Swerve Strickland has named Shawn Michaels’ entrance at WrestleMania 12 as the standard he believes remains impossible to surpass.
In discussing the greatest professional wrestling entrances, Strickland pointed to two very different moments from two different eras: Will Ospreay’s special presentation at AEW All In and Michaels descending from the rafters on a zipline ahead of his WrestleMania 12 main event. While Strickland clearly held Ospreay’s more recent entrance in high regard, he reserved his strongest praise for the former WWE Champion’s unforgettable 1996 arrival.
“Will Ospreay’s at All In was probably pretty up there, but Shawn Michaels’ zipline? Untouchable.”
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A benchmark moment from WrestleMania 12
Michaels’ zipline entrance has endured as one of WrestleMania’s defining visual images. Entering the arena from above for his Iron Man Match against Bret Hart, Michaels turned a championship match entrance into a piece of spectacle that remains immediately recognizable decades later. It was not merely an elaborate way to reach the ring; it helped establish the scale and importance of the occasion before the bell ever rang.
For more background on this topic, read Nikki Bella Says Paige Match on SmackDown Felt Like It Could Have Been a PLE Attraction.
The image was especially fitting for Michaels, whose “Heartbreak Kid” persona was closely associated with confidence, glamour and showmanship. The descent gave his entrance a larger-than-life quality while still matching the character he had built. It also happened on a night centered around one of the most significant matches of his career, making the visual even more inseparable from WrestleMania 12’s legacy.
For Strickland to call the entrance “untouchable” is notable because wrestling has continued to expand the possibilities of event presentation. Modern productions can use immense video screens, elaborate lighting, pyrotechnics, music performances, dancers, cinematic staging and arena-wide effects. Yet Michaels’ entrance continues to stand out because of its simplicity and boldness. The audience immediately understood what it was seeing: a major star taking a dramatic, risky-looking path to the ring for a defining match.
Great entrances often work because they accomplish several things at once. They introduce the performer, reinforce the character, create anticipation for the match and give the crowd a memory that can last long after the event. Michaels’ WrestleMania 12 entrance checked all of those boxes. The zipline became the centerpiece, but the enduring appeal is tied to the confidence and timing behind the moment.
Strickland also recognizes Ospreay’s All In presentation
Strickland’s other choice was Will Ospreay’s entrance at AEW All In, where Ospreay received a special presentation for his AEW World Championship match against Kenny Omega. Strickland was among the wrestlers involved in that entrance, giving his praise an added personal element.
Being included in a featured entrance at a major stadium-scale event can carry significance beyond the visual itself. Entrances are often collaborative productions, involving performers, music, wardrobe, staging and carefully timed movement. When fellow wrestlers are brought into the presentation, the moment can reflect friendships, shared history or an effort to make the challenger’s walk to the ring feel like an event in its own right.
Strickland said that participating in Ospreay’s entrance meant a lot to him. That sentiment underlines the communal side of a performance that viewers may experience primarily as a solo star’s spotlight. Ospreay was preparing for one of AEW’s biggest possible matches, facing Omega for the AEW World Championship, but Strickland’s involvement connected the sequence to the wider locker room and the relationships that exist around the show.
Ospreay and Omega are performers whose major encounters naturally arrive with high expectations, and a major-event entrance helps frame that type of contest before the opening exchange. In that setting, the presentation becomes part of the match’s atmosphere. It signals to the crowd that the bout is intended to feel distinct from the rest of the card, even before the wrestlers begin telling their story in the ring.
Why entrances matter to wrestling’s biggest events
Professional wrestling entrances occupy a unique space between athletics, theater and live music performance. A wrestler has only a limited amount of time to make a first impression on the audience for that match. The best entrances can instantly establish the emotional temperature: heroic, threatening, celebratory, defiant or unpredictable.
For established stars, an entrance can reinforce years of identity. For rising names, it can help communicate that they belong at a particular level. A special entrance at an event such as All In or WrestleMania can also become a marker of career progression. It tells the audience that a wrestler has reached a stage where their arrival is being presented as a major attraction.
Strickland’s comparison between Ospreay and Michaels highlights how wrestling spectacles can connect across generations without needing to look identical. Michaels’ zipline was a singular stunt built around a legendary arena entrance. Ospreay’s All In sequence was a modern major-event presentation that included other wrestlers and carried personal meaning for one of its participants. The approaches are different, but both were designed to make the audience feel that the coming match mattered.
There is also value in a performer recognizing a classic moment without treating it as something that needs to be copied. Calling Michaels’ entrance “untouchable” does not diminish newer productions. Instead, it acknowledges that certain moments become part of wrestling’s visual language because they were executed at exactly the right time, with exactly the right star and stakes.
That is often the challenge for any modern entrance: finding a memorable idea that serves the wrestler rather than simply adding spectacle for spectacle’s sake. The most lasting presentations have a connection to the person walking to the ring. Michaels’ entrance was inseparable from his WrestleMania moment. Ospreay’s All In presentation was tied to an AEW World Championship challenge and to the people who helped create it.
Strickland’s appreciation for presentation
Strickland’s comments also fit with the importance he places on moments that feel meaningful rather than routine. As an AEW performer, he has competed in an environment where major shows frequently emphasize distinct entrances, unique stage setups and large-scale audience reactions. In that context, recognizing the details of another wrestler’s presentation is part of recognizing the craft involved in making a match feel important.
His answer did not attempt to create a lengthy ranking of famous entrances. Instead, it quickly identified one current-era experience that resonated personally and one all-time visual that he believes remains above comparison. The contrast makes the answer effective: Ospreay’s entrance carries the emotional weight of something Strickland was part of, while Michaels’ zipline carries the historical weight of an image that has stood the test of time.
Elsewhere, Strickland also expressed interest in working with Tyler, The Creator. That interest further reflects the overlap between wrestling presentation and music-driven culture. Entrance music, visual style and live-event atmosphere are essential tools for performers looking to connect with audiences, and collaborations with artists can add another layer to that connection when the opportunity fits.
For now, Strickland’s answer offers a concise tribute to one of wrestling’s most enduring WrestleMania images while also acknowledging the impact of a much more recent AEW spectacle. Will Ospreay’s All In entrance made an impression on Strickland because of his direct involvement and the significance of the moment. But when asked to identify the very best, Strickland made his position clear: Shawn Michaels’ descent from above at WrestleMania 12 still stands alone.
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Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.