The Iron Man match between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XII was officially scheduled for 60 minutes.
The match took place on March 31, 1996, at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California. Because neither wrestler scored a fall during regulation, the contest went to sudden death after the hour had expired.
Shawn Michaels won the deciding fall with a diving elbow drop and Sweet Chin Music, becoming WWF Champion for the first time. The match is commonly listed as lasting 61 minutes because the sudden-death period followed the full 60-minute regulation limit.
Iron Man matches award the winner to the wrestler with the most falls by the end of a fixed time. This contest is therefore different from a standard singles match, even though its decisive fall came after regulation.