| 1 | Shawn Michaels New WWF World Heavyweight Champion — Iron Man Match Main Event Shawn Michaels' WM12 performance was the defining moment of his first major career chapter — winning the WWF Championship for the first time after enduring the most physically demanding match in the event's history. His tearful post-match celebration, his spectacular zipline entrance, and the emotional weight of the Boyhood Dream narrative made WM12 his signature event before his even greater WrestleMania performances would come in subsequent years. | Challenger — became WWF Champion | Won in overtime | First WWF Championship win |
| 2 | Bret 'Hitman' Hart Outgoing WWF Champion — Iron Man Match Main Event Bret Hart's WM12 performance was physically extraordinary — going a full 61+ minutes against Michaels in an even contest that ended 0-0 after regulation. His post-match departure — silent, dignified, furious — and his later description of the match as 'my finest WrestleMania moment' and 'the best pro wrestling match' stand as the definitive statement of his own assessment. Hart took an eight-month hiatus from WWF following WM12 for a planned television acting role, allowing Michaels' star to rise during his absence. | WWF Champion — lost title in overtime | — | — |
| 3 | The Undertaker Defeated Diesel — WM Streak Continued at 5-0 The Undertaker extended his WrestleMania winning streak to five consecutive victories with his defeat of Diesel. His WM12 performance was methodical and dominant — the supernatural mystique of the character serving as the emotional framework for a match that both men worked with genuine intensity. | Singles match vs. Diesel | Won | — |
| 4 | Steve Austin WrestleMania Debut — As 'The Ringmaster' Steve Austin's WM debut as the forgettable Ringmaster character was in many ways the least likely beginning of the greatest individual WrestleMania career from a commercial standpoint. Within a year of this anonymous debut, Austin would have turned Stone Cold, feuded with Bret Hart in the greatest match of 1997, and begun the career arc that would make him the biggest draw in professional wrestling history. | WM debut as The Ringmaster | Won vs. Savio Vega | — |
| 5 | Hunter Hearst Helmsley WrestleMania Debut — Squashed by Ultimate Warrior Hunter Hearst Helmsley's WM debut was a 90-second squash loss to the Ultimate Warrior — one of the most ignominious beginnings to a WrestleMania career that would eventually include some of the event's longest and most celebrated matches. His WM12 opponent, Warrior, was gone from WWF by July. Hunter, meanwhile, became one of the defining figures of the Attitude Era and eventually the most powerful executive in WWE history. | WM debut as Hunter Hearst Helmsley | Lost — squashed in ~1:38 | — |
| 6 | Diesel Lost to Undertaker — Final WrestleMania as WWF Performer Kevin Nash as Diesel competed in his final WrestleMania as a WWF performer at WM12, losing to The Undertaker. Nash departed for WCW within months to join Scott Hall in the nWo — one of the most significant talent departures of the Monday Night Wars era. His WCW tenure was far more commercially successful than his WWF run. | Singles match vs. Undertaker | Lost | — |
| 7 | Ultimate Warrior Return from Three-Year Absence — Squashed HHH The Ultimate Warrior's WM12 return after three years was genuinely spectacular from an entrance perspective — his zipline descent from the arena ceiling generating one of the loudest reactions of the night. His subsequent departure from WWF by July 1996 made the entire WM12 return feel like a brief detour rather than a genuine comeback. Warrior's death in April 2014 — days after his WWE Hall of Fame induction — added retrospective poignancy to every appearance in his career. | Return from three-year absence | Won — squashed HHH in ~1:38 | — |
| 8 | Roddy Piper Interim WWF President — Hollywood Backlot Brawl vs. Goldust Roddy Piper competed at WM12 in his second WrestleMania since his original 'retirement' at WM3 — serving as interim WWF President while also competing in the Hollywood Backlot Brawl against Goldust. His dual role as authority figure and active competitor was a reflection of the WWF's willingness to use the Hot Rod's celebrity in multiple capacities simultaneously. | Interim WWF President and Hollywood Backlot Brawl competitor | Won vs. Goldust | — |