The Rockers

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The Rockers
Tag Team
Members Shawn Michaels
Marty Jannetty
Name(s) The Rockers
The Midnight Rockers
Heights Shawn:
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Marty:
5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Combined weight 455 lb (206 kg/32.5 st)
Debut 1985
Disbanded December 2, 1991
Promotions AWA, CSW, CWA
CWF, WWF

The Rockers were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty that teamed from 1985 to 1992 initially as The Midnight Rockers and then later simply as the Rockers. The team worked for Central States Wrestling, the American Wrestling Association, Continental Wrestling Federation, Continental Wrestling Association and the World Wrestling Federation.

In 1992, the team had a violent “on screen” break up that helped propel Shawn Michaels into the singles ranks with the “Heartbreak Kid” gimmick that he still uses today. After the break up Michaels and Jannetty had an on again, off again feud due to Jannetty leaving the WWF on more than one occasion. In 1996, Jannetty teamed up with Leif Cassidy to form The New Rockers but the team never achieved much success in the WWF and ended later that same year.

In 2005, the Rockers reunited for one night but nothing more came of it because Jannety was released by the WWE. In 2006, Jannetty was slated to return and work an extended angle, teaming with Michaels against Vince and Shane McMahon but only made 2 televised appearances before being released from his contract.

Contents

[edit] Team history

Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels first met and struck up a friendship when they both competed for the Cental States Wrestling territory in Kansas City in 1985. Initially they would only travel together (along with Dave “D.J.” Peterson) since Jannetty was either teaming with Tommy Rogers (better known as Tommy Lane of the Rock 'n' Roll RPMs) or he was teaming with Cental States booker ”Bulldog” Bob Brown. After the team of Jannetty and Brown broke up Michaels and Jannetty started teaming up, although they weren’t given a team name.[1] On May 15, 1986 Michaels and Jannetty defeated The Batten Twins (Brad & Bart) to win the NWA Central States Tag Team Championship. Their first title reign was shortlived as the Batten Twins regained the titles only 7 days later on May 22, 1986.[2]

Shortly after the team lost the CSW tag team title Shawn Michaels left Kansas City and returned to his homestate of Texas to work for Texas All-Star Wrestling. In TASW Shawn began teaming with Paul Diamond as ”American Breed” and the team of Jannetty and Michaels seemed like it was never meant to be a permanent thing.[1]

[edit] Midnight Rockers

In early 1986, both Jannetty and Michaels were signed by the American Wrestling Association (AWA) as they needed young talent to replace the wrestlers that had switched to the World Wrestling Federation as it was expanding towards becoming a national company.[3] The two were paired up by the AWA bookers, Greg Gagne (son of the owner and one of the bookers) suggested the name ”The Country Rockers”, another idea for a name was the "U.S. Express" (as told by Marty during an interview on AWA television that aired in 1986) not keen on the idea the two of them came up with the name The Midnight Rockers inspired by Judas Priest’s ”Living after Midnight”. AWA owner Verne Gagne did not seem to understand the idea, (in fact he is quoted as wondering if fans might confuse the name with rocking chairs.) but let the team go ahead and use the name.[1] The two started wearing identical outfits and develop the ”Fun loving pretty boy” gimmick they’d be known for through out their time together. After wrestling on the lower end of the card to get the fans familiar with the team the Midnight Rockers soon moved onto a feud with the team of Doug Somers and Buddy Rose who at the time were one of the top teams in the promotion.[3] Their initial outing with Somers and Rose at the WrestleRock stadium show on April 20, 1986 did not go well for Jannetty and Michaels who lost in front of 22,000 fans.[4] When Somers and Rose beat Scott Hall and Curt Hennig for the AWA World Tag Team Championship the Midnight Rockers suddenly found themselves chasing the main tag team title of the promotion. The Midnight Rockers teamed up with Curt Hennig to defeate Somer, Rose and Alexis Smirnoff at ”Battle by the Bay” on June 28, 1986 to prove that they were indeed capable of beating the champions.[5] The Midnight Rockers would repeatedly challenge Somers through out the rest of 1986 but never quite be able to get the win when the titles were on the line. Finally near the end of that year the Midnight Rockers finally started to show that they were gaining the upper hand in the feud. Jannetty and Michaels defeated the champions in a ”non-title” Steel cage match on December 25, 1986 on the AWA’s ”Brawl in St. Paul” show.[6] Finally on January 27, 1987 the Midnight Rockers defeated Rose and Somers for the AWA Tag Team title.[2] The brutal feud with Somers and Rose and winning the AWA tag team titles got the Midnight Rockers noticed by both wrestling fans and promoters all over the world. Jannetty and Michaels realized that the AWA was a promotion in decline, in fact it would shut down completely by 1990, and they decided that their best bet was to work for the World Wrestling Federation. The Midnight Rockers got an offer from Vince McMahon while holding the AWA Tag Titles.. The Midnight Rockers even signed with the WWF while still holding the gold, necessitating the quick title change to the unproven duo of Boris Zhukov and Soldat Ustinov on May 25, 1987.[2]

