After being shoved to the ground by Bam Bam Bigelow at the 1995 Royal Rumble, football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor sought to get even with the wrestler in the main event of WrestleMania XI. The pay-per-view received nationwide coverage thanks to L.T.'s involvement, and several NFL stars like Reggie White, Ken Norton Jr. and Carl Banks stood at ringside to support Taylor.
In the WWE Championship match, Shawn Michaels faced his former bodyguard Diesel, who had gone solo against Michaels' wishes, and won the title the previous year. Michaels was scheduled to have Pamela Anderson, who was in attendance, accompany him to the ring, but as part of the storyline, Anderson went "missing," so Jenny McCarthy (also in attendance) escorted Michaels instead. Anderson eventually turned up by Diesel's side, generating more animosity between the two wrestlers as the match began.
Fast Facts:
- Date: April 12, 1995
- Venue: Hartford Civic Center
- City: Hartford, CT
- Attendance: 16,305
- Commentators: Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler
- Special Olympian Kathy Huey sang "America the Beautiful"
- Salt N Pepa sang a revised "Whatta Man" for Taylor's entrance
Main Event:
- Lawrence Taylor def. Bigelow
Undercard:
- *Diesel def. Shawn Michaels
- *Bret Hart def. Bob Backlund
- *Undertaker def. King Kong Bundy
- *Owen/Yokozuna def. Smokin Gunns
- *Razor Ramon def. Jeff Jarrett
- *Luger/Smith def. Blu Brothers
