained his championship, but it was announced shortly after that the match had to restart on sudden death rules. Not long after that, the match restarts and Shawn hits Sweet Chin Music on Bret, picking up a hard-earned victory over his long time rival.

One of my favourite moments of this match was to see Shawn fall to his knees and weep in to his newly won championship. The way that Bret stared at him on the ground before making his way out of the ring spoke a thousand words; to see his most hated adversary soak up the gold right in front of him. It was a fitting ending to such a great buildup.

Conclusively, the match itself was able to entertain the fans in its own unique way in the large time span they were given. No other two men would have been able to do what they did that night, and both men were worthy of that Wrestlemania main event. If you ever find yourself with a couple of hours of spare time, I truly recommend you get yourself a snack and a beverage and watch this spectacle of a match.

Matching rating: 8.8/10