[edit] World Wrestling Federation (1987)

The team made their first WWF appearance only 5 days after dropping the AWA Tag Team titles at a house show in St. Paul, MN where they challenged the then WWF World Tag Team Champions The Hart Foundation for a title match.[7] Four days later the Midnight Rockers wrestled at their first TV taping for the show WWF Wrestling Challenge defeating the team of Jose Estrada, Sr. and Jimmy Jack Funk.[8] This match was their one and only taped appearance for the WWF as they were fired after only a few short weeks with the federation. The team was fired because of excessive partying and not enough focusing on their in ring work.[3]

[edit] Continental Wrestling Federation (1987)

After being fired by the WWF, they went down to Continental Wrestling around Alabama and Pensacola, Florida. According to Shawn and Marty on the Heartbreak and Triumph DVD, Shawn wasn't happy over there. When Bob Armstrong took over the booking, they gave them two week notice that they're no longer needed and bringing in another tag team. They said, "They don't need two weeks, they're leaving," and headed up to Memphis.

[edit] Continental Wrestling Association and American Wrestling Association (1987-1988)

After the way they had left the AWA Michaels and Jannetty could not just return like nothing had happened, instead the Midnight Rockers started working for the AWA affiliated Continental Wrestling Association in Memphis, TN. The team had made a couple of appearances in the CWA in the past as part of their working agreement with the AWA but now they were in Memphis full time. Their first feud in Memphis was against a recently formed team known as The Nasty Boys (Jerry Sags and Brian Knobbs) whom they faced in several brutal matches all over the CWA territory.[3] After the Nasty Boys the Rockers got involved in a feud with “The Nightmares” (Danny Davis and Ken Wayne).[9] During their time in the CWA Shawn and Marty turned heel (Bad guys) for the first time in both of their careers as they attacked the team of Rock 'n' Roll RPMs (Tommy Lane and Mike Davis.) Their heel personas were that of self obsessed, glory seeking ”superstars”, the same persona Shawn Michaels would later adopt as ”The Hearbreak Kid”.[1] Their feud with the RPMs saw the Midnight Rockers defeat Lane and Davis to win the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship on October 26, 1987. Jannetty and Michaels lost then regained the Southern Tag Team titles as the Midnight Rockers / RPMs feud raged on.[2]. With their success in Memphis the AWA started to book them as well having the Midnight Rockers split their time between Memphis and the AWA territory – in Memphis the Midnight Rockers were heels but in the AWA they were faces (good guys), something which was possible before the advent of national television deals and easy internet access.[1] On December 27, 1987 The Midnight Rockers defeated The Original Midnight Express (Dennis Condrey and Randy Rose) for the AWA World Tag Team titles. Since they had won the world titles Jannetty and Michaels were forced to vacate the AWA Southern Tag titles in January 1988.[2] While in the CWA, they had a brief feud with The Rock 'n' Roll Express over the AWA World Tag Team titles. After a short while in the AWA Jannetty and Michaels began asking for more money and a guaranteed contract from owner Verne Gagne. When this request was denied the Midnight Rockers quit the AWA without having found another promotion to work for.[1] Before they left the promotion they lost the AWA Tag Team Championship to Badd Company (Pat Tanaka and Paul Diamond).[2]

[edit] Rockers

[edit] 1988

Shortly after leaving the AWA, Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels were contacted by WWF owner Vince McMahon informing them that he was willing to bring them back if they were able to be more professional this time round.[1] By the end of May the team was working for the WWF under the shortened name The Rockers.[10] They officially made their television debut on the June 18, 1988 version of WWF Superstars of Wrestling in a squash match.[11]

The Rockers made their pay-per-view (PPV) debut at Survivor Series 1988 as part of the 10 team tag match. They eliminated The Bolsheviks from the match before being eliminated by a double-disqualifcation in a brawl with the Brain Busters.[12] The brawl between the Rockers and the Brain Busters led to a match taped for WWF Superstars of Wrestling where both teams were disqualified once again, this time before the match could really start.[13] This led to a series of house show matches between the two teams, a series of matches that drew rave reviews from the fans.[12]

[edit] 1989

One match in particular on January 23, 1989 was rated as one of the 50 greatest matches in the PWI 10th year anniversary issue. The match saw the Brain Busters narrowly defeat the Rockers as Anderson held down Marty Jannetty's leg as Blanchard pinned him.[14] The feud continued to rage on as they clashed on Saturday Night Main Event on March 11, 1989 in a match that saw both teams counted out for brawling on the floor.[15]

