Alex Carson
If you are familiar with pro wrestling at all then you probably have witnessed quite a few tag teams come together and subsequently dissolve over the years. Some of these duos had a lot going for them while others lacked the right kind of chemistry. Regardless of circumstances, it’s not uncommon to see these kinds of teams split up.
When these kinds of professional breakups occur, there might be a wide range of reasons why the dynamic didn’t last. One of these reasons though that is a fairly common occurrence is that the arrangement has run its course and it’s just time for the two to go their own separate ways.
The Working Relationship
This story typically plays out the same way regardless of the team. One of the two goes on to become a wrestling superstar while the other one tosses to the sidelines. Why exactly things play out like this might forever remain a mystery.
When the stars aligned for Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels to form a working relationship, their team would prove to be veritably unstoppable. It didn’t matter what league they were competing in, be it NWA, AWA, or the WWF, the two would take the wrestling world by storm for years to come.
When the two finally parted ways, it would come as a shock to fans and commentators alike. To many, they destine to go down in history as one of the greatest teams to ever hit the ring. Obviously, their hopes cut short.
Shawn Michaels aka HBK would go on to become one of the most prestigious wrestling superstars of the WWF and WWE. His nickname Mr. Wrestlemania is a testament to the acclaim he has garnered for himself over the years. In fact, he will soon be inducted into the Hall of Fame when he retires.
But whatever became of Marty Jannetty? And what is this that we keep hearing about him killing someone when he was a teenager. Is that rumor based on any kind of fact?
Stick around till the end of the video to see what Marty has to say for himself about those shocking accusations.
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Marty’s Early Years
He began his training in the early 80s. Jerry Oates was his first trainer and he first took it to the ring with the National Wrestling Association in 1984.
He got off to a good start in the big-kid ranks. His first partner is Tommy Rogers and the team that they form deem the Uptown Boys.
This duo would have a long-standing feud with a team called The Grapplers. They’d keep that back and forth energy going until they took the tag straps in 84.
They’d only keep that title for a couple of months before losing it back to the Grapplers. Their feud would soon end when they reclaimed the belts just a couple months later.
The Uptown Boys would lose their tag titles shortly thereafter to Gypsy Joe and his teammate Mr. Pogo – thus creating a whole new feud with Gypsy Joe. Jannetty would clinch his first singles title when he beat Joe for the TV championship later that year.
But Jannetty would soon find himself partnerless and flying solo again when Rogers left the promotion.
A New Partner Comes And Goes
He wouldn’t have to walk the lonely road alone for very long. Soon enough “Bulldog” Bob Brown would partner up with him to help fight for tag belts against Gypsy Joe and Mr. Pogo. In the meantime, while going team to team, Jannetty had to keep defending his TV championship title.
The partnership he formed with Bulldog would prove to be a boost to Jannetty’s relatively short career but soon enough the team would dissolve and Jannetty would lose his TV title to Gary Royal in 1985.
Even without a partner and reeling from the loss of his title, he would succeed in triumphing in one of the biggest wins of his career in September that same year when he beat Mr. Pogo, earning himself the heavyweight title.
1986 would be yet another major year for Jannety’s career. Once more he would win another heavyweight title when he pummeled The Shadow. Following that victorious milestone, he would find his most influential partner.
Enter Shawn Michaels
And thus the Midnight Rockers came on to the scene to set the world of wrestling ablaze. They had immediate chemistry and snagged the NWA Central States tag right off the bat.
With their newfound team formed, they would depart from the NWA and sign up with the AWA. It is with that league that they meet with instant success and developed a huge fan base who couldn’t get enough of their style and attitude.
1987 spend feuding with Doug Somers and Buddy rose until they finally defeated them and won the AWA tag titles. That of course wasn’t the end of their feud. That would extend for the next 2 years.
Shortly after The Midnight Rockers with the help of Ray Stevens defeated Somers, Kevin Kelly, and Buddy Wolfe at Superclash 2, they lost the AWA tag tile to Boris Zhukov and Soldat Ustinov when they decided to make another league change with the WWF.
Another League Change – Cracks Forming
The WWF would give the duo the boot however when it came out that all they wanted to do was party hard, trash hotel rooms, and neglect their work in the ring. So back to the AWA they went.
