Marty Jannetty

Marty Jannetty will always be known to fans of wrestling as "The other Rocker", as his partner, Shawn Michaels, went on to become one of the biggest stars in wrestling history after their break up. This is very unfortunate, because Marty Jannetty was one of the most innovative high-flying wrestlers in wrestling history. He gained notoriety as one half of the "Midnight Rockers", along with Michaels, in the old AWA federation in the mid 1980s. They became known throught the wrestling world as tag-team specialists. The two won the AWA Tag Team Titles on two separate occasions before going to the WWF in the fall of 1988. It was here that Jannetty became known around the world as a wrestling superstar. Now just known as "The Rockers", Marty and Shawn immediately engaged in a feud with fellow WWF newcomers, The Brainbusters(Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard). The two teams wrestled in some amazing tag team matches around the country. The Rockers spent the next three years being one of the most popular tag teams in the world. Their size and speed made them forces to contend with, as they dazzled audiences with a wide array of high-flying maneuvers and incredible tag team moves. Their timing was perfect, as they always seemed to know what the other was thinking. Despite the incredible talent that these two possessed, the WWF was reluctant to give them a run with the Tag Team Titles, as owner Vince McMahon has always been a fan of "bigger is better", in reference to the small size of these two superstars comapred to their fellow wrestlers. The Rockers actually did win the WWF Tag Team Titles from the legendary Hart Foundation (Bret "Hit Man" Hart & Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart) in the fall of 1990 on an untelevised house show. The two held the titles for several days before the they were returned to the Hart Foundation and the win was never acknowledged again. This remains one of the strangest occurances in wrestling history. By the fall of 1991, tensions between the two stars became obvious to audiences. The straw that broke the camel's back was at Survivor Series 1991, when Jannetty accidentally caused Michaels to be eliminated when a wrestling move went awry and knocked Michaels to the ground, making him an easy pinning target. The two "made up" on the set of Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake's show, The Barbershop. Michaels then shocked the world as he nailed Jannetty in the face with his patented superkick. He then finished off his former tag team partner by throwing him face first through a window on the set. Michaels went on to become one of the most promising stars of 1992, winning the WWF Intercontinental Title from the British Bulldog in the fall of that year. Jannetty did not resurface again until the beginning of 1993, when he made his return and challenged Michaels for his title. The two had a long and heated feud for most of the year, which saw the IC Title change hands between the two twice in some of the best matches of the year. By 1994, Jannetty returned to the tag team ranks once again, teaming up with the even smaller 1-2-3 Kid to win the Tag Team Titles from The Quebecers in January of that year, only to lose them back seven days later. He continued to wrestle for the WWF for several more years, although he never achieved the fame that he had earlier in his career. He wrestled briefly for WCW in 1998, but that did little to change his mid-card status.