In the spring of 1989, the Rockers started a storyline with The Fabulous Rougeaus that kicked off with an underhanded attack on Shawn Michaels during a match. The Rougeaus assaulted Shawn with manager Jimmy Hart’s megaphone and drew blood.[16] This storyline put the Rockers issues with the Brain Busters on the back burners while the Rockers and the Rougeaus fought. The issue between the Rockers and Rougeaus was the storyline reason for introducing the “Iron Man match” to the WWF.[17] Despite wrestling 5 Iron Man matches against each other none of the matches were ever televised or released on a commercial tape.[17][18][19][20] On August 28, 1989 the Rockers/Rougeau feud made it to PPV as the Rougeaus teamed with Rick Martel to defeat the Rockers and Tito Santana at Summerslam.[12]

In late 1989, the Rockers and the Brain Busters reignited their feud after the Brain Busters lost the WWF Tag Team Championship. On November 23, 1989 the Rockers faced off one half of the Brain Busters’ (Arn Anderson as part of the 4 on 4 elimination matches at Survivor Series 1989. Prior to the match Anderson’s partner Tully Blanchard had failed a drug test and was fired forcing manager Bobby Heenan to wrestle in his place.[12] The Rockers and the Brain Busters had one last match on Saturday Night Main Event November 25, 1989 (taped October 31, 1989) where they defeated the Brain Busters 2 falls to 1. After the match Bobby Heenan fired the team in a backstage segment to explain why the team disappeared from the WWF.[21]

[edit] 1990

In 1990, the Rockers faced new competition in the form of Pat Tanaka and Akio Sato, the newly signed team known as The Orient Express. The two teams kicked off a prolonged feud that started at WrestleMania VI[22] and continued off and on for well over a year[23]. When Akio Sato decided leave the US wrestling scene late in 1990 the WWF decided team Tanaka up with Paul Diamond under a mask. Tanaka and Diamond had previously teamed as Badd Company and won the AWA Tag Team Championship from the Rockers. The Rockers and the Orient Express had a high profile, high flying match at the 1991 Royal Rumble [24]

[edit] Tag team title controversy

By current WWE records, The Rockers never officially held held the WWF World Tag Team Championship[25] but on October 30, 1990 Jannetty and Michaels did actually defeat the reigning champions The Hart Foundation in a two out of three falls match to seemingly win the titles. On-and-off in the past, the WWE (WWF) has officially recognized The Rockers' champion status, though the current WWE position is to not credit Jannetty and Michaels with the title win. During the match the top rope broke by accident making the match a disjointed affair that would require serious clean up before it could be shown on TV.[26] The Rockers defended the WWF Tag Team title against Power and Glory (Paul Roma and Hercules) on November 3, 1990.[27] Shortly after November 3rd it was decided to not air the title change and that the titles would revert to the Hart Foundation. In his book Shawn Michaels claims that the Hart Foundation had politicked to keep the titles.[1] Michaels claim is contradicted by other claims that the WWF had actually fired Jim Neidhart forcing the title change but after the match the two sides came to an agreement and Neidhart was brought back.[3] Whatever the reason the Rockers were never officially credited with a title win but footage from the match was shown prior to Marty Jannetty’s WWF return in 1995.[26] The match can be seen in its entirety on the 'Shawn Michaels Story: Heartbreak and Triumph' DVD. Because it never aired, the match was not clipped and thus is shown in full with no commentary; the only edit being after the second fall when a ring crew arrived to reattach the broken rope.

[edit] Breakup and beyond

After teaming together since 1985 the Rockers split up by the end of 1991 after backstage disputes. The exact nature of the dispute has not been confirmed by the WWF (now WWE) other than it was a monetary issue that lead to Marty Jannetty quitting the WWF on behalf of both Rockers.[3] According to Shawn Michaels book Jannetty had claimed that Jim Crockett Promotions were willing to give them a very high guaranteed contract but when Michaels inquired about it turned out to be an exaggeration. Since Michaels needed to support his family he told Vince McMahon he was not interested in quitting the company. After cooler heads prevailed it was decided that the Rockers should split with Shawn Michaels turning heel to feud with Marty Jannetty. Jannetty was not happy about the team splitting while Michaels couldn’t wait to work as a singles wrestler.[1]

On screen there was no mention of what went on backstage, instead Michaels and Jannetty started to show signs of dissention. During a singles match between Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair, Marty Jannetty rolled Shawn into the ring to get pinned. Michaels took this as Jannetty costing him the match instead of helping out (this was of course a storyline). [28] At the 1991 Survivor Series Jannetty caused Shawn Michaels to be eliminated by accidentally slamming one of the Nasty Boys into him after which the Rockers argued. [29] After the build up the Rockers wrestled one last match on television, a title shot at The Legion of Doom which the Rockers lost after which Jannetty and Michaels argued over who was to blame. [30]

