Remembering the Midcard - Marty Jannetty

[D-Man]

Welcome to my next installment of Remembering the Midcard.

I appreciate everyone's rep and PM's complimenting me on my first two threads. So far, I've had a lot of fun putting these things together and seeing all of the replies, regardless of whether they were positive or negative. I also appreciate the requests you all have sent me for stars to put in spotlight in these threads. I hope you all keep it up.

So, this week I've decided to choose a midcard superstar that one of you requested. He is a former tag team champion, a former Intercontinental Champion, and formerly one half of one of the greatest and most innovative tag teams to ever set foot inside of a wrestling ring. This man is none other than Marty Jannetty.

Frederick Marty Jannetty began his wrestling career with the NWA in 1984. At the beginning of his career, he was thrown around as both a tag team and singles competitor until 1985 where he was paired up with an upcoming superstar that went by the name of Shawn Michaels. They named their team "The Midnight Rockers" and worked their way up the ranks throughout the NWA and AWA, winning multiple tag team championships along the way.

In 1988, The Midnight Rockers were given the opportunity to wrestle for the WWF and were renamed "The Rockers." They were an immediate sensation, using their never seen before, innovative arsenal of moves to 'wow' audiences across the United States. Despite their extremely successful run in the WWF from 1988-1992, the Rockers never "officially" held the WWF tag team championship.

During late 1989, Jim Neidhart was having contract disputes with the World Wrestling Federation during one of the Hart Foundation's Tag Team Championship runs and was almost definitely going to leave the company. Therefore, during the pre-recorded, October 30th, 1989 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event, the Rockers were given the opportunity to face the Hart Foundation for the WWF Tag Team Championships. During the match, the top rope of the ring had broken, and both teams were forced to finish the match. Despite the accident, the Rockers were victorious and captured the WWF Tag Team Championships. However, shortly after, Neidhart came to a stopgap agreement with management and was rehired by the WWF. The belts were returned to the Hart Foundation a week later and the Rockers' victory was never broadcasted or acknowledged on television. So in the eyes of the fans, the Rockers never won the Tag Team Championships. Years later, the WWE used the broken ropes as their excuse as to why they never aired the footage of the matchup.

In 1991, the Rockers were split during the infamous "Barber Shop Incident" where Shawn Michaels superkicked Jannetty and threw him through the set's plate glass window. Jannetty stayed off television for a while to sell the injury, but due to personal conflict, Marty Jannetty was released from the WWF in 1992.

Jannetty bounced back and forth with the WWF from 1992-1996, briefly winning the Intercontinental Championship and Tag Team Championships with the 1-2-3 Kid. He was released and re-hired three times during that time period due to drug problems, legal problems over accidentally causing serious injury to another professional wrestler, and frustration with the direction of his character. He made sporadic appearences in the WWE in recent years, but none were of any significance. However, he will always be most known for his pairing with Shawn Michaels as one half of the Rockers.

My Take:
I said it earlier and I'll say it again... Marty Jannetty is one of the most innovative 'tag team specialists' to ever grace a professional wrestling ring. He is a perfect example of how championships do not define the legacy and skill of a professional wrestler. Everyone has to remember, if it wasn't for Marty Jannetty, there might not have been an HBK. When Michaels was still 'green' in the professional wrestling business, Jannetty taught him everything he knew and got him started and put on the map. If it wasn't for Jannetty's role in the Rockers, the Barber Shop incident never would have made an impact and given Shawn Michaels an opportunity to spark his singles career.

Even though the later part of his career was somewhat of an embarrassment/failure, he cemented his legacy early on as a part of the Rockers and captured his share of gold. Each time he comes back for an appearance in the WWE, the crowd will always remembers him and loves him.


Ok everyone, it's your turn. What did you think of Marty Jannetty? Please feel free to comment all you'd like. Positive, Negative, or neutral feedback is all welcome!

 

[IrishCanadian25]

<marks out>

Jannetty is one of my 5 all-time favorite superstars. I used to cut up t-shirts and staple colored fabric strips on the sleeves to be like him. He was electric. Long before the superstar we now know as Shawn Michaels has his druthers, Marty was the mic skills of the tag team. He was also the real high-flyer. Most of the pics of The Rockers where one of them is airborne is Jannetty, often leaping from Shawn's shoulders.