They still had their magic despite their party-boy reputation. Upon rejoining the league they beat the RPMs for the Southern Tag Titles. But that win would be short-lived when the RPMs would take their belts just a month later. And just like that, a new feud had formed.
In a typical back and forth wrestling fashion, they would win the belts back and hold them for another month. They fully intended to unify the AWA tag belts. And they got that chance in 87 when they defeated the Midnight Express and unified the AWA southern tag titles and the World Tag Titles.
The teams winning streak would come crashing to an end in 1988 when they lost the belts to the team known as Bad Company. They never really recovered their magic after that loss. But that mattered little to them because once again they’d be swapping out leagues.
Back To The WWF
The Midnight Rockers soon became one of the hottest ticket items that the WWF had to offer but that success wouldn’t be enough to keep Jannetty in line.
They had such a rich fan base and people couldn’t get enough of the dynamic duos high-flying escapades and no-nonsense style. They were quickly becoming the quintessential face of tag-team wrestling.
Jannetty’s partying was getting out of hand around this time. He was spiraling quickly downward in a path destined for self-destruction and misery.
Charles Austin Sues Jannetty And The Team Breaks Up
In 1990, in a cut-throat match between Charles Austin and The Genius, Jannetty messed up the landing of his signature finishing move, the Rocker Dropper. Because of this flub, Charles Austin would break his neck.
He sues both the league and Jannetty and because of that, Jannetty hits with a $1 million bill that he had to pay for damages, pain, and suffering.
In 1991, problems would again mount when Jannetty accidentally hit his partner Michaels while in the ring during the end of a match in the Survivor series.
A month later, the two would be at the Barbershop and Michaels super kicked him straight through the window, creating a whole new feud that would play out for a while and signaling the end of their professional relationship.
Fans were getting tired of the back and forth banter and it was clear that the two had lost their chemistry.
Vince McMahon was also getting tired of Jannetty’s lifestyle and how it was coming through in his performance. He was fired from the league when he showed up to RAW intoxicated. Vince would give him another chance and of course, there was more drama and feudal fighting for a few more years but now without Michaels, Jannetty was running out of steam.
Then in 1995, Jannetty just disappeared from the circuit altogether, with most people assuming his sudden absence had something to do with the Austin court cast.
Back in Forth To Different Leagues
Soon enough however Jannetty would make his comeback. He would bounce around for the next several years between the ECW, WCW, WWE, and NWA picking up new partners and scoring some titles but no longer with the same oomph that he once had.
Where he once was on top of the world, now he was being pushed as a low- mid-carder.
In 2004 after finding some moderate success in the indie circuit, his depression would seriously take hold of him. He would even call his loved ones saying that he had intended to kill himself.
Then he got the call he had been waiting for.
Reunited With Shawn Michaels
Shawn gave Jannetty a ring just to check in on him but when he found that his former partner was in dire straights, he decided to come to his aid. Upon reuniting with his old friend, he got baptized as a born again Christian.
Then in 2005 Michaels and Jannetty would take it to the ring once again in a match against Kurt Angle at RAW. Jannetty still looked great even after all those years away from the WWF and clinched victory with his signature move.
He was even offered another contract after that match but then his past caught back up with him. He was arrested on domestic disturbance charges and failed to make the next match. That’s right around the time that the WWE would let him go and he’d be forced back to the indie circuit. He never quite found success in the ring again since that fateful downturn.
Murder Investigation
In a social media post in August of 2020, Jannetty made the claim that he had made a man disappear when he was a teenager. He further claimed that the man was a bowling alley employee who tried to drag him outside into an alleyway to molest him.
It was during this incident that Jannetty claims to have beaten him with a brick, dragged him to a bridge, and toss him into a river.
The police have opened a murder investigation to determine whether these statements are in any way true. They are investigating missing person cases from the alleged timeline to see whether his story matches up with any real-world cases or whether it’s just an attention-seeking publicity stunt from a washed-up wrestler.
Do you think that Jannetty actually killed somebody or do you think he’s full of you know what? Let us know what you think in the comments section.
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