A DVD extra on Heartbreak And Triumph titled The Rockers "Fight" reveals that they got into a legit fight on an unknown date that was instigated by Roddy Piper. The story, told by Jannetty, reveals that police were called to the scene and arrested Jannetty. As they were arresting him though, Randy Savage stepped in and prevented him from going to jail by telling the police that it was all part of a storyline even though in reality he didn't know the cause of the fight in the first place. Michaels almost quit the WWF over the incident, and Jannetty believes that this incident was one of the factors in the WWE's decision to break up the Rockers.

[edit] The "Barbershop" incident

The final spilt came on Brutus Beefcake’s "Barbershop" (taped on December 2, 1991 shown on January 12, 1992) where Beefcake interviewed the Rockers about their recent problems. After seemingly working their problems out Shawn Michaels suddenly blasted Jannetty with a thrust kick and then threw him through the glass window on the set. [31] Michaels also preceded to rip a full page picture of the group in half, signifying the separation. The turn had the desired effect of making Shawn a hated heel (bad guy) especially since the WWF agreed to let Marty Jannetty "blade" (make himself bleed) after being thrown through the window, something which wasn’t very prevalent in 1991. It also prevented Jannetty from entering the Royal Rumble in 1992.[1]

[edit] Feuding

Michaels and Jannetty were supposed to feud following the break up but Jannetty left the federation for personal reasons forcing the feud to be abandoned at least temporarily. While Jannetty was away Shawn Michaels began developing his “Heartbreak Kid” heel persona including getting Sherri Martel as his manager. Michaels also won the WWF Intercontinental Championship from The British Bulldog.[12] On the October 31, 1992 edition of WWF Superstars, Michaels was in the ring posing before facing some jobber, admiring himself in a mirror that Sherri held up. To everyone’s surprise Marty Jannetty came down through the crowd and entered the ring. Jannetty attacked Michaels, grabbed the mirror and tried to hit Michaels with it. But instead the cowardly Michaels pulled Sherri in front of himself so that she got hit with the mirror instead. [32] This led to Sherri being hospitalized from the glass shards (only in storyline terms) when Sherri returned from her “recovery” she turned on Michaels and actually backed Jannetty in his unsuccessful attempt to take the Intercontinental title away from Michaels at the Royal Rumble 1993. After the loss, Jannetty once again left the WWF.

During an episode of Monday Night Raw on May 17, 1993, Marty Jannetty returned to the WWF during an impromptu challenge. [33] Jannetty defeated Shawn Michaels to win the title (with the help of Mr. Perfect). [34] Three weeks later Jannetty lost the title back to Shawn Michaels in an untelevised house show thanks to the interference of Michaels’ new bodyguard Diesel.[12][35] After losing the title the Michaels/Jannetty feud petered out with Michaels focusing on other title challengers while Jannetty wrestled on the mid-card.[36][37]

[edit] New Rockers

The New Rockers
Tag Team
Members Marty Jannetty
Leif Cassidy
Heights Marty:
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Leif:
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Combined weight 468 lb (212 kg/33.4 st)
Debut February 20, 1996[38]
Disbanded December 16, 1996[39]
Promotions WWF

In 1995, Marty Jannetty returned to the WWF and initially worked in the singles division. In early 1996, Jannetty was introduced to Al Snow and told that he would be his new partner as the New Rockers. The idea was initially going to be a more or less straight up return to the Rockers gimmick, but the decision was soon made to turn them more "silly" according to Marty Jannetty in the book The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams.[40] They were told that the idea was for them to be like watching the 1960s television show The Monkees, complete with Al Snow being named "Leif Cassidy" as a play off 1970s idols David Cassidy and Leif Garrett. Going against his better judgment, Jannetty agreed to it, if nothing else than to help Snow out, who was trying to find a bankable gimmick. Jannetty was later informed that former partner Shawn Michaels had been the one to suggest the change in the gimmick.[40]

The team was never seriously pushed in the WWF making only a couple of low card PPV appearances before Jannetty decided to leave the WWF in late 1996.