People also don't recall the fact that Michaels and Jannetty, after the most memorable tag team break up in history, also put on two of the best matches ever. Royal Rumble and Raw. Jannetty's IC Title win was, sadly, a footnote in the Michaels feud with Mr. Perfect and the arrival of Diesel, but the matches themselves were what I have dubbed "near fall clinics." Also, Marty's return and the Sherri mirror bashing was an epic moment, still an all-time favorite of mine.

Jannetty was EASILY more talented that Michaels was in the ring, and yet we still have to file "The Real Rocker" away under "Wasted Talent."

 

[WWF Wrestling Fan]

I Liked Marty Jannetty He was pretty cool when i was younger back in the 80's him and Shawn Michaels as The Rockers I think WWF at the time screwed up when they did the singles for both of them because Jannetty was and still is talented i think also belive he could have been bigger then Shawn if WWF at the time gave him a chance but they didnt do that when Jannetty came back to the WWF with the '' New Rockers '' him and Leif Cassady aka Al Snow they hurt his come back WWF really most have had it out for him altho his drug problem didnt help any but still its a shame that they didnt do anything with him after the break up of the real rockers except give him the IC Title for a week so I will remember Marty Jannetty as the Real Rocker the one who was talented out of the two people will disagree with me but dont get me wrong i still like HBK but from the 2 I liked Jannetty better when it came to tage teaming and I like shawn more as a singles wrestler

 

[8five]

I'm gonna have to always think of him and just be sad. He seemed like a guy who could just never get it together at the right times to become that big name. When I watch old AWA stuff on espn classic he reminds me why i thought he was the more talented one of the duo. I think part of the reason why i've never liked Shawn Michaels is because of Marty Janetty. It makes you wonder what if he superkicked Shawn through the glass

 

[Fleisch]

I love these "remembering the midcard" threads. Takes me back to when wrestling wasn't so disected by so called "experts".

Again, Jannetty was in one of the tag teams I loved watching back in the late 80's early 90's, The Rockers. I also felt he was jsut as good in the ring as Michaels, however it looks like his demons and lack of any real charisma killed off any chance he had. When he was put with Al Snow as the New Rockers - it kind of killed any interest I had in the guy. I thought there was a slim chance he could have been something bigger than he ever was but after that I saw 0 potential in the guy.

The break-up of The Rockers was probably his defining moment, and he'll be remembered more for getting his ass kicked through the "Barbershop" window than his tag title or IC title reigns in my honest opinion. Which is a shame because he really was talented.

 

[jmt225]

I was a huge fan of Marty Jannetty as a kid. He was by far my favorite Rocker, and I always hoped more for his career.

While apart of the Rockers, he meant every as bit as much to the team as HBK did; I don't give a fuck what anyone says. And the fact is... without Marty Jannetty, there would be no Shawn Michaels. Marty made him by being apart of that tag team, and with his selling when the infamous Barber Shop incident happened.

Speaking of the Barber Shop incident... I cried when it happened. Yep, like a little bitch... I cried. I was such a huge fan of Marty, and that segment just came off and felt so real. After that... I wanted Shawn dead, and I wanted Marty Jannetty to be the person to kill him.

I'll never, ever forget Jannetty's return after that. Not the one where he challenged Michaels for the Royal Rumble match, but the one after that where he returned on Raw and defeated HBK for the IC Title. To this day, I don't think I ever marked out as hard as I did than when that happened, lol.

Unfortunately, that's pretty much the only highlight of Marty's singles career. Bad luck and demons just kept him from ever reaching his full potential. But that by no means makes me any less of a fan. Every time I see an old clip of Marty Jannetty during his heyday, it brings back an awesome nostalgic feeling not many wrestlers, or things period, can bring to me.

 

[Doomsday Device]

When I think of Marty Jannetty I think of how much potential and talent he had to make it in the business, but like Scott Hall he flushed his future down the toilet because he let his demons get the best of him. These two let their alcohol and substance abuse get the best of them.

