WrestleMania XI WrestleMania XI was the eleventh annual WrestleMania pay - per - view event held by the World Wrestling Federation ( WWF ) at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford , Connecticut on April 2 , 1995 . The event featured seven matches , which resulted from scripted storylines and had results predetermined by the WWF . The main event was a match between NFL linebacker Lawrence Taylor , who faced Bam Bam Bigelow as the result of an argument that took place between the two at the 1995 Royal Rumble . Taylor won the match , which led to Bigelow being kicked out of Ted DiBiase ' s Million Dollar Corporation . Shawn Michaels faced WWF Champion Diesel in a title match but was unable to win the championship . Jeff Jarrett retained his WWF Intercontinental Championship against Razor Ramon . Owen Hart and his mystery partner , Yokozuna challenged The Smoking Gunns for the WWF Tag Team Championship and won the title belts . The match between Taylor and Bigelow brought the WWF mainstream press coverage . The reactions to the match were mixed ; some people thought that Taylor performed surprisingly well for a non - wrestler . Others thought that the WWF pushing a football player to defeat a wrestler made professional wrestling look bad . Reviews of the event as a whole have also been mixed , and the event has been called both the worst WrestleMania of all time and the event that saved the WWF . Background . The most heavily promoted feud going into the event was between Bam Bam Bigelow and Lawrence Taylor . At Royal Rumble 1995 , Bigelow teamed with Tatanka in the final round of a tournament for the WWF Tag Team Championship . Bigelow was pinned at the end of the match , which led to the crowd heckling him . He responded by pushing NFL player Lawrence Taylor , who was sitting at ringside . Bigelow refused to apologize and instead challenged Taylor to a wrestling match . Taylor agreed and trained with WWF Champion Diesel to prepare for the match . The storyline between Bigelow and Taylor brought the WWF much mainstream exposure , as the match was discussed by several news outlets . The other main event at WrestleMania was a match for the WWF Championship between Diesel and Shawn Michaels . Diesel had originally entered the WWF as Michaels ' s bodyguard but later began wrestling and forming a tag team with Michaels . The pair held the WWF Tag Team Championship together in 1994 . At Survivor Series 1994 , however , Michaels accidentally kicked Diesel in the face . This led to an argument during which Diesel dissolved the tag team and vacated the championship . Three days later , Diesel defeated Bob Backlund to become the new WWF Champion . At Royal Rumble 1995 , Michaels won the battle royal main event , which earned him a match against Diesel for the title belt at WrestleMania . The WWF Intercontinental Championship was also defended at WrestleMania . Jeff Jarrett , the champion , had been feuding with Razor Ramon , the challenger , for several months . At Royal Rumble 1995 , Jarrett was accompanied by The Roadie , who interfered on Jarrett ' s behalf and helped Jarrett win the championship . To even the sides in the rematch at WrestleMania , Ramon was accompanied by his friend , the 1 - 2 - 3 Kid . In a match for the WWF Tag Team Championship , The Smoking Gunns defended their title . Their opponents were Owen Hart and a mystery partner . Hart refused to tell anyone the name of his partner , which left the Gunns uncertain who they would be facing and led to much speculation about the identity of the mystery partner . Bret Hart faced Bob Backlund in an " I Quit " match at WrestleMania . The feud began the previous summer , when Hart defended the WWF Championship against Backlund . Backlund mistakenly thought he won the match and began celebrating , but Hart pinned him to retain the title . After the match , Backlund turned heel by attacking Hart . This led to a title match at Survivor Series 1994 , in which Backlund won the title from Hart . Although Backlund soon lost the belt , the feud continued and Backlund attacked Hart during Hart ' s match at Royal Rumble 1995 . Also at Royal Rumble 1995 , The Undertaker faced Irwin R . Schyster as part of The Undertaker ' s feud with Ted DiBiase ' s Million Dollar Corporation . During the match , King Kong Bundy , another Corporation member , interfered and enabled the Corporation to steal The Undertaker ' s urn , which was said to be the source of his power .