[edit] Rockers reunion

[edit] World Wrestling Entertainment (2005)

On the SmackDown! shown on March 10, 2005 (taped 2 days earlier) Kurt Angle announced that as part of his preparation for his WrestleMania 21 against Shawn Michaels he would face Michaels old partner Marty Jannetty on the following Smackdown. [41] The following Monday (March 14, 2005) Jannetty made a surprise appearance on WWE Raw and for one night the Rockers reunited to take on La Résistance (Sylvain Grenier and Rob Conway). Jannetty got the win with the "Rocker Dropper" after Shawn Michaels hit ”Sweet Chin Music”on Grenier.[12][42] Three days later on Smackdown Angle had promised to make Jannetty ”tap out”, just like he was going to make Shawn Michaels tap out at WrestleMania XXI. On the night Angle made good on his promise and forced Jannetty to submit to his ankle lock submission hold, but only after a nearly twenty minute match and an impressive showing for Jannetty which saw him nearly pin the Olympic champion.[43] After two good showings on Raw and Smackdown to convince the WWE that he was still a very talented performer and signed him to a contract.[44] Due to a domestic incident, Jannetty was arrested and thus unable to meet the commitments of his WWE contract, which lead to him being released from his contract by July 6, 2005.[45]

[edit] World Wrestling Entertainment (2006)

On the February 20, 2006 edition of WWE RAW, Shawn Michaels was pitted against four of the five members of the Spirit Squad in their in-ring debut. After he had connected with "Sweet Chin Music", Michaels was attacked by all five members until an unknown man came storming in to the ring to defend Michaels. During the melee, it was revealed that it was Marty Jannetty coming to defend his former tag team partner.[12][46] Later on RAW, Vince McMahon came out to mention that he would offer Jannetty a full-time contract. However, Mr. McMahon added a stipulation - Jannetty had to join Mr. McMahon's "Kiss My Ass Club" the following week on RAW. [47] On Raw Jannetty refused to kiss Mr. McMahon’s ass. McMahon instead offered Jannetty the possibility of breaking Chris Masters' signature submission hold, the Master Lock. Jannetty appeared to almost break the hold, but Mr. McMahon (who was officiating) delivered a low blow, and Jannetty was never able to break it, only being released when Michaels ran in to save him. Shortly after Michaels had saved Jannetty, Shane McMahon ran in the ring with a steel chair and knocked out Michaels. [48] The former Rockers were supposed to continue a program with the McMahons, but Jannetty was absent from the next edition of RAW which meant that they had to rewrite the angle leaving Jannetty out of it.

[edit] World Wrestling Entertainment (2007)

In December 2007, Michaels began feuding with Mr. Kennedy. Kennedy was set to face off against Jannetty at the RAW 15th Anniversary Show. Kennedy won the match, but continued beating down Jannetty. Michaels then came out to save his former partner from a beating. Before Michaels had a chance to get in the first punch, Kennedy quickly realized Michaels and started an assult on "The Heartbreak Kid."

