Shawn Michaels vs. The 1-2-3 Kid

[7.0] "This was a very good match. Shawn Michaels had already won the Royal Rumble and defended his WrestleMania main event spot against Owen Hart at In Your House 6: Rage in the Cage. At that same show, Bret Hart successfully defended his WWF Championship belt against Diesel with help from the Undertaker, so the stage was set for Bret vs Shawn at WrestleMania XII. Both men had matches on this night and in the opening match, Shawn faced the 1-2-3 Kid. This was a very good match, with Kid using his quickness as well as a little help from Ted Dibiase. Kid eventually missed a top rope leg drop, to which Shawn immediately followed up with the Sweet Chin Music for the win. ***3/4"

[5.0] "There are good elements to this match and you can plainly see that both guys can work, but there are too many rest holds too early."

[8.0] "This was a great way to open up Raw between two excellent athletes. Honestly by 1997 US TV standards this was can't miss hence my rating. WWF should have done more with 123 Kid during this time as he was a great worker during these years."

[7.0] "Really good match. Shawn is on fire as always. Sean Waltman really is one underrated worker and he proves it in this match, hanging with one of the best."

[8.0] "Very cool, concise match with both men at or near their physical prime and highly motivated to put on a good match in a short amount of time. Shawn gets to highlight both his selling and his offensive arsenal, including moves he only does against smaller opponents such as the Gorilla Press Slam. I'm normally a Vince play-by-play apologist but his work on the broadcast here is pretty irritating as he goes over-the-top praising everything about Shawn instead of allowing the work to speak for itself. Bret providing backstage commentary on the match leading into the WM main event vs. Shawn is an interesting wrinkle in the presentation. Excellent comeback from Shawn going into a very satisfying finish."

[9.0] "Pretty great match! Michaels was on a great run here but in some ways I enjoyed Waltman even more, he was really firing on all cylinders."

[6.0] "Kliq vs Kliq match, so we know that both will be fully motivated. Love Kid stiffing Michaels with his kicks early on. Gee, I bet he didn? t complain about THOSE stiff strikes. Very energetic bout with both men more than willing to take big risks and bumps for each other, 1-2-3 Kid especially. Another note: Bret with the glasses he had on made him look like John Lennon. Good match. ***"

[8.0] "Very good match, very action packed. Kid steals the show early on with some great kicks and Shawn sells his ass off for him. Shawn's comeback is great as well and the finishing stretch is well executed. One of the most enjoyable Raw matches around this time. ***3/4"

[7.0] "A really good match to open Raw. All action and with some good spots. It gets slower in the middle but it comes back great at the end. This is good to show Shawn Michaels getting to the top before Wrestlemania XII. ***1/2"