Marty Jannetty at Days of the Dead Chicago 2016

Many years ago, when Marty Jannetty was new to wrestling, he teamed with Shawn Michaels as the Rockers.  They looked like they would have a long and successful career as a tag team, but things didn't go ass planned.

Michaels was given a push as a singles wrestler and he became one of the greatest of all time.  Although Jannetty had a lengthy and solid career, he is forever tagged as the poster boy for the losing end of tag team splits.

I wonder what would have happened if Jannetty was given that initial push.  What exactly goes into that decision anyway?  Was the split meant to be permanent?  Was it just a test to see what developed?  Maybe it was a perfectly planned jump-start to a Hall of Fame career for Michaels.

Who knows?  Nobody really talks about it.  I'd love to know how it all developed.

In today's wrestling, many teams are designed just to be broken up later.  Back then,l there were legit teams who wrestled for years, possibly even careers.  Was there ever a thought that Michaels and Jannetty would eventually reunite?

They did reunite on a few occasions, but that was mostly for special nostalgia events.  Michaels got too big so quickly, there was no need for him to go back to tag teami

Maybe someday the whole story will be told.  If so, I hope it is accurate and not a revisionist history.  It would be easy for someone to say that they saw HOF potential in Michaels, but is that true?

In any case, it was good to meet Jannetty at Days of the Dead.  Don't we look good holding the DotD title belt?  Maybe I could have been a Rocker after Michaels left/

Marty Jannetty and me in Schaumburg, IL-November 2016.

Marty Jannetty, The "Marty Jannetty" of the Rockers

Marty Jannetty gets a bad rap at times.  In the Rockers (or Midnight Rockers), he was one-half of an exciting, young tag team with Shawn Michaels.  One legendary kick through a "window" on a WWF televised skit later and Michaels was headed for superstardom leaving Jannetty to become the standard bearer for guys left behind.

Andrew Ridgeley to George Michael.  Peter Scolari to Tom Hanks.  Jim Messina to Kenny Loggins.

It's never really fair.  How does one partner far exceed the one left behind?  Fate?  Luck?  Talent?

I'm not taking anything away from Michaels.  Despite his own demons, he had a Hall of Fame career.  Still, at one point, Michaels and Jannetty were seen as fairly equal.  What happened and could it have been reversed?

In the world of pro wrestling, the promoter can make or break you.  In this case, Vince McMahon saw something special in Michaels and he was proven right, but what about Jannetty?  He went on to have a solid career, but nothing like Michaels.  Jannetty's lot in life is to be the guy referenced when one partner leaves the other far behind.  

Jannetty had some personal problems, but so did many wrestlers, especially during that era.  If McMahon had switched the roles, what would have happened to both of these men?  It is hard to say.  It's easy to say talent rises to the top, but it is also easier to rise above when you are given a better chance.

By any other measuring stick, Jannetty beat the odds and had a lengthy, if unspectacular, career as both a tag team wrestler and as a singles wrestler.  At least, Jannetty seems to be in a good place in his life and that is the most important factor of all.

Marty Jannetty and me in Elk Grove Village, IL-March 2013.

Friendly Encounters: Marty Jannetty and Bob Jay

This is a weekly series featuring friends who have met celebrities.

I see a lot of strange things at Days of the Dead.  Few things (if any) have been stranger than seeing "Ozzy" interact with wrestling legend Marty Jannetty.  Then again, what did I expect when PsychoBabbleTV invaded Days?
Mike Preston and his crew made the rounds at the DotD event in Chicago last year.  Bob Jay did his usual outstanding performance as the barely coherent Ozzy performing the interviewing duties.
For his part, Jannetty went along with the insanity.  To be perfectly honest, Jannetty was enjoying the bit, but he also enjoyed the entire weekend (maybe a bit too much).
It all produced a funny segment for PsychoBabbleTV, as you can see at PsychoBabbleTV on Vimeo.  There are also a few other interviews Ozzy conducted.  It's all highly entertaining, like PsychoBabbleTV usually is.

Marty Jannetty and Bob Jay in Schaumburg, IL-November 2016.

Once a Rocker, Marty Jannetty

One year after Marty Jannetty started to wrestle professionally, he formed a tag-team with fellow rookie Shawn Michaels, known as The Midnight Rockers. The duo wrestled together for about a year, before joining the old AWA.
Once there, their careers started to flourish. The Midnight Rockers won the AWA Tag-Team Championship twice during their 2+ year run in the AWA.
The Rockers joined the WWF (now WWE) in 1988 and quickly became fan favorites. They never officially won a Tag-Team title, although technically they did. The Rockers wrestled and beat the Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart) in a match taped for later viewing on Saturday Nights Main Event on NBC.
The real story behind the victory was that Jim Neidhart was negotiating his release from the company, so the Hart Foundation had to lose the titles before he left. Unfortunately for the Rockers, before the match aired, the situation was cleared up and Neidhart agreed to stay.
The title change was never acknowledged (the good old pre-internet days of wrestling). Later, when the story started to come out, it was explained that the turnbuckle had broken and the match (and title change) had been thrown out.
Jannetty's luck continued to spiral downward, as the Rockers eventually split up in a move which would launch Shawn Michaels into superstardom. Michaels would go on to win numerous titles in the WWF/E, including the WWF Championship 3 times. Jannetty continued wrestling (in singles and other tag-teams), winning the Intercontinental Championship one time and the Tag-Team Championship (with the 1-2-3 Kid) once, but he never attained the success of his former partner.
In the 90's, Jannetty split his time between the independent wrestling scene and the WWE, jumping back and forth several times. During one stay in the WWE, Jannetty and Michaels wrestled for one night only as the Rockers, much to the delight of their fans.
Jannetty has battled various problems in his life. At one point, a court order in Florida prevented him from working in the WWE due to travel restrictions.
I always wonder how he feels seeing Michaels attain such success. Still, Jannetty seems to be a pretty happy guy. He is one of the friendliest performers at wrestling events and appearances.

Marty Jannetty and me in Kokomo, IN-October 2007.