[edit] In wrestling

[edit] Championships and accomplishments

  • PWI ranked them # 33 of the 100 best tag teams during the "PWI Years" in 2003.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Michaels, Shawn; Feigenbaum, Aaron (November 7, 2006). Heartbreak & Triump: the Shawn Michaels Story, paperback (in English), Hartford, CN: World Wrestling Entertainment. ISBN 978-1416516866. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f Royal Duncan & Gary Will (4th Edition 2006). Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f Greg Oliver and Steve Johnson (2005). The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams. ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-5502-2683-6. 
  4. ^ prowrestlinghistory.com. AWA Stadium Shows Results (WrestleRock). Retrieved on 07-13, 2007. “Doug Somers & Buddy Rose beat The Midnight Rockers when Somers pinned Jannetty”
  5. ^ prowrestlinghistory.com. AWA Misc. Cards Results (Battle by the Bay). Retrieved on 07-13, 2007. “The Midnight Rockers & Curt Hennig beat Buddy Rose, Doug Somers, & Alexis Smirnoff when Michaels pinned Somers”
  6. ^ prowrestlinghistory.com. AWA Misc. Cards Results (Brawl in St. Paul). Retrieved on 07-13, 2007. “The Midnight Rockers beat Buddy Rose & Doug Somers in a "steel cage" match”
  7. ^ Graham Cawthon (May 30, 1987). WWF Show Results 1987. Retrieved on 07-13, 2007. “WWF Tag Team Champions Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart defeated Davey Boy Smith & the Dynamite Kid; after the bout, the Midnight Rockers - Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty - came out and challenged the Harts to a title match”
  8. ^ Graham Cawthon (June 3, 1987). WWF Show Results 1987. Retrieved on 07-13, 2007. “Wrestling Challenge taping:
    The Midnight Rockers (Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty) defeated Jose Estrada & Jimmy Jack Funk”
  9. ^ onlineworldofwrestling.com. Online World of Wrestling profile: The Rockers. Retrieved on 07-13, 2007.
  10. ^ Graham Cawthon (May 31, 1988). WWF Show Results 1988. Retrieved on 07-13, 2007. “Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty defeated Steve Lombardi & an unknown at 3:11 when Jannetty pinned Lombardi with a suplex / crossbody combo”
  11. ^ Graham Cawthon (June 1, 1988). WWF Show Results 1988. Retrieved on 07-13, 2007. “(Shown June 18) Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty defeated Iron Mike Sharpe & the Intruder at 3:09 when Jannetty pinned the Intruder after Michaels hip tossed his partner onto the Intruder (Rockers' TV debut)”
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h Brian Shields (4th Edition 2006). Main event – WWE in the raging 80s. Pocket Books. ISBN 978-1-4165-3257-6. 
  13. ^ Graham Cawthon (November 15, 1988). WWF Show Results 1988. Retrieved on 07-13, 2007. “(Shown December 10) Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty fought Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard (w/ Bobby Heenan) to a no contest when all four men began brawling on the floor prior to the match beginning; eventually, both teams battled their way backstage with numerous referees and officials trying to separate them”
  14. ^ Graham Cawthon (January 23, 1989). WWF Show Results 1989. Retrieved on 07-13, 2007. “Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard defeated Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty at 16:14 when Blanchard pinned Jannetty after Anderson swept Jannetty's foot out during an attempted suplex and held the laces of his boot down during the cover.”
  15. ^ prowrestlinghistory.com (February 16, 1989). Saturday Night Main Event Results (XX). Retrieved on 07-13, 2007. “(shown March 11, 1989) Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard DCO The Rockers (9:00)”
  16. ^ Graham Cawthon (April 25, 1989). WWF Show Results 1989. Retrieved on 07-13, 2007. “(shown: May 21) Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty fought Jacques & Raymond Rougeau (w/ Jimmy Hart) to a no contest when Michaels was assaulted with Hart's megaphone during a brawl on the floor before the match began, causing Michaels to bleed from the mouth; prior to the bout, Tony Schiavone interviewed Jimmy Hart & the Rougeaus regarding the Rockers' theme music, with Raymond Rougeau then claiming the Rockers were copycats for singing their theme song as well and saying they worth worthy enough to wrestle the Rougeaus, resulting in Michaels & Jannetty going out to the floor to start the fight”
  17. ^ a b Graham Cawthon (August 4, 1989). WWF Show Results 1989. Retrieved on 07-13, 2007. “Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty defeated Jacques & Raymond Rougeau in a 60-minute Marathon Match, 3-2 in overtime; fall #1: the Rougeaus won; fall #2: the Rougeaus won; fall #3: the Rockers won at the 48 minute mark; fall #4: the Rockers won at the 57 minute mark; fall #5: the Rockers won when Michaels reversed an inside cradle by Raymond, putting Jannetty on top, after Jacques had done the same moments earlier to put Raymond on top”
  18. ^ Graham Cawthon (August 19, 1989). WWF Show Results 1989. Retrieved on 07-13, 2007. “Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty defeated Jacques & Raymond Rougeau in sudden death overtime in a 60-minute marathon match”
  19. ^ Graham Cawthon (September 9, 1989). WWF Show Results 1989. Retrieved on 07-13, 2007. “Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty defeated Jacques & Raymond Rougeau in a 60-minute marathon match, 3 falls to 2; Shawn Michaels clotheslined Jacques to win the deciding fall in overtime”
