Biggest Fan: Jane Picard "Now this will be controversial. Marty vs. Shawn... without the Rockers there would be no Shawn Michaels, who is a true Superstar by definition. The Rockers were tag team gold so I had to saddle him up next to Shawn on my list."
"Ladies and gentlemen, The Rockers!" yelled Brutus Beefcake on his interview program, The Barber Shop. Audiences everywhere breathed a sigh of relief; The Rockers, sports entertainment's most exciting tag team, weren't breaking up. Everything was fine. But mere moments later, in perhaps the most shocking event ever to take place in the history of the galaxy, Shawn Michaels was flooring Marty Jannetty with his Sweet Chin Music and heaving him face-first through a plate glass window. It's one of a half-dozen moments that made me fall in love with wrestling, and although this event probably did more for the career of the kicker than the kickee, the spectacle of that segment is more closely linked to Jannetty than Shawn, in my mind.
Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels formed The Midnight Rockers in 1985. The high-flying duo was exceptionally talented and quickly captured several tag team championships, in the NWA, the AWA and the Continental Wrestling Association. Then, the tag team specialists joined the World Wrestling Federation in 1988. Their time in the WWF together featured no tag team title reigns, but they nearly won the belts on numerous occasions. In 1991, the aforementioned Barber Shop interview ended their union, and the fortunes of each half of this exciting tag team would be drastically different.
Originally, Jannetty's return to the ring after being attacked was supposed to happen much sooner, but Jannetty found himself unable to compete, as he was under house arrest for attacking a police officer. Instead, the WWF released him and the wrestling world slowly forgot about Shawn Michaels' scorned former partner.
Then, in October 1992, nine months after the attack, Marty Jannetty emerged from the crowd to attack Shawn Michaels and challenge him to a match at the Royal Rumble. Their match at the Rumble was considered a highlight of an otherwise underwhelming pay-per-view. Unfortunately, Jannetty again vanished from WWF programming for four months after the match.
In May of 1993, Jannetty reemerged from the crowd during Monday Night Raw and demanded a shot at Shawn Michaels' Intercontinental Championship. What ensued was PWI's Match of the Year for 1993, as Marty Jannetty captured gold in the WWF for the first time in his career. Marty would go on to capture the tag team titles later on as well, with his partner, the 1-2-3 Kid.
Marty Jannetty was a top notch in-ring performer who excited fans and gave audiences several thrilling memories. Although his personal problems away from the ring probably hampered his career, he was still a very colorful and successful superstar.
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