Marty may never have achieved WWE Champion status, but he sure could have made alot of money for himself if he would have kept his shit together.

I remember his matches with Michaels were so good to watch because they knew eachother so well.

Now unfortunately he'll be known forever as Michaels ex partner, from way back, that and getting kicked right in the jaw at the Barbershop.

I wonder what he's been up to these days.

 

[Spillz3000]

It does suck cause Jannetty was an excellent worker even when he was a singles wrestler. It's sad cause Vince has given the man so many chances and he blew them all. A match that sticks out in my mind besides the Shawn Michaels matches was when he fought Kurt Angle on an episode of Smackdown before Shawn Michaels fought him at Wrestlemania. Marty Jannetty and Kurt Angle pulled out all the stops in this match! I definitely thought after that match Jannetty was going to get another shot at the Big times. I think he could have a been a contributing member to the Smackdown roster and at least get a few U.S. title reigns. But alas Jannetty let his demons get the best of him time after time after that match and Vince just had to throw his hands in the air and say fuck it!

In Foley's book he has even said that Jannetty had all the potential in the world to be as big as Shawn Michaels but he couldn't handle his problems outside of the ring. The Rockers quite possibly could have been the first tag team to have both members reach solo success had Jannetty kept himself in check.

 

[HBK-aholic]

If he let the alcohol abuse get in the way of being a wrestler I have no sympathy for him. I did really like Jannety as a Rocker, but he isn't as good as Shawn, and the sad thing with teams is often one races ahead while the less talented one is known forever as ____'s ex partner. I'm waiting for the anti-WWE crowd to come and say Jannety was the better of The Rockers, and failed only due to Shawn being pushed more.

 

[Doomsday Device]

I personally would never say that Jannetty failed because of Michaels push.

Marty did this to himself. And in a way its something we can learn from. Even if you have plenty of talent, and you waste it away with substance abuse, getting locked up, not being able to show up for work, this will all cost you alot more than you think.

I put Jannetty, Hall, and Jake Roberts in the same category. Three very talented men who let life past right by them because they couldnt get their life straight. They had plenty of opportunities and screwed every single one up. Now they have to live with their fuck ups.

If Marty would have stayed clean and responsible Im sure Vince would have given him a good push.

Imagine one day if Marty would have beat Michaels for the WWE championship, that would be like his ultimate revenge for Michaels going solo.

Im not bashing Michaels one bit, Im a huge fan of the guy, and he did the right thing by going solo and being in control of his own destiny.

 

[zags]

I remember Marty saying the whole barbershop thing was only supposed to put him off tv a couple weeks, but because of his outside troubles that's why he was gone so long. That is the only time his screwing his career up was actually a good thing. That made the angle so much better. I agree with the previous post though. Hall, Jake and Marty all made their careers or lack of what they are with their drug/alcohol issues. Now not all of Jake's pushes were stopped because of things he caused (Ultimate Warrior getting fired at SummerSlam) and I think he had teh best career of those 3, but yes all 3 could have/should have been more than what they ended up being.

 

[Evan Snow-Wolf]

I really miss Marty. When I first saw this, I squealed like a girl:

[youtube]ax_b8n1cm34[/youtube]

 

[finneycom1]

I know Jannetty hadnt been in the ring for awhile, but that video posted above is brutal to watch. If he wouldve kept his self straight during that return, he would've most likely been sent down to Florida or OVW to work on those skills.

I do think Jannetty, given he would have kept himself clean, would have made it somewhere big. Not as big as Michaels, but certainly IC or US for sure. He would have had to roll with the times though. The fringe and all of the spazzing out he did in the ring would have had to have been toned way down, especially during the Attitude Era. Wait a minute, that might have made him an Uber-heel. Heat so bad, McMahon would have had to have pushed him. Dont know about that one.

But, Jannetty threw it all away.

 

[Wasim Perviz]

I thought he was just a great wrestler and can never understand why he is not just as big as HBK today? I feel he was a great superstar at a time when wrestling needed great wrestlers. He worked a awesome feud with HBK which some may class as his biggest feud ever.

I was glad when he was brought back to the WWE to Smackdown and work a match with Kurt Ange which was a dam good match.