  20. ^ Graham Cawthon (October 8, 1989). WWF Show Results 1989. Retrieved on 07-13, 2007. “Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty defeated Jacques & Raymond Rougeau in overtime of a 60-minute marathon match”
  21. ^ Graham Cawthon (October 31, 1989). WWF Show Results 1989. Retrieved on 07-13, 2007. “(shown November 25) Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty defeated Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard (w/ Bobby Heenan) in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match, 2-1; fall #1: Jannetty pinned Blanchard at 1:50 with a roll up after Anderson attempted to hold on to Blanchard from the outside but it was broken up by the referee (after the fall, an irate Heenan shoved Blanchard and left ringside); fall #2: Blanchard pinned Michaels at 4:04 after Anderson dropped him on the top rope from the outside; fall #3: Michaels pinned Anderson with a flying crossbody; prior to the fall, Heenan fired his team during a backstage interview with Jesse Ventura”
  22. ^ prowrestlinghistory.com. WWF WrestleMania Results (VI). Retrieved on 04-03, 2007. “The Orient Express (Sato & Tanaka) beat The Rockers (7:38) via countout”
  23. ^ prowrestlinghistory.com. WWF UK Tour Results (UK Rampage 91). Retrieved on 04-03, 2007. “The Rockers beat The Orient Express via pinfall.”
  24. ^ prowrestlinghistory.com. WWF Royal Rumble Results (1991). Retrieved on 04-03, 2007. “The Rockers beat The Orient Express (Tanaka & Kato) (19:15)”
  25. ^ WWE.com (November 3, 1990). WWE: Inside WWF > Title History > World Tag Team. Retrieved on 07-17, 2007. “official list of WWF World Tag Team Champions”
  26. ^ a b Graham Cawthon (October 30, 1990). WWF Show Results 1990. Retrieved on 07-13, 2007. “Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match to win the titles; fall #1 - Jannetty pinned Bret by blocking a sunset flip; fall #2 - Hart pinned Michaels with the Hart Attack; fall #3 - Jannetty pinned Hart; after the bout, the Harts shook hands with the new champions; this match was never shown on television because the top rope fell off in the midst of the bout and Vince McMahon felt he would not air it; the titles were later returned to Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart and the title change was never mentioned aside from WWF President Jack Tunney officially reversing the decision of the match on TV stations in the immediate area; clips of the finish were eventually shown in September 1995 prior to Marty Jannetty's return to the WWF; Michaels & Jannetty did defend the titles on two known occassions, both against Paul Roma & Hercules”
  27. ^ Graham Cawthon (November 3, 1990). WWF Show Results 1990. Retrieved on 07-13, 2007. “WWF Tag Team Champions Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty defeated Paul Roma & Hercules via disqualification when Hercules hit Marty Jannetty with his steel chain”
  28. ^ Graham Cawthon (December 2, 1991). WWF Show Results 1991. Retrieved on 13-07, 2007. “(shown December 16) Ric Flair (w/ Mr. Perfect) pinned Shawn Michaels at 10:11 with his feet on the ropes after Michaels missed a dive to the floor, knocked himself out, and was rolled back in the ring by Marty Jannetty - who had come ringside to check on his tag team partner; after the bout, Michaels blew up at Jannetty, upset over how his partner's assistance led to him being pinned; late in the argument, Michaels urged Jannetty to punch him in the face but Jannetty couldn't and simply left ringside”
  29. ^ Graham Cawthon (November 27, 1991). WWF Show Results 1991. Retrieved on 13-07, 2007. “The Nasty Boys, Beau & Blake Beverly defeated Shawn Michaels, Marty Jannetty, & the Bushwhackers at 23:06; Bushwhacker Luke was pinned; Bushwhacker Butch was pinned; Michaels pinned Beau with a backslide; Michaels was pinned at 19:41 with a roll up after Jannetty went for a slam on a Nasty Boy - with the Nasty Boy's legs nailing Michaels in the face midway through the slam (after the elimination, Michaels argued with Jannetty and stormed off); Jannetty was pinned when one of the Nasty Boys reversed an inside cradle attempt, putting his partner on top for the win”
  30. ^ Graham Cawthon (December 4, 1991). WWF Show Results 1991. Retrieved on 13-07, 2007. “(shown December 28) WWF Tag Team Champions the Legion of Doom defeated Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty at 3:39 when Michaels accidentally dropkicked Road Warrior Animal so that Animal, who had Jannetty up for a slam, fell on Jannetty for the win; after the bout, the Rockers argued with Michaels slapping Jannetty twice and Jannetty then leaving ringside (the Rockers' last TV match as a team)”
  31. ^ Graham Cawthon (December 2, 1991). WWF Show Results 1991. Retrieved on 13-07, 2007. “(shown January 12) featured the Rockers as guests of the Barber Shop in which they appeared to put their differences behind them only for Shawn Michaels to superkick Marty Jannetty before throwing him face-first through a plate glass window”
  32. ^ Graham Cawthon (October 12, 1992). WWF Show Results 1992. Retrieved on 13-07, 2007. “Shawn Michaels (w/ Sensational Sherri) fought Steve May to a no contest when, as Michaels was checking himself out in his full length mirror prior to the match, Marty Jannetty came out of the crowd and had a face to face confrontation with a shocked and fearful Michaels; during the incident, Jannetty grabbed Michaels' mirror and attempted to smash it over his head but Michaels pulled Sensational Sherri in front of him, knocking her out; afterwards, Michaels ran backstage as a frustrated Jannetty checked on Sherri; Sherri was then taken backstage on a stretcher (Jannetty's return to TV after being gone 9 months)”
  33. ^ Graham Cawthon (May 17, 1993). WWF Show Results 1993. Retrieved on 13-07, 2007. “(shown May 17) featured an opening segment in which Lord Alfred Hayes indicated to the camera that he saw someone in disguise arrive to the arena, knowing who it was but not letting on; included the disguised man confronting Shawn Michaels during an in-ring interview and accepting Michaels' open challenge for a title shot; moments later, he revealed himself to be Marty Jannetty”
  34. ^ Graham Cawthon (May 17, 1993). WWF Show Results 1993. Retrieved on 13-07, 2007. “(shown May 17) Marty Jannetty pinned WWF IC Champion Shawn Michaels with an inside cradle to win the title after Mr. Perfect threw his towel in Michaels' face (Jannetty's surprise return after being gone since January)”
  35. ^ Graham Cawthon (June 6, 1993). WWF Show Results 1993. Retrieved on 13-07, 2007. “Shawn Michaels (w/ Diesel) pinned WWF IC Champion Marty Jannetty to win the title with the superkick after Jannetty was distracted by Diesel at ringside (Diesel's debut)”
  36. ^ Graham Cawthon (June 13, 1993). WWF Show Results 1993. Retrieved on 13-07, 2007. “WWF IC Champion Shawn Michaels (w/ Diesel) pinned Crush at 11:13 with a superkick to the back of the head, sending Crush head-first into the corner, as the challenger was distracted by two Doinks at ringside”
  37. ^ Graham Cawthon (June 7, 1993). WWF Show Results 1993. Retrieved on 13-07, 2007. “Marty Jannetty fought Doink the Clown to a double count-out when both men began brawling on the floor; after the match, a number of referees came ringside to separate the two”
  38. ^ Graham Cawthon (February 20). WWF Show Results 1996. Retrieved on 13-07, 2007. “(shown March 2) WWF Tag Team Title Tournament Quarter-Finals: Henry & Phinneas Godwinn defeated Marty Jannetty & Leif Cassidy when Phinneas scored the pin by rolling through on a flying crossbody attempt (Al Snow's debut as Leif Cassidy)”
  39. ^ Graham Cawthon (December 16). WWF Show Results 1996. Retrieved on 13-07, 2007. “(Shown: Raw December 23, 1996) Pierroth & Cibernetico defeated Marty Jannetty & Leif Cassidy (Last match listed for the New Rockers)”
  40. ^ a b Greg Oliver and Steve Johnson (2005). The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams. ECW Press, 227-278. ISBN 978-1-5502-2683-6. 
  41. ^ Graham Cawthon (March 8, 2005). WWF Show Results 2005. Retrieved on 07-13, 2007. “(Shown March 10) Kurt Angle Invitational: Kurt Angle defeated Mike Haywood in a ladder match at 2:08 after applying the ankle lock and kicking his opponent out of the ring; prior to Haywood’s introduction, Angle showed a clip of the Shawn Michaels / Razor Ramon ladder match from WrestleMania X; after the contest, Angle, while sitting on the top of the ladder, showed a clip from WrestleMania V, talked about Marty Jannetty being Michaels’ former tag team partner, and stated that he would face Jannetty the following week on Smackdown!”
  42. ^ Graham Cawthon (March 14, 2005). WWF Show Results 2005. Retrieved on 07-13, 2007. “Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty defeated Rob Conway & Sylvian Grenier at 6:04 when Jannetty pinned Grenier with the Rocker Dropper immediately after Michaels hit the superkick on Conway (Jannetty's return after an absence of over 8 years; the Rockers' first match as a team in over 13 years)”
  43. ^ Graham Cawthon (March 15, 2005). WWF Show Results 2005. Retrieved on 07-13, 2007. “(Shown March 18) Kurt Angle defeated Marty Jannetty at 17:56 via submission with the ankle lock into the heel hook after Jannetty failed an attempt at the Rocker Dropper”
  44. ^ Michael KopStick (July 28, 2005). Interview Highlights: Byte This – Jannetty details DUI, jail, suicide thoughts, being saved. pwtorch.com. Retrieved on 07-18, 2007. “Todd reports that after his recent match on Smackdown with Kurt Angle, everyone in WWE was so impressed with his work that they signed him right away to a contract.”
  45. ^ Michael KopStick (July 28, 2005). Interview Highlights: Byte This – Jannetty details DUI, jail, suicide thoughts, being saved. pwtorch.com. Retrieved on 07-18, 2007. “But once he did sign, he was soon thereafter released. “Basically, my past caught up with me,” he concedes. “There’s no way of candy coating this or whatever.”
  46. ^ Graham Cawthon (February 20, 2006). WWF Show Results 2005. Retrieved on 07-13, 2007. “Shawn Michaels defeated Nicky, (w/ Mitch) via disqualification in a handicap match at 5:39 when all five members of the Spirit Squad attacked Michaels; moments later, Marty Jannetty helped make the save and cleared the Spirit Squad from the ring”
  47. ^ Graham Cawthon (February 20, 2006). WWF Show Results 2005. Retrieved on 07-13, 2007. “featured Vince McMahon coming out and saying that he would present Marty Jannetty a full-time WWE contract the following week, noting that Jannetty had fallen on hard times, but would only do so if Jannetty joined the Vince McMahon Kiss My Ass Club:”
  48. ^ Wade Keller (February 27, 2006). KELLER'S RAW REPORT 2/27: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of live show. Retrieved on 07-13, 2007.

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